Clarice Mayne (6 February 1886 – 16 January 1966) was a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

and

variety theatre Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compère ...

singer and performer.

Life and career

Clarice Mabel Dulley, whose stage name was Clarice Mayne, was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1886. She is best known for the song "A Broken Doll" written by her husband, the composer James W. Tate, and lyricist Frank Clifford Harris. Early in her career, Mayne often played the "principal girl" in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

s for Francis Laidler, among others. She also became a noted

performer. Later, she played the "

principal boy In pantomime, a principal boy role is the young male protagonist of the play, traditionally played by a young actress in boy's clothes. The earliest example is Miss Ellington who in 1852 appeared in ''The Good Woman in the Wood'' by James Planch ...

" roles. Mayne sang in the

act called "Clarice Mayne and That". Mayne was "This", and Tate, accompanying on the piano, was "That" ("This sings, That Plays!"). They first appeared together at “The Oxford” in 1906 and introduced a number of popular numbers including “I was a Good little girl, ‘till I met You” (1912), and “Put on Your Ta-Ta little Girlie”, both written by Tate. She popularised the 1910 hit 'Joshu-ah' by

George Arthurs George Arthurs (13 April 1875 – 14 March 1944) was an English songwriter, playwright, composer, author and screenwriter who contributed lyrics to several successful musical comedies such as ''The Belle of Mayfair'' (1906), ''Havana'' (190 ...

and

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard A ...

. She and Tate married in 1912 after the death of Tate's first wife,

Lottie Collins Lottie Collins (16 August 1865 – 1 May 1910) was an English singer and dancer, most famous for introducing the song "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay!" in England. Early life She was born Charlotte Louisa Collins in the East End of London in 1865. Her ...

. Tate died in 1922, and Mayne married Teddy Knox of

Nervo and Knox Jimmy Nervo and Teddy Knox were part of the original Crazy Gang. They started their stage careers as an acrobatic dancing team. They used this ability in many of the earlier Crazy Gang shows. Among their many routines, a slow motion wrestling a ...

in 1934. Mayne also played the principal boy in a number of Tate's

s throughout Britain beginning in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, including a pantomime version of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' in 1916, ''Dick Whittington'' in 1918, ''Puss In Boots'' in 1920, ''Cinderella'' again, at the London Hippodrome in 1922 (and many times thereafter, playing with

Stanley Lupino Stanley Richard Lupino Hook (15 June 1893 – 10 June 1942), known professionally as Stanley Lupino, was an English actor, dancer, singer, librettist, director and short story writer. During the 1930s, Lupino appeared in a successful series of m ...

and her later husband, Teddy Knox), and ''Dick Whittington'' again in 1923, at the London Palladium, among others. In 1936, she played Emily Hackitt in the film ''Educated Evans''. She and Tate had appeared together in the 1916 film ''Nursie! Nursie!'' She died in London in 1966 at the age of 79 and was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

.Information about cremation
findagrave.com

Selected filmography

* ''

Nursie! Nursie! ''Nursie! Nursie!'' is a 1916 British silent comedy film directed by Alexander Butler and starring James W. Tate, Clarice Mayne and Bernard Vaughan. It was made at Isleworth Studios.Harris p.201 Cast * James W. Tate as Patient * Clarice Ma ...

'' (1916)

References

External links

Information about Mayne and Tate
*
Many photos of Mayne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayne, Clarice 1886 births 1966 deaths Music hall performers 20th-century English singers 20th-century English women singers