Odette Myrtil, French violinist, actress and singer

Odette Myrtil (1898-1978), French violinist, actress and singer, who later became a Beverley Hills dress designer and restaurateur
(postcard photo: unknown, probably Paris or London, circa 1916)

Odette Myrtil arriving in New York, November 1923

Odette Myrtil (1898-1978), French born English and American violinist, singer, actress and entertainer, arriving at the Port of New York aboard the SS Aquitania on 9 November 1923
(photo: Fotograms, New York, 9 November 1923)

Odette Myrtil (Andette) was born in Paris on 28 June 1898, the daughter of Charles Quignard (sometimes Quignard-Myrtil), a theatrical artist. She married Robert ‘Bob’ J. Adams (1876-1948) of The Two Bobs, variety artists, in London on 8 March 1917 and after appearing successfully in various productions in England the couple settled in the United States in 1923. They were divorced before 1933 sometime after which Miss Myrtil married the English actor, Stanley Logan. She died on 19 November 1978.

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Hear Odette Myrtil singing ‘Chong – He Come From Hong Kong,’ one of the hits of 1919, written and composed by Harold Weeks, which she featured in Bran Pie, a revue which opened at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre, London, on 28 August 1919. The recording was made in London for the Columbia label (F-1012) on or about 14 October 1919.

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For further information, see The Skeins.

the principal cast members of the revue Bran Pie, Prince of Wales’s Theatre, London, 28 August 1919, left to right: Bob Alden (of the Two Bobs), Odette Myrtil (Mrs Bob Adams), Rebla, Beatrice Lillie, Bob Adams, Phyllis Titmuss and Jack Hulbert
(photo: Stage Photo Co, London, 1919)

‘DIPS IN THE BRAN PIE.
‘New London Revue Provides a Tonic for Weariness.
‘Bran Pie, which Mr. Andre Charlot produced at the Prince of Wales’ Theatre last night in a series of ‘’dips,’’ is an inspiration. It is the finest variety entertainment in London. The whole thing seems to have been conceived to bring the old happy-go-lucky spirit of the music hall back to the London stage, and the triumph was undoubted.
‘Dainty and daring dresses, pretty and pert chorus girls, merry and melodious tunes and a company of uncompromising comedians make an ideal antidote for war weariness.
‘The is a splendid company of artists, including Miss Odette Myrtil, who plays the violin divinely, the inimitable Two Bobs and Miss Beatrice Lillie in some characteristic and charming numbers. The Pussyfoot song [i.e. ‘Stay Away, Pussyfoot (For the Bull-dog don’t like you)’] of the Two Bobs is certain to become a classic.’
(The Daily Mirror, London, Friday, 29 August 1919, p. 3d)

Odette Myrtil, accompanied by Bran Pie’s chorus, recorded Chong for the Columbia label (F-1012, mx 76634-1, 1.8m mp3) in London about 14 October 1919.