Marie Dainton
Encyclopedia
Marie Dainton was an actress of the Victorian
and Edwardian eras who appeared regularly in both music hall
s and in the legitimate theatre.
in 1881, although several other dates from 1877 have been suggested. Her father was Robert E. Sharlach and her mother was the English actress and singer Jenny Dawson (d.1936). Dainton made her stage debut on 24 March 1894 at York Theatre Royal
in Little Red Riding Hood
. In this show she gave imitations of well-known theatrical personalities, and this gift for mimicry became her trademark
. Dainton became a versatile performer in various theatrical genres, including musical comedy, pantomime
and revue
.
Dainton made her first London appearance at the Metropolitan music hall in Edgware Road on 6 August 1894. On 24 December 1894 she opened as 'Mr Falsehood' in The House that Jack Built at the Opera Comique
, and the following year toured as 'Flo' in Buttercup and Daisy. The next few years were spent appearing mainly in the music hall
s until June 1899, when she scored a big success at the Avenue Theatre giving impressions of popular stage stars in a production entitled Pot Pourri. In 1898 Dainton appeared in the pantomime
Puss in Boots
with Eugene Stratton
at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Birmingham
. She also appeared in the legitimate theatre. Dainton was in demand both in London and on tour in the British
provinces and abroad. During 1900 and 1901 she appeared at the Casino Theatre in New York
, and at the Apollo Theatre
in London, as Paquita in The Belle of Bohemia. In New York she was temporarily restrained from appearing in the show until a breach of contract case was resolved in the courts. She also toured Austria
as Fifi in The Belle of New York. At the Strand Theatre
in London in 1902 she appeared in the successful musical play A Chinese Honeymoon
. In 1902 she made several gramophone recordings for the Gramophone & Typewriter Co Ltd
and Pathé
of songs from this show, namely 'The à la Girl,' 'Sweet Little Sing-Sing' and 'Mandie of Ohio'.
in London from 28 December 1904, and played the leading role in the original production of The Girl Behind the Counter
, again at Wyndham's, from 21 April 1906. Dainton was a leading figure in the Music Hall War of 1907, alongside, among others, Joe Elvin
, Gus Elen
and Marie Lloyd
. At the Colonial Theatre
in New York in March 1909 Dainton appeared in vaudeville
, again performing her mimickry of celebrities, including Harry Lauder
, Anna Held
, Marie Tempest
, Marie Lloyd
and Mrs Patrick Campbell
.
In October 1909 Dainton made a second tour of the United States, playing in Philadelphia and Chicago
in The Silver Star and Madame Sherry. In 1910 she toured the English provinces as Clarice in the opera The Mountaineers
before returning to the music hall
s. Among other productions, she took part in Autumn Manoeuvres
on tour in 1912, I Should Worry at The Palace Theatre
and on tour in 1913. She appeared in Society Ltd in 1920, Riverside Nights in 1926, The Eternal Flame in 1929, and in Getting George Married in 1930.
Dainton's last appearances took place in the early 1930s, playing the Duchess of Capablanca in The Werewolf, an eight performance run produced at the Kingsway Theatre, London, on 9 November 1932 by the Independent Theatre Club; and as a Slut in the play Mary Read at the Phoenix Theatre
, London in 1934. The cast of the latter also included Robert Donat
, Iris Hoey
and Flora Robson
.
Marie Dainton died in London on 1 February 1938 aged 56.
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and Edwardian eras who appeared regularly in both music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
s and in the legitimate theatre.
Early career
Dainton was born in RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1881, although several other dates from 1877 have been suggested. Her father was Robert E. Sharlach and her mother was the English actress and singer Jenny Dawson (d.1936). Dainton made her stage debut on 24 March 1894 at York Theatre Royal
York Theatre Royal
The York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St. Leonard's Place, York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 847 people. This reduced capacity takes into account removal of the mixing position seats and the stage side boxes which are normally not sold...
in Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood, also known as Little Red Cap, is a French fairy tale about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. The story has been changed considerably in its history and subject to numerous modern adaptations and readings....
