Sam Babicci won a scholarship to the New South Wales Conservatorium to study clarinet and piano and later spent six years as solo clarinetist/saxophonist with Verbrugghen’s Orchestra. He toured with Bert Ralton (1924-25) and worked as J.C. Williamson‘s orchestra leader at the Sydney Tivoli before forming the vaudeville act Tom Katz and His Saxophone Band in 1927. After seven years constant touring throughout Australasia he took the band to Great Britain but left it in 1936 to return home. Over the next 20 years Babicci led several bands (notably Romano’s cabaret orchestra) while also establishing himself in the Sydney restaurant trade – initially as manager and later as a proprietor.
1: Babbicci’s father was clarinetist Francesco Babicci of Trieste (a one-time musician at the Vienna Opera House).
2: In 1952 Babicci became a “person of interest” during the New South Wales Royal Commission into Liquor, and was eventually indicted for perjury (along with several other colourful Sydney identities – notably Abe Saffron). The charge was dropped in 1954.
Photograph by Thomas Lennon. Source: Powerhouse Museum (Sydney).
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VERNA BAIN
(ca. 1905-) Danseuse, actress, singer.
The youngest daughter of J.C. Bain, Verna Bain’s stage career began as early as 1914. She toured extensively throughout Australia and New Zealand during the 1910s, while also undertaking tours of South Africa and the East. From 1920 onward she appeared on both the Tivoli and Fullers circuits as a vaudeville performer and pantomime/musical comedy artist.
Doris Baker made her first appearance alongside professional variety entertainers in Sydney in 1903 at a benefit for her dance teacher, Tom Donnelly and debuted on Harry Rickards‘ circuit the following year, aged 11. Over the next few years, however, her performances were largely confined to Donnelly’s student shows and tours, with occasional suburban appearances and charity/benefit concerts. From 1906 Baker steadily built her reputation as a vaudeville act, securing solo work as an acrobatic and fancy dance specialist with managers like Ted Holland, Dix-Baker, James Brennan and Harry Clay before teaming up with Bert Corrie (ca. 1911-1925). No details regarding Baker’s show business career after 1926 have yet been located.
1: Baker’s billing in the early-1900s as “Little Doris Baker,” was as much a response to her small stature as it was to her age. Following her Tivoli debut a Sydney Morning Herald critic wrote: “A dancing pupil of Mr. Tom Donnelly, a little girl named Doris Baker, gave a successful and somewhat novel dance, insomuch that it was mainly of the acrobatic order, and therefore was not lacking in agility (21 Nov. 1904,3).
2: Baker and Bert Corrie (aka Herbert Corrigan) married ca. 1911/1912 and divorced in 1926. At that time Baker was employed as a barmaid in Newcastle (Evening News 26 Feb. 1926, 7).
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PROFESSOR S.S. BALDWIN
(aka Samuel Spencer Baldwin / Samri Baldwin / “The White Mahatma“)
American magician Samuel Spencer Baldwin made four tours of the Antipodes – the first three with his wife, Clara (1878-79, 1884, 1887-88) and the fourth with Baldwin’s Butterfly Company. After departing Australia the troupe, which included Ada Delroy and James Bell, undertook a two-years international tour.
Strongman, muscular and artistic posing act, equilibrist. [Born: Walter Wheatley]
All-round Melbourne athlete Walter Wheatley turned to farming in Western Australia for before making his vaudeville debut in Perth in 1920. He secured engagements with the Fullers, Harry Clay and Tivoli circuits before film of him performing dangerous balancing feats in 1921 led to engagements in the USA. He returned to Australia ca. 1928 with an equilibrist act billed as Balmus and Irmette (later Balmus and Phyllis, and the Balmus Bros) and toured for some time with George Sorlie. Balmus’s last known engagement (as “the Human Fly”) was at Sydney’s Luna Park in 1939.
Born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Norman Rupert Rex Bambury established himself in Darwin, Northern Territory, as an entertainer/stage manager. In the early 1920s he toured the southern states, and Queensland with such companies as Bryants Bellringers (1922), The Entertainers of 1923, and Hector St Clair‘s Vaudeville Company (1924). He partnered James H. White in the short-lived Sydney-based agency Bambury and White (1924-25). Bambury also acted as producer/manager/performer with the firm’s own touring company, the Gay Crusaders (1925), and later managed it himself (1926-27). His last known theatrical engagement was with Harry Penn’s touring company the Vagabonds (1928). Bambury died in Manly on 11 September 1963, aged 74 years.
1: Bambury’s Darwin career was mostly linked to the Piquant Pierrots. One of his brothers, Alwyn, was employed as a rigger in the Northern Territory capital before enlisting in 1917. No record of Norman’s movements between mid-1919 and early 1922 have yet been located.
2: Bambury was employed as both Hector St Clair’s personal manager and tour manager in 1924.
3: Publicity for the 1928 Vagabonds tour records that Bambury was “direct from the Sydney Tivoli.” This claim has not yet been confirmed.
Yvonne Banvard made her stage debut in the USA at age 7 with the Pollard Lilliputian Opera Company. She came back to Australia in 1920 and married the first of three husbands, American Edward de Tisne. The pair toured the Fullers‘ circuit and later co-founded Reynolds-de Tisne Players in Brisbane before separating in 1923. After a long run of J.C. Williamson’s musicals Banvard toured the USA before returning to Australia in 1931. She worked almost continuously up until her death in film (Strike Me Lucky), theatre (as actress and producer) and radio.
Image: State Library of Queensland. Sources: Stig Hokanson. “From Broadway to Brisbane – and Back.” Thespian Times (2013) • Anne-Marie Gaudry. “Banvard, Yvonne (Fifi) (1901-1962).” Australian Dictionary of Biography 13 (1993).
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BILLY BARLOW
[1819-1907] English-born minstrel comedian, monologist. [Born Robert Barlow]
Billy “The Blue Tail’d Fly” Barlow established himself as one of England’s leading comic monologists and singers of the 1840s, during which time he touring throughout the British Isles and released several song books. In 1852 he and his wife immigrated to Australia, settling in Victoria. Over the next four decades he worked in most states (and notably Victoria and South Australia), while also undertaking of New Zealand and the East. During this time Barlow was associated with numerous troupes and managers, including Rowe’s Circus, G.B.W. Lewis (Astley’s Amphitheatre), J. C. Rainer, George Coppin, Campbell’s Minstrels, and F.M. Clark. He also toured his own troupe.
The well-known “Billy Barlow” character and the famous song of that name were rarely included in his act. The song he was most identified with was “The Blue Tail’d Fly.” Barlow possibly toured the USA briefly in the late-1840s, resulting in him being billed for a time as “The American Barlow.” He retired ca. 1897 and died in Gympie, Queensland on 12 February 1907 from rheumatic arthritis, enteritis, and exhaustion.
