Dorothy Ward (26 April 1890 – 30 March 1987) was an English actress who specialised 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-speakin ...

s, playing 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 Plan ...

roles, while her husband Shaun Glenville would play the dame roles. She had a successful 52 year career and played in over 40 pantomimes between 1905 and 1957.

Early career

Ward was born in

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston ...

(now part of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

), Warwickshire, on 26 April 1890, to Eliza (née Millichamp, 1867–1946) and Edwin Ward (1866–), a wholesale bottler. When she was 14 she was taken to see ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' with

Ada Reeve Ada Reeve (born Adelaide Mary Reeves, 3 March 1874 – 5 October 1966) was an English actress of both stage and film. Reeve began to perform in pantomime and music hall as a child. She gained fame in Edwardian musical comedies in the 1890s. ...

as the

, and from that moment she decided on a career in

. She made her stage début at the

Alexandra Theatre Alexandra Theatre may refer to: * Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, a theatre in Birmingham, England, now the New Alexandra Theatre * Alexandra Theatre, Bognor Regis, a theatre in the British town of Bognor Regis * Alexandra Theatre, London, a theat ...

in Birmingham in 1905, aged 15, playing Zenobia in the pantomime ''Bluebeard''. Following her success in this

Robert Courtneidge Robert Courtneidge (29 June 1859 – 6 April 1939) was a British theatrical manager-producer and playwright. He is best remembered as the co-author of the light opera ''Tom Jones'' (1907) and the producer of '' The Arcadians'' (1909). He was t ...

offered her the role of Betty in the

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the Am ...

''The Dairymaids'' at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in London (1906) opposite Phyllis Dare and

Walter Passmore Walter Henry Passmore (10 May 1867 – 29 August 1946) was an English singer and actor best known as the first successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Passmo ...

. The Christmas season of 1906 saw her as Dandini in the pantomime ''Cinderella'' at

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, where she understudied the role of Prince Charming; when the principal player fell ill Ward had her first opportunity to play

. She next created the non-speaking role of Etoff in Edward German's

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a n ...

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

'' at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in London (1907), and in 1908 she played Princess Helene in the operetta '' A Waltz Dream'' at the Hicks Theatre.D. Forbes-Winslow, ''Daly's - The Biography of a Theatre'', W. H. Allen & Co., London (1944) This was followed by

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

's production of ''

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

'' at the Gaiety Theatre before joining the cast of '' The Gay Gordons'' at the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in the ...

. In his history of

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...

D. Forbes Winslow wrote of this period:

Dorothy said one of the happiest times of her life was when she was with George Edwardes at the Gaiety Theatre, understudying at the age of sixteen several parts in ''Havana''. She got her chance to play the lead. Edwardes gave her her first big chance in London as the Princess in ''A Waltz Dream''. After the first performance he presented her with a quaint ring: it consisted of two large diamonds, set one on each side of a shamrock leaf in emeralds – similar to the one he gave to
Lily Elsie Elsie Cotton (''née'' Hodder, 8 April 1886 – 16 December 1962), known professionally as Lily Elsie, was an English actress and singer during the Edwardian era. She was best known for her starring role in the London premiere of Franz Lehár's ...
when she made her first big hit in ''
The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to ...
''.

She played Robin Hood in the pantomime ''The Babes in the Wood'' at the Prince of Wales Theatre in her home town of Birmingham (1909–10) followed by the title role in the pantomime ''Little Jack Horner'' at Newcastle in (1910–11) in which the Dame was played by the young Irish actor Shaun Glenville. The two married in 1911. Their son was actor/director Peter Glenville (1913–1996).

Peak years

Ward became noted as one of the leading

s, while Glenville as "a pantomime Dame without equal". Thus, for 50 years they often played mother and son. They appeared in pantomimes together until 1914 when Ward was cast as Louise opposite

Fay Compton Virginia Lilian Emmeline Compton-Mackenzie, (; 18 September 1894 – 12 December 1978), known professionally as Fay Compton, was an English actress. She appeared in several films, and made many broadcasts, but was best known for her stage per ...

and

Cicely Courtneidge Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge, (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West En ...

in ''The Cinema Star'', which toured the provinces before opening at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

in London. In 1916 she was in ''We’re All In It'' at the

London Hippodrome The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few surv ...

, touring throughout 1917 before being reunited with Glenville in ''Happy Go Lucky'' (1918). For much of 1921 she was with her husband in New York where she was Phoebe Throssel in '' Quality Street'' at the Shubert Theatre and Cora Angélique in ''

The Whirl of New York ''The Whirl of New York'' is a Broadway musical that premiered at Winter Garden Theatre on June 13, 1921. It was an expanded and substantially re-worked version of '' The Belle of New York'' (1897, music by Gustave Kerker with book and lyrics by ...

'' at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

. Ward's performance in ''Quality Street'' gained harsh reviews from some critics, with

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

commenting; 'They have brought over from England a lady named Dorothy Ward to play the title role of Phoebe in ''Quality Street'' and, considering what a first-class passage costs these days, it seems really staggering to think of the money that could have been saved by the simple means of letting her stay happily at home... she has been billed by a hysterical press agent, as "England's greatest comédienne". I don't pretend to be right up to the minute with what is going on upon the British stage, but I can say with perfect safety that if she is England's greatest comédienne, then I'm Mrs. Fiske'. Another critic wrote that Ward's was the season's 'most astonishing piece of casting' and that she approached her role in the 'dainty' operetta 'in the frenzied manner usually reserved for the mad scenes in Italian opera'. Her husband fared little better. Ward and Glenville had been cast in ''Mother Goose'' at the Alhambra Theatre in Glasgow for the Christmas pantomime in 1921. At the last minute, however, Ward was called to replace

Clarice Mayne Clarice Mayne (6 February 1886 – 16 January 1966) was a music hall and variety theatre singer and performer. Life and career Clarice Mabel Dulley, whose stage name was Clarice Mayne, was born in London in 1886. She is best known for the s ...

in ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' at the

opposite

George Robey Sir George Edward Wade, CBE (20 September 1869 – 29 November 1954), Harding, James"Robey, George" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 10 May 2014. known professionally as George Robey, was an E ...