. In this show she gave imitations of well-known theatrical personalities, and this gift for mimicry became her trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
. Dainton became a versatile performer in various theatrical genres, including musical comedy, pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
and revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
.
Dainton made her first London appearance at the Metropolitan music hall in Edgware Road on 6 August 1894. On 24 December 1894 she opened as 'Mr Falsehood' in The House that Jack Built at the Opera Comique
Opera Comique
The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway...
, and the following year toured as 'Flo' in Buttercup and Daisy. The next few years were spent appearing mainly in the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
s until June 1899, when she scored a big success at the Avenue Theatre giving impressions of popular stage stars in a production entitled Pot Pourri. In 1898 Dainton appeared in the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
Puss in Boots
Puss in Boots
'Puss' is a character in the fairy tale "The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots" by Charles Perrault. The tale was published in 1697 in his Histoires ou Contes du temps passé...
with Eugene Stratton
Eugene Stratton
Eugene Augustus Rühlmann was born in Buffalo, New York. He adopted the stage name Eugene Stratton, and became an American-born dancer and singer, whose career was mostly spent in British Music halls.- Biography :...
at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. She also appeared in the legitimate theatre. Dainton was in demand both in London and on tour in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
provinces and abroad. During 1900 and 1901 she appeared at the Casino Theatre in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and at the Apollo Theatre
Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
in London, as Paquita in The Belle of Bohemia. In New York she was temporarily restrained from appearing in the show until a breach of contract case was resolved in the courts. She also toured Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
as Fifi in The Belle of New York. At the Strand Theatre
Strand Theatre
- England :* Royal Strand Theatre, London* Strand Theatre , London in the United States...
in London in 1902 she appeared in the successful musical play A Chinese Honeymoon
A Chinese Honeymoon
A Chinese Honeymoon is a musical comedy in two acts by George Dance, with music by Howard Talbot and additional music by Ivan Caryll and others, and additional lyrics by Harry Greenbank and others...
. In 1902 she made several gramophone recordings for the Gramophone & Typewriter Co Ltd
Gramophone Company
The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies, and was the parent organization for the famous "His Master's Voice" label...
and Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
of songs from this show, namely 'The à la Girl,' 'Sweet Little Sing-Sing' and 'Mandie of Ohio'.
Later years
Dainton was the original Peggy Machree at Wyndham's TheatreWyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
in London from 28 December 1904, and played the leading role in the original production of The Girl Behind the Counter
The Girl Behind the Counter
The Girl Behind the Counter is an Edwardian musical comedy with a book by Arthur Anderson and Leedham Bantok, music by Howard Talbot and lyrics by Arthur Anderson , produced by Frank Curzon....
, again at Wyndham's, from 21 April 1906. Dainton was a leading figure in the Music Hall War of 1907, alongside, among others, Joe Elvin
Joe Elvin
Joe Elvin was a Cockney comedian and music hall entertainer and a Founder of the Grand Order of Water Rats, a show business charity.-Biography:...
, Gus Elen
Gus Elen
Ernest Augustus Elen was an English music hall singer and comedian. He achieved success from 1891, performing cockney songs including Arf a Pint of Ale, It's a Great Big Shame, Down the Road and If It Wasn't for the 'Ouses in Between in a career lasting over thirty years.Born in Pimlico, London,...
and Marie Lloyd
Marie Lloyd
Matilda Alice Victoria Wood was an English music hall singer, best known as Marie Lloyd. Her ability to add lewdness to the most innocent of lyrics led to frequent clashes with the guardians of morality...