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HARRY BARRINGTON
Singer, interlocutor, stage manager, manager and entrepreneur. Largely associated with Frank Smith at the Alhambra Music Hall in Sydney (1884-92) and Harry Rickards (Tivoli Theatre, Sydney) between 1898 and 1912. Barrington operated his own variety companies in Sydney during the mid-1890s and between 1913 and ca.1915.
(1902) Sportsman, singer, radio personality, film exhibition voiceover.
Born in Geelong, Victoria, Allan Victor Barry excelled at cricket, Australian Rules Football, rowing and singer while a student at Geelong Grammar School. He began performing on radio shortly after it was introduced in Melbourne in 1924 and also found engagements presenting prologues to films. In 1929 Barry beat 8,000 other entrants to win an Australian Broadcasting Company voice competition. He performed regularly on Australian radio throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, apart from 18 months in the USA where he worked in vaudeville. After returning home Barry appeared in variety for Fullers’ Theatres, J.C. Williamsons, Ernest C. Rolls, Frank Neil, and Bruce Carroll among others. His last established engagement was at the Perth Tivoli in 1946.
1: The Australian Broadcasting Company (1929-ca. 1950s) should not be confused with the Australian Broadcasting Commission (1932-1983), later the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
2: The Sunday Times (Perth) records that the Barry, who was born 4 November 1902 (half an hour after the Melbourne Cup) was given the middle name Victor in honour of that year’s winner, The Victory. The horse was ridden by jockey Bobby Lewis, a close friend of Barry’s father (“A Likeable Singer,’ 23 May 1937, 13).
3: In the same article it is claimed that Barry played nine games for Geelong as centre half-forward but was forced to toss “senior football owing to his slight build.” A list of Geelong Football Club Players published in Wikipedia does not include Barry, however. If he did play for the club his games may not have been official season matches.
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ELSIE BATES
Singer (soprano), serio-comic, actress, businesswoman. [Born Elsie M. Tottey]
Elsie Bates established her credentials as a singer/dancer around in the early 1900s, working for F.M. Clark, and Joe Solomons (Melbourne), Leonard Davis (Perth) and Marino Lucas (Tasmania) before teaming up with comedian/writer Arthur Morley. The couple married in 1907 and went on to tour Australia as both stage partners and in individual turns for more than a decade. Following her husband’s breakdown (ca. 1919/1920), they spent some time in the Rockhampton region of Queensland where Bates ran a millinery shop. Although Morley returned to the stage a few years later, and eventually became a well-known radio personality in Brisbane, Bates remained retired form the industry.
1: Bates and Morley (aka Albert Morley Welch) married at St Peters, Darlinghurst, in Sydney on 8 May 1907.
2: In 1915 Bates featured in the Brisbane Comic Opera Company’s production of The Stenographer Girl(Tivoli Theatre, 31 July – 6 Aug). Morley was at the same time working for Harry Clay in Sydney.
3: The couple’s daughter appears to have been working as a Brisbane-based variety artist during the early to mid-1930s. She was known professionally as Al Morley (and typically billed as “the personality girl”).
(1877-1930) American burlesque and film actor, ragtime and raconteur comedian, troupe leader, director.
Initially billed in Australia as the “quaint comedy king” and America’s “drollest comedian,” Lesley A. Bates came to the Australasian region in 1912 with Jansen the Master Magician. The following year he secured a contract with Brennan-Fuller, making his debut with the firm at Adelaide’s King’s Theatre in August. Bates appeared in revusicals as Paul Stanhope‘s off-sider (1915-1916) and later led the Follies of Pleasure troupe (1916-1918). After returning to the USA he carved out a decade-long career as a Hollywood actor, appearing in more than 30 films between 1920 and his death in August 1930.
For further details see “Les Bates” Internet Movie Database (IMDb) [sighted 27/08/2013]
Syd Beck’s theatrical career began after he was discovered by Hugh Huxham. Between the mid-20s and the mid-1940s he cemented his position as one of Australia’s most popular comedians, working in revue, pantomime and follies. He also worked as Nat Phillips‘ stage partner (Stiffy, Joe and Syd) and appeared frequently on radio.
Considered one of Australia’s premiere comic singers of the early 20th century, Robert “Bob” Bell was born in Liverpool and joined the merchant navy at age 12. After spending ten years at sea he left the service in 1890, initially settling in Brisbane where he came to the attention of Darcy Stanfield. After several years with Stanfield’s burlesque, pantomime and comedy companies he made his vaudeville debut with Prof. Fred Davys‘ troupe. He later secured work with Jones and Lawrence (Perth), Harry Rickards, F.M. Clark, Lennon, Hyman and Lennon and Wilson and Hawthorne among others. His career during the 1900s and 1910s was largely associated with Harry Rickards and the Hugh D. McIntosh-led Tivoli circuit, however. Bell remained active as a comedian into the mid-1920s.
Before retiring Bell briefly acted as advance rep for Thorpe McConville’s Wild Australia (ca. 1924). He passed away in Melbourne’s Aged Actors’ Home.
James Bell’s career from the mid-1880s was largely associated with his adoptive sister, Ada Delroy. He and his wife (Alice) and Delroy came to Australia in 1888 with Harry Rickards and later toured internationally with Prof. S.S. Baldwin. All three returned to the Antipodes in 1895 touring with the Ada Delroy Company, remaining in the country thereafter (apart from short oversees tours). Bell became Harry Rickards manager at the Melbourne Opera House in 1909.
Song and dance artist, clairvoyant, medium, telepathist.
Alice Bell was largely connected with the Australian variety industry through her husband James Bell (above) and sister-in-law Ada Delroy. Before coming to Australia in 1888 she had been performing as a song and dance artist in Britain for some 8 years (billed as Marion Constance). The dream vision act she brought to Australian in 1895 was developed after her tour with Baldwin’s Butterfly Company in the early 1890s.
Champion Scottish dancer Heather Belle studied dance for seven years under the direction of J.C. Williamson’s (which ran classes in Geelong) and won hundreds of competitions around Victoria during her early years (as Daisy Platt). She began appearing at Melbourne suburban shows, the People’s Concerts, and in regional centres in the early 1910s and made her Tivoli debut in 1914. She maintained an association with the circuit up until at least 1926. Harry Lauder also engaged her for his 1919 Australian tour. Although based in Melbourne, Belle toured worked extensively around Australia for firms and troupes like the Scarlet Gaieties, Edward Branscombe’s Dandies (Scarlet Dandies), Vogues and Vanities, George Drew, and Dix-Baker. Her last known appearance was in Horsham, Victoria, in 1926.