. In 1926 the couple were in ''The Apache'' at the

Theatre Royal, Newcastle The Theatre Royal is a historic theatre, a Grade I listed building situated on Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne. History The theatre was designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green as part of Richard Grainger's grand design for the ...

before taking it on tour and then opening at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

in 1927. Next they were next on tour in ''The Blue Train''. She was Cora Angélique in a revival of '' The Belle of New York'' at Daly's Theatre in London (1931), and followed this as Lady Holyrood in a revival of ''

Florodora ''Florodora'' is an Edwardian musical comedy. After its long run in London, it became one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the music was by Lesli ...

''. Next she was Nan in '' A Country Girl'', followed by '' The Duchess of Dantzic''. With Glenville she ended the 1932 season in ''

La poupée ''La poupée'' (''The Doll'') is an opéra comique in a prelude and three acts composed by Edmond Audran with a libretto by Maurice Ordonneau. The libretto was based on E.T.A. Hoffmann's ''Der Sandmann'', about a friar who falsely promises to ma ...

''. At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Ward was among the first entertainers to join ENSA, for whom she toured France entertaining the troops. By now the couple were quite wealthy and included a Rolls-Royce car among their possessions. The actor

Roy Hudd Roy Hudd, OBE (16 May 1936 – 15 March 2020) was an English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author and authority on the history of music hall entertainment. Early life Hudd was born in Croydon on 16 May 1936 to Evalina "Evie" (née ...

wrote of Ward's appearance as Colin the Miller's Son in a pantomime of ''Puss in Boots'' in 1941:

At the dress rehearsal she made her first entrance in her "poor boy" costume but wearing a positive fistful of diamond rings. She was very proud of how well she'd done, and wanted everyone else to know it too. At the end of the run-through,
Emile Littler Sir Emile Littler (9 September 1903 – 23 January 1985), born Emile Richeux, was an English theatrical impresario, producer and author. Life and career Littler was born in Ramsgate, Kent, in the south east of England, the younger son in the fami ...
said, "Dorothy, darling, you’re supposed to be the poor miller’s son. I think we should dispense with the diamond rings". Dorothy said nothing, but on the opening night she came on with her hands behind her back and said, "Here I am, Colin the poor miller’s son". She then waved her bejewelled hands at the audience and added, "and look what the Good Fairy keeps giving me!"

From October 1944 to January 1945 Ward played Loretta Zelma in ''Meet Me Victoria'' at the

Victoria Palace Theatre The Victoria Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, opposite Victoria Station. The structure is categorised as a Grade II* listed building. History Origins The theatre began life as a small conc ...

opposite

Lupino Lane Henry William George Lupino (16 June 1892 – 10 November 1959) professionally Lupino Lane, was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous Lupino family, which eventually included his cousin, the screenwriter/director/act ...

. By the 1950s Ward was beginning to wonder if she could still carry off the

roles. In an interview in 1954 while appearing as

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale ''Di ...

at the Kingston Empire she was reluctant to discuss her date of birth, saying, "I want audiences to enjoy the pantomime – not to wonder if I’ve got my own teeth!" In 1957 she made her last appearance as principal boy at the age of 66 playing the lead in ''Dick Whittington'' at the Pavilion Theatre in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, bringing to an end a career in which she had played principal boy almost continuously since 1905.

Songs and recordings

During her career Ward performed a number of songs by her and Glenville's friend, Fred Godfrey, including: 'Meet Me Jenny When The Sun Goes Down' in pantomime in Belfast in 1908. Ward is known to have recorded four Godfrey songs: 'Blue Eyes' (Regal G-7170, 1915); 'Tommy’s Learning French' (Regal G-7219, 1915); 'I Love My Motherland' (Regal G-7418, 1916); and 'Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty' (Regal G-7398, 1916). Also, from information gathered from

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, A ...

covers and other sources she also sang Godfrey’s 'It’s The Way They Have In The Navy' (1914); 'I’m Coming Back To Old Kilkenny' (1915); 'Take Me Back To Your Heart' (1915); 'You Were The First One To Teach Me To Love' (1916); 'Down Texas Way' (1917); 'Open Your Heart And Let The Sunshine In' (1920); 'Till You Come Back Again' (1926); 'Arm In Arm Together' (1931); and 'There Is Always A Silver Lining' (1939).

Later years

She was interviewed as a castaway on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (us ...

'' on 23 December 1954. She and her husband jointly retired to London in 1957, where Glenville died in 1968. Music hall historian W. Macqueen-Pope called her: Dorothy Ward died aged 96 in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

on 30 March 1987.Dorothy Ward-Glenville
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 - Ancestry.com

References

External links

Tribute site
by a family member, with many pictures. (Link now via Internet Archive]
Portraits of Dorothy Ward
-

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Dorothy Actresses from Birmingham, West Midlands 1890 births 1987 deaths 20th-century English actresses 20th-century English singers 20th-century English women singers Converts to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism