Practitioners [P-Q]

Page Lang Entertainers to Prince ……. p.1
Quarterly to Quine ……. p.2

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REG QUARTERLY

aka Reckless Reggie

(ca. 1912-) New Zealand-born comedian, radio host, television personality.

After being discovered at an amateur audition at Auckland’s Prince Edward Theatre at age 11, diminutive comedian Reg Quarterly played the same theatre for eleven weeks, followed by some two years touring as New Zealand’s “Little Tich.” He came to Australia in the mid-1920s and went on to himself as one of Australasia’s leading comedians – known from the 1930s onwards as Reckless Reggie. During his career Quarterly worked for both the Tivoli and Fullers circuits. His other engagements included Robert Robert’s Bon-Bons and Smilestones companies (late-1920s), Ike Beck, Union Theatres Vaudeville, Graham Mitchell (Serenaders), and Walter George’s Sunshine Players. Quartley’s radio career took off in the 1940s and in 1968 he compered the ATN-7 children’s television program The Town of Make Believe (as Uncle Reggie).

1: Reportedly only 4′ 6″ (138 cm) tall, Quarterly was cast by director John Gavin as an aboriginal child in the film Trooper O’Brien. Made in 1926 it was eventually released in 1928. He also appears as the teenage boy, Jan, in the 1931 film The Cheaters.
2: Quarterley’s television credits also include ATN 7’s children’s show Captain Fortune (1956-1960).

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HARRY QUEALY

(-1927) Comedian, dancer, choreographer, entertainer.

Quealy, Harry - 1886 [TT Aug 1915, 39]As a child, Harry Quealy appeared with various companies during the late 1880s, including Bella Sutherland, the Cottiers and Frank Smith. He joined Pollard’s Lilliputians [2] in 1891, touring throughout Australasia, the East and South Africa until it disbanded in 1905. After this he worked a sketch/patter act with his wife Nellie, playing Harry Rickards‘ circuit and the East before spending four years with the Fullers. The Quealys went to Africa in 1916 and later moved to the USA where Harry carved out a career in musical comedy. He died in New York in 1927.

Image: Harry Quealy in 1886.  Source: Theatre Magazine (Sydney) Aug. 1915, 39.

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GRACE QUINE

Quine, Grace [NLA]Soubrette, vocalist (soprano), comedienne.

Grace Quine has first been linked to the Australian variety industry as a member of J.C. Williamson’s 1913/14 Forty Thieves company. Over the remainder of the decade she performed as a coon singer and descriptive balladist while also developing into a light comedienne. Later associated with revusical/revue companies led by Art Slavin, Alf Coleman and Stanley McKay, Quine also worked for the Clay, Fullers and Tivoli circuits, along with other leading variety firms, during her long career. She appeared regularly on radio during the late-1920s and 1930s and was still performing on stage in the early 1940s.

Image source: Theatre Magazine(Sydney) Nov. 1907, 6.

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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.
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Published on April 27, 2011 at 7:55 am  Comments Off on Practitioners [P-Q]