1: According to the Geelong Advertiser Belle came to the attention of Harry Lauder when he was touring Australia in 1914 and was personally invited to tour with him in 1919. She was also highly sought after by Scottish societies as a feature artist for events and celebrations.
2: Belle’s father was Captain F. Platts, of McIlwraith , McEacharn Co.
As a specialist singer Vera Benson was largely involved musical comedy, comic opera, vaudeville, revue and revusicals. Her first big break, with the D.B. O’Connor Opera Company (ca. 1915), was followed by work with firms like J.C. Williamson’s,Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton, Jack Waller, William Anderson, Musgrove’s Theatres, the Tivoli circuit and Fullers’ Theatres. In 1921 Benson played the lead role in a national tour of Maid of the Mountains, and in the late-1920s formed a variety partnership with Frank Perryn that involved both stage and radio work. In 1933 she moved to Lismore (New South Wales) to manage a “Frock Shop” for the Bentley’s chain. Benson died in Lismore after spending six weeks in hospital.
1: Among the revusical troupes she appeared with were Victor Prince‘s Revue Company (aka Prince’s Players), F. Gayle Wyer’s Band Box Company, and Robert Robert’s Smilestones.
2: During her time in Lismore Benson remained active as a performer, and also acted as producer and director for some productions and events.
3: Benson’s son, Rawdon Blandford, was also involved in the entertainment industry, notably as a producer and entrepreneur.
Image: Sun (Sydney) 25 Oct. 1925, 28.
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W. HORACE BENT
(1844-1907) Comedian, endman, writer.
Regarded by his peers as the greatest Australian comedian of the 19th century, Horace Bent’s four-decade long career (early 1860s -1899) saw him involved with several high profile troupes – notably Hiscocks’ Federal Minstrels. A specialist “bones” endman and comic lecturer he wrote much of his own material as well as numerous farces and burlesques. Bent also worked in the USA (ca. 1875-1876), appearing in New York and at the Philadelphia Exhibition (1876) among other engagements. His last known stage appearance was at Melbourne’s People’s Concerts in 1899.
aka Bert Ralton & His Savoy Havana Band / Bert Ralton & His Band
(Australia: 1923-1925) Saxophonist Albert Lewis Ralton (ca. 1885-1927) rose to prominence in the USA during the 1910s. In 1919 he travelled to Cuba and two years later arrived in England where he soon took up residence at London’s Savoy Hotel with his Havana dance band and later recorded many songs (mainly for Columbia). Percy Dawson brought Ralton and a re-organised line-up to Australia in 1923 for the opening of his Ambassadors Hotel (Sydney). The group also appeared on the Tivoli circuit, played at various ballrooms around the country, recorded at least 30 songs for local labels and featured in the 1924 film, The Price. The Australian tour saw several local musicians engaged – these being Harry Mehden (trombone), Sam Babicci (sax) and Ned Tyrell (banjo).
To listen to “Bert Ralton” visit this page on YouTube
Ralton was accidentally shot during a hunting picnic party in Rhodesia in January 1927. He died in hospital soon afterwards.
Image source: YouTube
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THE BIG FOUR
aka The New Big Four / Cliff O’Keefe’s Big Four
(1923-1932, 1932-1933, 1936-37) The original Big Four line-up, Cliff O’Keefe (New Zealand), Frank Wignall (Wales), and Melbournians Harry Grunden and Charlie Perrin, came to prominence on the Tivoli circuit with their rendering of popular hits, ballads, jazz and operatic selections – all fused with comedy. They also recorded many songs for Columbia and had hits with “Gundagai” (Jack O’Hagan), “Bridget O’Flynn,” “Ain’t She Sweet” and “Dinah” among others. The quartet disbanded in late-1931 following two years in the UK. O’Keefe returned to Australia in January 1932 and briefly put together a “New Big Four” (Fred Witt, Freddie Webber, and Cyril James). The quartette was revived again in 1936 especially for radio station 2UE.
Music source: Fran Van Straten Tivoli Echoes (2003); Image: Sunday Times (Sydney) 1 June 1924, 20.
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BILLY WELLS & THE ÉCLAIR TWINS
aka Billy Wells & the Éclair Sisters
(Aust: 1914-1916) Comedy and novelty dancers/singers
Active in Australia for some two years on the Brennan-Fuller circuit, Billy Wells and the Eclair Twins recorded appearance was at Adelaide’s King’s Theatre in November 1914. Described by the Daily Herald as the best of the newcomers, the trio is also said to have come “direct” from America. Descriptions in reviews and a short 1928 British Pathe film indicate that their routines were highly energetic and acrobatic. After leaving Australia for England Wells and the Eclair sisters worked for Moss and Stoll, and the Gulliver Syndicate, appeared in Paris and Nice at the height of the war, and later toured the USA for Pantages and Marcus Loew.
The act has been identified as Australian in later years. See for example “Australians Abroad.” Truth (Sydney) 2 Jan. 1927, 8. However, no record of any artist working in Australia under the names Billy Wells or Eclair Twins/Sisters has been located via Trove prior to November 1914.
Humphrey Bishop built his reputation as a singer touring England and South Africa before taking his own company on tour through the East in 1915. He came to Australia in late-1916 and left seven months later for South Africa and another tour of the East with a company comprising mostly local artists. After returning to Australia in 1920 Bishop established himself as one of Australasia’s pre-eminent high-class variety and music theatre showmen, touring his companies extensively throughout the region up until the early 1930s. He began his association with radio in 1924 and turned to the medium full-time in 1932 with the newly-established Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). He was still hosting his Cavalcade for 2CH as late as 1955.
1: Bishop’s best known troupe was his Comedy and Operatic Company, which operated for much of the 1920s. In later years it was known variously as Humphrey Bishop’s Company, and the Humphrey Bishop Musical Comedy Company. In addition to musical comedy, revue and operetta, Bishop occasionally staged pantomime. He also produced works for established firms like J. C. Williamson’s.
2: At the peak of his popularity in the early 1930s Bishop employed as many as 40 artists at a time. Among the numerous individuals identified with his operations were Frank Perryn (producer), Kitty Reidy, Ivy Moore, Louise Meadows, Joe Valli, Alf J. Lawrance, Arthur Hemsley, Maurice Barling, Nick Morton, Maurice Jaffey, Fred Keeley, Thelma Trott, Walter Kingsley, Billy Maloney, The Gilberts (Will and Dora), Ernest Lashbrooke, Harry Avondale, Bert Crawford and Grace Savieri.