. At the Colonial Theatre
Colonial Theatre
The Colonial Theatre is the oldest continually-operating theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Designed by the architectural firm of Clarence Blackall and paid for by Frederick Lothrop Ames the theatre first opened its doors for a performance of Ben-Hur on December 20, 1900...
in New York in March 1909 Dainton appeared in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
, again performing her mimickry of celebrities, including Harry Lauder
Harry Lauder
Sir Henry Lauder , known professionally as Harry Lauder, was an international Scottish entertainer, described by Sir Winston Churchill as "Scotland's greatest ever ambassador!"-Early life:...
, Anna Held
Anna Held
Helene Anna Held was a Polish-born stage performer, most often associated with impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, her common-law husband. -Early life:...
, Marie Tempest
Marie Tempest
Dame Marie Tempest DBE was an English singer and actress known as the "queen of her profession".Tempest became the most famous soprano in late Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. Later, she became a leading comic actress and toured widely in North America and elsewhere...
, Marie Lloyd
Marie Lloyd
Matilda Alice Victoria Wood was an English music hall singer, best known as Marie Lloyd. Her ability to add lewdness to the most innocent of lyrics led to frequent clashes with the guardians of morality...
and Mrs Patrick Campbell
Mrs Patrick Campbell
Mrs Patrick Campbell was a British stage actress.-Early life and marriages:Campbell was born Beatrice Stella Tanner in Kensington, London, to John Tanner and Maria Luigia Giovanna, daughter of Count Angelo Romanini...
.
In October 1909 Dainton made a second tour of the United States, playing in Philadelphia and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in The Silver Star and Madame Sherry. In 1910 she toured the English provinces as Clarice in the opera The Mountaineers
The Mountaineers (opera)
The Mountaineers is an English "romantic comic opera" in three acts with a libretto by Australian-born Guy Eden and Reginald Somerville , lyrics by Eden and music by Somerville. It opened at the Savoy Theatre in London on 29 September 1909, under the management of C. H. Workman, and ran for a...
before returning to the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
s. Among other productions, she took part in Autumn Manoeuvres
The Gay Hussars
The Gay Hussars is an operetta in three acts by Emmerich Kálmán. The piece was Kalman's first operetta and a hit throughout Europe and America. The first version, in Hungarian, Tatárjárás, with libretto by Karl von Bakonyi and Andor Gábor, premiered at the Lustspieltheater in Budapest on 22...
on tour in 1912, I Should Worry at The Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, London
The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...
and on tour in 1913. She appeared in Society Ltd in 1920, Riverside Nights in 1926, The Eternal Flame in 1929, and in Getting George Married in 1930.
Dainton's last appearances took place in the early 1930s, playing the Duchess of Capablanca in The Werewolf, an eight performance run produced at the Kingsway Theatre, London, on 9 November 1932 by the Independent Theatre Club; and as a Slut in the play Mary Read at the Phoenix Theatre
Phoenix Theatre (London)
The Phoenix Theatre is a West End theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located on Charing Cross Road . The entrance is in Phoenix Street....
, London in 1934. The cast of the latter also included Robert Donat
Robert Donat
Robert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
, Iris Hoey
Iris Hoey
Iris Hoey was a British actress in the first half of the twentieth century, both on stage and in movies. She married twice, first to Max Leeds, then the actor Cyril Raymond but divorced on both occasions....
and Flora Robson
Flora Robson
Dame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
.
Marie Dainton died in London on 1 February 1938 aged 56.
External links
- Dainton biography on Footlights Notes website
- http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=37120Dainton on the Internet Broadway DatabaseInternet Broadway DatabaseThe Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....
] - http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=215354&imageID=408830&parent_id=113607&word=&snum=&s=¬word=&d=&c=&f=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&total=50&num=0&imgs=12&pNum=&pos=10Dainton on New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
Digital Gallery] - http://www.philcoradio.com/zena/others.htmPortrait of Dainton on The Zena DareZena DareZena Dare was an English singer and actress who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre and comedic plays in the first half of the 20th century, and for her role as Mrs...
Page] - Portrait of Dainton on the National Portrait Gallery website