3: Bishop’s earliest known radio broadcast was in New Zealand in 1924. From 1932 onwards he worked primarily as a music director/conductor and producer of revues, musicals, pantomimes, and variety programmes, first for the ABC, and later with AWA and 2CH. The continuing shows he was involved with included The Big Parade, The Showman, and Humphrey Bishop Cavalcade (all 2CH).
Image source: Inverell Times (NSW) 25 July 1928, 2.
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OSWALD BISHOP
aka Alma the Mysterious / Alma the Court Magician / Pharos / P.H. Ross
(1880-1956) Magician. [Born: Oswald Henry Bishop in Malvern, Victoria]
Best known in Australia as Alma (“the Court Magician,” “the Great,” “the Mysterious” and “the Black Arts Magician”), Oswald Bishop started out as conjurer in Melbourne in the early-1900s. He later secured engagements further afield with various vaudeville firms (including Harry Rickards) and toured his own company (ca. 1909-10 and 1912). Bishop changed his stage name to Pharos in early 1912 (presenting an Egyptian act) but left Australia (and his wife and son) before the end of the year in order to pursue a career in the USA. While there he changed his name to P.H. Ross but still worked briefly as Pharos. Bishop became a US citizen in 1920, and was employed by the the Bank of Hawaii from 1918 until his retirement. He died in Hawaii aged 76.
Two tours of Australia by a magician (or magicians) named Pharos are known to have occurred after Oswald Bishop left Australia. The first was in 1922 under the under the auspices of Harry G. Musgrove. The second (1929) included involvement in a show billed as George Edwards in Magical Mysteries (direct from London). That tour was produced by Fullers’ Theatres. In both instances the magician/s billing involved variations such as “Egyptian Enigma” or “Egyptian Magician” etc. It is currently unclear if Bishop was the performer in either of these tours.
Arguably the finest Scottish comedian to make Australia his home, Elton Black’s first major break was with Kate Howarde (later his wife) in the 1890s. During his 30 or more years in Australia he specialised comedy songs and Harry Lauder and Charlie Chaplin impersonations, managed and directed several variety companies and wrote a number of revusicals and pantomimes. In addition to Howarde, the firms and companies he has been linked to include Fuller’ Theatres (Australia and New Zealand), Harry Clay, Walter Johnson Revue Company, Billy Maloney/Elton Black Town Topics, F. Gayle Wyer’s Bandbox Revue Company, Elton Black’s Town Topics, and the Elton Black/Cyril Northcote London Revels. In the mid to late-1920s Black also spent some two years working circuits in America, England and South Africa.
After touring with her family between 1899 and 1910, Nellie V. Black undertook a solo career as actress and variety artist. In 1914 illusionists Le Roy Talma and Boscoe engaged her as conductor for their 8 month tour of Australia and New Zealand. A six month stint as conductor at Sydney’s Princess Theatre in 1915 was followed by several years in partnership with fellow New Zealand musician Amy Murphy (as The Musical Maids). Black continued touring as a solo artist well into the 1930s and worked as a Sydney-based conductor/music director up until at least 1944.
See also The Black Family [below]
Image source: Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW) 23 Aug. 1939, 5.
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THE BLACK FAMILY
(aka The All Black Family / The All Blacks)
(1899-1910) New Zealand musicians, entertainers.
Invercargill bandmaster and music teacher John Black presented his family of multi-instrumentalists at local events during the late-1890s before taking them on tour around New Zealand beginning 1899. The family of seven included John Black (basso, Scotch comique, violin, clarinet), Mrs J. Black (piano), Nellie Black (contralto, violin, piano, mandolin, trick violin), Doris Black (singer, violin, mandolin), Elsie Black (singer, violin, flute, piano, mandolin, dancer) and Bertie Black (basso, cornet, cello, violin, dancer, novelties). The family toured extensively throughout New Zealand, Australia, the East and the Pacific Island (including Fiji) up until 1910.
See also Nellie Black [above]
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AMY BLACKIE
(1870-1917) Contralto, soubrette, actress.
Considered one of Australia’s leading balladists, Amy Blackie was long associated with her husband Walter Cottier (Cottier’s People Concerts). During her career which began ca. 1884, Blackie also worked for Harry Rickards, Fullers’ Theatres, and J.C. Williamson among other firms. She was also responsible for introducing several hit songs. Blackie retired in 1909 due to poor health and died in 1917 from injuries sustained in a house fire.
Brother and sister entertainers Albert and Maud Bletsoe toured Australasia during the early twentieth century as a vaudeville act and in costume comedy companies like the Punchinellos [1] before heading to the USA and Canada in 1913. After returning home they toured their own revusical company for Fullers’ Theatres (1915-16). The troupe, which featured Roy Rene, was taken over by Nat Phillips after the pair unexpectedly retired while touring Queensland. The re-organised company made its debut in Sydney in mid-July 1916 as Nat Phillips’ Stiffy and Mo Revue Co.
The eldest of Fred Bluett’s two daughters, Belle Bluett’s Australian career was mostly associated with revue and musical comedy, and primarily in the chorus or in minor roles. Her earliest known shows were the Howard Hall-produced revues Mother Macree and Models (Empire Theatre, Sydney) in 1927. Over the next eleven years Bluett appeared in productions for Ernest C. Rolls and J.C. Williamson’s (the firm she is most associated with), and in several instances alongside her brother Gus. She married English comedian Jimmy Jewell in 1938 and soon afterwards returned to England with him. No details of her career activity after 1938 have yet been located.
See also: Fred Bluett [below] • Gus Bluett [below] • Kitty Bluett [below]
1: In a 1928 interview Bluett expressed her desire to one day pursue dramatic acting (Sunday Times 24 June 1928, 16). Her only work in this area appears, however, to have been in amateur theatricals. Her established Australian credits include: Top Hole (1927), Bright Side Up (1931), Blue Rose and High Jinks (1932), and Nice Goings On (1936).
2: Jimmy Jewell toured Australia with Ben Warriss during the years 1937-1938. He and Bluett had one son, the actor Kerry Jewell, and an adopted daughter (no details).
Considered one of the premier comedians and comic singers to work the Australasian region between 1900 and the 1930s, Fred Bluett came to Australia from London in 1891. He initially appeared with amateur variety companies in Melbourne while working as a bootmaker. Bluett turned professional in 1898, then spent the years 1899-1901 in New Zealand with the Fullers. He followed this engagement with ten years on Harry Rickards Australasian circuit. During his career Bluett worked for many leading variety firms and troupes, including John N. McCallum, Humphrey Bishop [above], J.C. Williamson’s, Leonard Davis, Ted Holland, Harry Clay, and Dix-Baker. He was also heard regularly on radio from 1924 until his death, and appeared in the films Showgirl’s Luck (1931) and Cinesound Varieties (1934). His children Gus and Kitty also became variety stars in their own right.
(1902-1936) Comedian, sketch artist. [Born Augustus Frederick Bluett]
The son of vaudevillian, Fred Bluett and dressmaker/dresser Catherine McKechnie, Gus Bluett travelled constantly with his parents during his juvenile years. He made his first appearance on any stage at the Adelaide Tivoli Theatre on 11 January 1907, aged four, and over the next ten years was increasingly included in his father’s turns. After the Bluett family returned to Australia in late-1916, Gus continued to make occasional appearances with his father on the Tivoli and Harry Clay circuits, among others. In 1918, however, he secured minor roles with J.C. Williamson’s touring companies. His extraordinary versatility led to starring roles from 1924, particularly in musical comedy and pantomime.
See also: Fred Bluett [above] • Kitty Bluett [below]
1: One popular turn featuring Fred and Gus Bluett from ca. 1910 was the Scoutmaster sketch.
2: The Bluett family spent the years 1912-1916 overseas – initially in South Africa and then Great Britain.
3: Bluett died without marrying and without issue from hemorrhaging gastric ulcers on 14 March 1936 in Sydney Hospital. His death was in part the result of an exuberant and hectic lifestyle.
Image source: National Library of Australia
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KITTY BLUETT
(1916-1994) Comedian/actress (stage, radio), singer, dancer. [Born in Brixton, England]
Kitty Bluett (as with siblings Belle and Gus) started out performing vaudeville turns with her father, Fred, before moving in musical comedy and revue – first in the chorus and latter in principal cast roles. Her radio career took off in 1940 when she featured in Jack Davey’s variety shows. She later established herself as one of Australia’s most popular female disc jockeys and became a big star partnering Dick Bentley. After returning to England in 1948 Bluett was accorded household name status through her role as Ted Ray’s wife in the radio comedy series Ray’s a Laugh (1950s). Back in Australia again in the early 1960s she appeared on both radio and television (notably in the Delo and Daly Show).
See also: Fred Bluett [above] • Gus Bluett [above]
1: Bluett returned to Australia not long after the birth of her daughter in 1958. Her second husband, acrobat and variety entertainer, became a successful children’s television producer here. After their divorce she moved back to England, dying in Colchester in 1994, aged 78.
2: Her first husband, Walter Robert Portingale, was a musician who played in Jim Davidson’s band. He also performed with Jim Gerald’s military entertainment shows during WWII. He and Bluett divorced in 1948.
Image source: ebay
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BLUETT & MO
Fred Bluett & Roy Rene
(1926-1927) Comedy sketch act.
Roy Rene and Fred Bluett teamed up in Sydney in 1926 after separately joining J.C. Williamson’sTivoli Celebrity Vaudeville. Billed as Bluett and Mo they made their debut on 10 May in a 30 minute nautical sketch written and directed by Bluett. Rene played an Admiral and Bluett a sailor. Although popular from the start in Sydney the pair initially fared less well in Melbourne with the view being that their personalities and comedic style were too diverse. A second sketch, The Fashion Plates, was introduced midway through their debut Melbourne season. During the nine months they worked together Bluett and Mo played Geelong (twice), Brisbane, Sydney (four times, including George Marlow‘s Aladdin pantomime), Newcastle, Melbourne (twice), Adelaide (Star Theatres suburban circuit), and Perth. Their final shows were in Sydney in early-February 1927. Sydney radio station 2FC broadcast performances from the Haymarket Theatre in August 1926 and February 1927.
Fred Bluett’s nautical sketch was sometimes referred to as The Sailors or Fun on the High Seas. The Fashion Plates was later renamed Oxford Bags.
Image source: Brisbane Courier 26 June 1926, 2.
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Image citation details for entries without expanded biographies are noted at the bottom of the overview. All other image details are provided in the expanded PDF biographies.
For information concerning copyright issues see “Copyright” attachment in the AVTA “About” page.
Harry Borradale was a star performer with several of Edward Branscombe‘s Dandies companies between 1914 and 1919. He later established his own troupes, notably the Sparklers, before settling more or less permanently in Brisbane. He was well-known there as a teacher, theatre director, recitals and radio personality for more than 30 years.
(Charles and Billy Bovis) Comedians, singers, entrepreneurs, managers, writers.
The Bovis Brothers started performing in the early to mid-1880s and toured not only the Antipodes but also America and Great Britain (they were original London cast members of The Belle of New York). During their time together, the brothers worked for most of the leading variety organisations and entrepreneurs operating in Australia. They also worked as managers in several theatrical partnerships. Charles died in 1928, while Billy’s last known appearance was in 1941.
Considered one of Australia’s premiere minstrel tenors, Louis Braham came to prominence with the Court Minstrels in 1863, and later appeared with numerous high profile companies including the United States Minstrels, Hiscocks and Hayman’s Mammoth Minstrels, Campbell’s Minstrels, Christy’s Minstrels (1865), Johnny Cowan’s Minstrels, Rainer, Christy and Western’s Minstrels, and Hiscocks and Friedman’s Minstrels. His performances with Beaumont Read and Edwin Amery during their time with Hiscocks Federal Minstrels (1883-1886) were considered by some critics to be the pinnacle of his success, however. Braham’s fame was such that many of the songs he performed were published using his name. He also toured internationally during the years 1871-1875, 1877-1883 and 1889-1890. Known destinations were India, South Africa, Britain and the USA. His final professional engagement was possibly with F.E. Hiscocks‘ Royal Court Minstrels in 1892.
1. In reporting his death several newspapers record that Braham first came to Australia with the Court Minstrels. There is evidence to suggest, however, that he was either born and/or raised in this country. His billing for Maguire’s Opera House in San Francisco in 1871, for example, announces him as “the Australian tenor” (Daily Alta 16 Jan. 1871, 1). Advertising in the Argus (Melbourne) a few years earlier has him billed as the “Australian Sims Reeves” (31 Aug. 1869, 8). Braham is also reported to have tried his hand (unsuccessfully) at gold digging at some stage.
2. The companies Braham appeared with overseas included: Harvey, Dougherty, Leslie and Braham Minstrels (South Africa), Mammoth Minstrels, and Moore and Burgess Minstrels (Britain), San Francisco Minstrels (USA).
3. During the late-1870s Braham’s wife was hostess at the Nelson Hotel in Bourke Street Melbourne.
4. Braham died at St Alfred’s Hospital, Sydney, on 3 December 1894.
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BRIDGES TRIO
(ca. 1928-1950) Musicians, entertainers (stage, radio and television).
The New Zealand-born Bridges siblings, Clifford (piano), Nancye (violin) and Francis (aka Babe, harp), began their careers in New Zealand during the early 1930s as a musical ensemble and appeared both in vaudeville and on radio. They later established themselves in Australia (where Nancye at one stage had her own radio show in Brisbane). When Cliff enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (R.A.A.F.) during WWII he was replaced by Rosemary Faiella. Nancye and Babe moved to the United Kingdom in 1951 (also playing shows in Europe) and after returning home in 1957 worked the Tivoli and club circuits and on television well into the 1960s.
Cliff Bridges joined the ABC as a radio producer ca. 1945. Nancye Bridges established herself as an entrepreneur in the 1970s and continued performing up until 1988. She also wrote two books with journalist Frank Crook – Curtain Call (1980) and Wonderful Wireless (1983).
During his four decade-long career, Peter Brooks was linked to many leading firms, performers and troupes, among them Stiffy and Mo, Harry Clay, Elton Black Revue Co, Fullers Theatres, George Ward, Bert le Blanc, George Wallace, Gladys Moncrieff, Edgley and Dawe, Will Mahoney and Evie Hayes, Les Shipp and Barton’s Follies. His name has first been identified on the bill of a 1912 Newbury’s Pops show in Sydney, while his final stage appearance occurred in Brisbane a few months before his death. In between he also made numerous radio broadcasts, worked in New Zealand and South Africa, and in 1920 founded the Brooks Amusement Company to run variety our of Perth’s Shaftesbury Theatre.
1: One of several Australian vaudeville performers to be routinely billed as “fashion plate,” Brooks’ surname was given different spellings throughout his career – namely Brook, Brooke and Brookes. He was also sometimes referred to as a baritone.
2: An original member of Nat Phillips’ Tabloid Musical Comedy Company (aka Stiffy and Mo) from 1916 to 1919, Brooks returned to the fold twice more, these being 1924-1925 and 1928.
3. Brooks is believed to have settled in Brisbane by the late-1940s. During his later years he worked alongside such performers as Charles Norman, Buster Fiddess, and Slim De Grey. His final performance was in Roy Rene‘s Olympic Games appeal show Helsinki Bound at the city’s Town Hall in April 1952. He died on 17 June, aged 61.
Billie C. Brown started his career at 14 in a piccanninny foursome managed by Ernest Hogan, before spending three years as a boxer. He returned to tour for Hogan in 1901 and in 1910 joined the Era Comedy Four. They came to Australasia in 1912 with the Hugo Minstrels but soon afterwards joined the Brennan-Fuller circuit. In September 1914 Brown and George Sorlie began a partnership that continued until December 1916. Forced to leave Australia in early 1917 under the Alien Restriction Act Brown toured New Zealand before heading home later in the year.
This artist is not to be confused with American Irish comedian Billy Brown (“the Fellow with the Fiddle”),who was in Australia around 1917-18 touring with Kitty Clinton.
Image source: Mail (Adelaide) 19 June 1915, 9.
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DOT BROWNE
Singer (soprano), soubrette, actress, business proprietor.
During almost forty years as a professional entertainer Dot Browne worked in pantomime, vaudeville, revusical/revue, musical comedy and even grand opera. Her name has first been connected with William Andersons’ Lilliputian company in early 1912, appearing as Angelina in Little Red Riding Hood. Rarely out of work from the late-1910s onwards, she secured engagements as a singer/actress with many prominent managers and companies, including Harry Clay, Andy Kerr, Ike Beck, T.A. Shafto, Fullers’ Theatres, Graham Mitchell, Frank Neil and Cole’s Varieties. From 1930 until the early 1940s Browne also worked extensively in radio. She retired in the mid-1940s, having settled in Brisbane. In 1948 she and her husband opened a garage in the suburb of Mayne.
Browne’s surname was often spelled with the ‘e.’ Her married name was Davies.
Image: Call (Perth) 26 May 1922, 4.
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LESTER BROWN
American performer/revue writer and producer.
American actor/writer/director Lester Brown was involved in the Australian variety industry between 1913 and 1925. During that time he produced pantomimes, revues, revusicals and musical comedies for George Willoughby, the Tivoli circuit, Fullers’ Theatres, George Marlow and Harry Clay, while also working at times as an actor and comedian. After appearing in the film The Adventures of Algy (1925) he returned to the USA to work as a publicist for Fox Films.
Once described as the “finest pair of coloured performers since the days of Pope and Sayles,” George Sorlie and American comedian Billie C. Brown (formerly with the Era Comedy Four) made their debut in New Zealand on 7 September 1914 under the Fullers‘ management. By early 1915 their popularity was such that Australian Variety featured them on the cover of its 10 February issue. Both men also contributed a number of articles to various industry magazines during their time together. The partnership ended in December 1916 when Brown’s future became uncertain due to being targeted by the Australian government to return to the USA under the Alien Restriction Act.
Sorlie and Brown possibly met for the first time in November 1913 when Sorlie and the Era Comedy Four were on the same bill at Fullers’ Bijou Theatre (Melbourne). Although contracted solely to the Fullers the pair was occasionally leased out to other firms, including Holland and St John, Birch and Carroll and Dix-Baker. Brown managed to remain in Australia until March 1917.
[Aust: 1918-1920] American producer/writer and “Hebrew” musical comedy comedian Al Bruce came to Australasia for Fullers’ Theatres in 1918, bringing with him a number of revusicals. With his largely Australian ensemble (The Rosebuds), Bruce gave his debut performance at Sydney’s National Theatre on 24 May with The Elixir of Love. Although some shows were set in the US, they invariably contained local references, topicalities, and impromptu “biz” that was local in origin. The inclusion of Australian references can be seen in some characters (e.g. Hank Dinkumflater in The Elixir of Love, 1918) and situations (the photographic representative for the Sydney Truth in The King of Patagonia, 1919). His last appearance in Australia was at the Victoria Theatre, Newcastle in March 1920.
Other shows from the Bruce repertoire were The Back to Nature Club, The New M.P., Lulu, The Candy Shop, Hello Papa, Two Peas in a Pod, and The New Adam (aka The Second Adam)
Image source: Daily Standard (Brisbane) 13 Dec. 1919, 2.
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BRULL & HEMSLEY
(1916- ca. 1930s) English sketch artists, comedians.
Pioneers of the Lancashire type of humour in Australia, dude impressionist/comedian Arthur Hemsley and soubrette Elsa Brull (1879-1961, aka Elsa May) came to the Antipodes in 1916 for Fullers’ Theatres having established themselves in the UK as musical comedy specialists. They toured New Zealand at least three times for the company, and also secured engagements with John N. McCallum, J.C. Williamson’s, Harry Clay and Humphrey Bishop among others. Although their last known stage appearances were in Brisbane in 1927 the couple continued to maintain a regular presence on radio together up until the late-1930s.
(-1911) American-born actor, ventriloquist, monologist, troupe proprietor, publican [Born: James Charles O’Brien]
Charles Bryant has first been identified touring New Zealand with Craydon and Woods’ Surprise Party in 1895 and made his first Australian engagement with Jones and Lawrence in Perth in 1900. His last professional appearance was at Bella Sutherland‘s Tivoli Gardens (Hamilton, Brisbane) in 1907. Although Bryant’s name disappears from newspaper coverage for extended periods over the next 16 years, he likely remained in the region. During those years he was mostly engaged by lower level firms and companies but also toured his own troupes on occasion. After retiring from the stage ca. 1907/08, he ran the Royal Hotel in Nukualofa, New Zealand. By then a chronic alcoholic he committed suicide in Auckland on 8 May 1911.
1: Bryant’s birth name and US heritage were reported widely in New Zealand following his death. See for exampleEvening Post (Wellington) 9 May 1911, 8. and Auckland Star 9 May 1911, 5.
2: Invariably described as a “clever ventriloquist” Bryant’s most successful act saw him doing multiple voices for his “dolls from all nations.” One paper also called them his “wooden-headed family.”
3: Described as an actor in most reports following his death Bryant was certainly involved in a number of theatrical productions while working as ventriloquist/ entertainer in New Zealand during the late-1890s (including for example Hans the Boatman, 1897/98) and likely undertook occasional acting engagements in later years. Although he has not yet been confirmed as the Charles Bryant who toured with Alfred Woods and Maud Williamson’s dramatic company (1901-02 and 1904), it is not beyond possibility.
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JACK BRYANT
Boxer, ball puncher, boxing and sports promoter
Based in North Queensland during the first few years of the twentieth century Jack Bryant made a name for himself as boxer and gymnasium instructor (Charters Towers and Mackay). It was his prowess as a ball punching exhibitionist, however, that led to him dabbling in various aspects of the entertainment industry. He travelled through Queensland (and possibly New South Wales) in 1904 with Harry Clay, and with wife May operated a touring boxing and variety troupe (ca. 1905). The pair later toured with Kemp’s Wild Australian Buckjumpers and briefly managed Mudgee’s Pastime Club before establishing the Moving National Sporting Club (ca. 1909). Bryant so managed his wife during her brief career as Madame Flaro (ca. 1906-07).
See also: May Bryant [below]
During his time with Kemp’s Buckjumpers (ca. 1906) Bryant also acted as tour manager. He has also been referred to at least once in publicity as Mr J. Flaro.
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MAY BRYANT
aka Madame Flaro
Charters Towers athlete May Bryant is first known to have performed Indian club and ball-punching routines with her husband’s boxing and variety troupe (ca. 1905). Following tour with Kemp’s Wild Australian Buckjumpers in 1906 the Bryants originated an act known as “Madame Flaro the Human Comet” (aka “The Human Firefly.” Protected only by a thick canvas suit, Bryant performed novel tricks while on fire before sliding down a 600 ft (180m) wire totally enveloped in flames. The act appears to have only been worked during 1906 and 1907 – largely with the Princess Court (Melbourne) and Wonderland City (Sydney) amusement parks.
See also: Jack Bryant [above]
During her non-Madame Flaro career Bryant was typically billed as either “Miss May Bryant” or “Little May Bryant.” In an interview published in Melbourne’s Punch newspaper “Madame Flaro” confirms that she and Jack Bryant were husband and wife (24 Jan. 1907, 34).
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MAGGIE BUCKLEY
(1896-1971) Singer (soprano), dancer
Often referred to as Australia’s Sophie Tucker from 1933 onwards, Maggie Buckley established her reputation as the country’s “Queen of Ragtime” during World War I, appearing with Cahill’s Vaudeville Players (New South Wales), Harry Clay, and Harry Sadler (Sydney), Bert Corrie (Hobart), Paddy King (Newcastle), Percy Dennis (Perth) and Fullers’ Theatres (1919-). The 1920s saw her mostly associated with Harry Clay’s company, while also working for manager such as Ike Beck (Hunter Valley) and T.A. Shafto (Perth). From 1933 much of Buckley’s career is linked to Ike Delavale (as both solo artist and partner). In this respect she too was a prominent entertainer with Stanley McKay’s Gaieties, Les Shipp, Graham Mitchell, Bert Lennon, Barton’s Follies, Bruce Carroll, and Mack and Testro.
1: The earliest recorded performance by Buckley located to date was on 7 May 1917 when she appeared at a social evening put on by the Leichhardt branch of the Catholic Federation. The other performers engaged were Messrs King and Bert Howard. Her last recorded stage appearance was in the Celebrity Club show, Surprise Packet (Sydney) in October 1950.
2: Buckley’s association with Sophie Tucker appears to have been a combination of factors, not the least being her voice and similar appearance (see Tucker’s Wikipedia entry for a comparison).
3: Although Buckley and Ike Delavale became off-stage partners from around 1935, the couple never married as Delavale remained married to Elvie Stagpoole.
4: Prior to her relationship with Delavale, Buckey was married to John Stanley Saunders (1891-1957), better known as Tilton in the song and dance team, Tilton & West. The couple had one daughter, Joan. An entertainer herself, Joan married well-known comedian/juggler, entrepreneur and businessman Rex Testro in the mid-1940s.
Thanks to Warren Maloney for details relating to Buckley’s personal history.
Image source: West Australian (Perth) 19 Nov. 1937, 19.
Tom Buckley moved to America as a youth and during the Civil War served as a drummer boy with the 11 Massachusetts Regiment. After the war he established himself as a dancer and multi-instrumentalist on the US minstrel stage before coming to Australia for Frank Weston in 1869. He formed a highly popular stage and business partnership with Charles Holly in 1871, and together they toured with various companies around Australasia off and on until the late-1880s. Buckley also toured his own troupes during the late-1880s and early 1890s before turning to acting. Long associated with J.C. Williamson and Allan Doone, he often appeared on radio and was still acting past his 90th birthday.
1: Buckley’s birthplace is recorded in several newspaper reports as Athlone (Roscommon), Ireland. The Australian Civil War Veterans website records it as being Erin (Castleisland, Kerry) Ireland, The site also indicates that his real surname may have been Coughlan.
2: From the 1920s onwards Buckley’s arrival in Australia is usually reported as being 1862 or 1865. He records in the 1914 Table Talk interview, however, that he arrived under contract to Frank Weston (which makes ot 1869). Supporting this is an article published in the 5 April 1869 edition of the South Australian Register which notes his recent arrival from New York for Weston, along with Messrs Hammond and Peel (3).
3: A number of Buckley’s obituaries erroneously to him as George Buckley (another Civil war veteran who is buried in the Ipswich Cemetery, Queensland) .
Details regarding the George Buckley error sourced from the Australian Civil War Veterans website. Image source: Table Talk (Melbourne) 26 Mar. 1914, 35.
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BUCKLEY & HOLLY
(1871-1890) Specialty dance and comedy act, troupe managers/proprietors.
Tom Buckley and Charles Holly both came to Australia in 1869, Buckley under contract to Frank Weston and Holly for Frank Hussey. A few years later they joined forces as both stage and business partnership, touring various companies around Australasia and the East off and on until the late-1880s. Their first known performance as a duo was with Weston and La Feuillade’s Minstrels at Melbourne’s Haymarket Theatre on 10 April 1871. As performers the pair presented a comedy song and dance act. Throughout their 17 years together the two men occasionally worked apart from each other, briefly touring either with other companies or in partnership with other artists/showmen.
English singer (baritone), actor. [Born in Manchester]
“Romantic baritone,” Sydney Burchell came to Australia in 1920 with Oscar Asche‘s company and remained for some 16 years. He later toured with Huxham’s Serenaders and Hugh J. Ward‘s Company of London Comedians and by 1927 was a prominent recording artist. He also began his radio career in 1927. From 1929 until his return to Britain in 1936 Burchell was a feature performer with J.C. Williamson’s, appearing in such shows as The Desert Song, Miss Hook of Holland and The White Horse Inn. Regarded as one of Australia’s most popular radio singers he was contracted by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ca. 1935) to appear in community singing events and radio musicals (often opposite Gladys Moncrieff).
1: His given and family names are often spelled “Sydney” and “Burchall” in primary and secondary sources. It is presently unclear which spelling is correct (in both cases).
2: After returning to Britain in 1936 (under contract to the BBC), Burchell quickly established himself as a star of radio and the stage (playing vaudeville, revue and musical comedy). He also appeared in two films during the 1940s.
Harry Burgess came to Australia in 1913 with the American Burlesque Company, and as with several other members of that troupe remained in the country for the rest of his life. Regarded by his peers as an excellent character comedian, the 6ft plus comedian was a long time star on the Fullers’ circuit, touring with the Jim Gerald, Ward and Sherman companies, as well as his own troupe. He also appeared in pantomimes, musical comedies like Betty Lee (1926) and Rio Rita (1929) and in Roy Rene’s 1934 filmStrike Me Lucky.
Largely associated with the Melbourne’s People’s Concerts (Temperance Hall) between the early-1880s and his death in 1894, George Edward Burness was highly regarded as a singer, comic sketch artist, and purveyor of Irish specialties. He is also known to have appeared in minstrel first parts as a specialist “bones” endman. Although his earliest established performance was at an October 1883 People’s Concert, Burness had likely been active as an entertainer for several years previous. During the years 1884 and 1885 he also appeared in occasional concerts and benefits around the city and in nearby regional centres with his own troupe, and during 1886 and 1887 he performed with Moore’s Australian Troubadours. One of Burness’ few interstate forays was in 1887 when he secured an Adelaide engagement with Hudson’s Surprise Party.
1. Given that most People’s Concerts were held on Saturday nights, with only occasional “special event” programmes held mid-week, most of the local performers (including George Burness) were likely either semi-professionals or semi-retired former professionals.
2. The Burness-led troupes were known variously as Burness’ Surprise Party, the Burness Surprise Combination, and Burness’ Combination Serenaders (not to be confused with the People’s Concert’s first part “house” troupe also known as the Combination Serenaders).
3. No details regarding the passing of George Burness have yet been located. Although his name becomes less prominent in newspaper coverage from 1889, he is nevertheless known to have been on the bill of a People’s Concert in 1893. The following year his death was announced in several Melbourne newspapers as having occurred on 7 December. Melbourne Punch records, too, that the “quiet unassuming” 36 year-old had been the second son of the late James Burness of Little Bendigo, Ballarat (Vic), and that he died at his residence, 155 Johnston Street, Collingwood (“Theatrical Gossip.” 13 Dec. 1894, 7). Burness left behind a wife, Lydia, but no children.
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MAE BUSCH
(1891-1946) Singer, dancer, stage and film actress.
Born in Melbourne on 18 June 1891, Mae Busch went on to become a major Hollywood film star, in both the silent and sound eras. She moved to the USA with her parents in 1896 and was educated at New Jersey convent, living there when her parents, Dora and William Busch were on tour. Between 1903 and 1912 she joined them in an act billed as the Busch Devere Trio. Busch then went on to work in musical comedy and as a solo vaudeville performer before beginning her film career in the Keystone comedies. Known as the “versatile vamp” at the height of her career she later appeared in more than 128 films, including 13 Laurel and Hardie comedies.
See also: Dora De Vere (aka Dora Busch) • William Busch [below]
For further details see: David R. Noakes. May Busch Facts. [sighted 11/12/2014] • “Mae Busch.” Wikipedia • Christopherbkk “Mae Busch.” Internet Movie Database (IMDb).
Busch’s career is acknowledged with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Although it is unlikely that she ever performed on the Australasian stage it was not unusual for the young children of variety performers to make feature appearances, typically with one of their parents. Whether this occurred is yet to be determined.
(1867-) Multi-instrumentalist (incl. violin, cornet, trumpet, xylophone). [Born: Frederick William Busch in Collingwood, Melbourne]
William Busch started out his career in Melbourne and while touring with F.M. Clark in 1887 met Dora De Vere. The pair married the following year. Over the next nine years they worked throughout Australasia for Clark, Charles and Harry Cogill, Tommy Hudson, Burton’s Circus and the Montague-Fredo Co among others – Dora as a solo performer and William initially as pit-band musician. From 1893 until 1903 he largely worked with the Paragon Trio. After moving to the USA in 1896 they became known as Lelliott, Busch and Lelliott. He performed with his wife and their daughter, Mae, as the Busch-Devere Trio between 1903 and 1912 and later managed several vaudeville acts.
1: Busch’s involvement with the Paragon Trio also included tours with the Paragon Bellringers, Abell and Klaer’s European Circus (doubling as orchestra leader), Percy St John’s Cambridge Specialty Co, and the Montague-Fredo Co.
2: Mae Busch (1891-1946) was born in Melbourne and went on to become a major Hollywood film star, in both the silent and sound eras.
Sourced from David R. Noakes.
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