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Minnie Gertrude Ellis Jeffreys (12 May 1868(?) – 21 January 1943) was an English actress, best known for her comedy roles.
Jeffreys was born in Ceylon and made her stage debut in London in 1889. She quickly became a leading
West End player. In the early 1890s she had a long run in the operetta ''
La Cigale
La Cigale (; English: ''The Cicada'') is a theatre located at 120, boulevard de Rochechouart near Place Pigalle, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The theatre is part of a complex connected to the Le Trabendo concert venue and the Boule Noir ...
'', and then was a member of
Charles Wyndham's company at the
Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588.
Building the theatre
In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began development ...
. In 1895 she created a role in ''
The Notorious Mrs Ebbsmith
''The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith'' is a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It was first produced on 13 March 1895 at the Garrick Theatre, with Mrs Patrick Campbell playing the lead role of Agnes Ebbsmith. The theme of the play is social radicalism. The tit ...
'', which she played in London and on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
.
Most of her roles were in modern-dress
drawing room comedy A drawing room play is a type of play, developed during the Victorian period in the United Kingdom, in which the actions take place in a drawing room or which is designed to be reenacted in the drawing room of a home. The common practice of entertai ...
, but she also acted in classics including ''
She Stoops to Conquer
''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18th ...
'' and ''
The School for Scandal
''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777.
Plot
Act I
Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sna ...
''. In several years between 1895 and 1906 she was seen in the US, both on Broadway and in national tours. After that she continued to play in Britain, mostly in the West End, into the 1930s. During that decade she appeared in thirteen films, before retiring in 1938, five years before her death.
Life and career
Early years
Jeffreys was born in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the daughter of Captain Dodsworth Jeffreys and his wife Elizabeth, ''née'' Corcor.
[ She made her stage debut at the ]Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Pala ...
, London, with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...
in 1889 in the chorus of ''The Yeomen of the Guard
''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...
''.[ She then appeared at ]Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...
in December 1889, as Butterfly in the pantomime ''Cinderella'', after which she was engaged for the Lyric Theatre where she appeared in 1890 as Polly in ''The Sentry'' and then during the long run of ''La Cigale
La Cigale (; English: ''The Cicada'') is a theatre located at 120, boulevard de Rochechouart near Place Pigalle, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The theatre is part of a complex connected to the Le Trabendo concert venue and the Boule Noir ...
,'' she played and sang several leading female roles.[ In the early 1890s Jeffreys was a member of Charles Wyndham's company at the ]Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588.
Building the theatre
In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began development ...
, where she appeared in ''The Bauble Shop'', ''The Fringe of Society'', ''The Headless Man'', '' Betsy'', ''Madame Favart
''Madame Favart'' is an opéra comique, or operetta, in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot.
Performance history
After defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870) ended Napoleon III' ...
'', ''La Mascotte
''La mascotte'' (''The Mascot'') is a three-act opéra comique with music by Edmond Audran and words by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot. The story concerns a farm girl who is a "mascotte": someone with the mystic power to bring good luck to all aroun ...
'' and ''Haste to the Wedding
''Haste to the Wedding'' is a three-act comic opera with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by George Grossmith, based on Gilbert's 1873 play, ''The Wedding March''. The opera was the most ambitious piece of composition undertaken by Grossmi ...
''.[
In 1894 Jeffreys married the Hon Frederick Graham Curzon, the younger son of the 3rd Earl Howe.]["Marriages", ''The Times'', 12 September 1894, p. 1] Unlike some actresses who retired after marrying into the aristocracy, she continued her stage career. At the Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...
in 1895, she created the role of Mrs Gertrude Thorpe in ''The Notorious Mrs Ebbsmith
''The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith'' is a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It was first produced on 13 March 1895 at the Garrick Theatre, with Mrs Patrick Campbell playing the lead role of Agnes Ebbsmith. The theme of the play is social radicalism. The tit ...
'' in a starry cast that included Mrs Patrick Campbell
Beatrice Rose Stella Tanner (9 February 1865 – 9 April 1940), better known by her stage name Mrs Patrick Campbell or Mrs Pat, was an English stage actress, best known for appearing in plays by Shakespeare, Shaw and Barrie. She also toured th ...
, John Hare, Johnston Forbes-Robertson
Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson (16 January 1853 – 6 November 1937''Sir Johnston Forbes Robertson, Beauty And Grace in Acting'', Obituaries, ''The Times'', 8 November 1937.) was an English actor and theatre manager and husband of actress Gertru ...
and Gerald du Maurier
Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (26 March 1873 – 11 April 1934) was an English actor and manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1903, he m ...
. When Hare took the production to the US, Jeffreys joined him in the Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
cast, along with Julia Neilson
Julia Emilie Neilson (12 June 1868 – 27 May 1957) was an English actress best known for her numerous performances as Lady Blakeney in ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'', for her roles in many tragedies and historical romances, and for her portrayal of ...
and Fred Terry
Fred Terry (9 November 1863 – 17 April 1933) was an English actor and theatrical manager. After establishing his reputation in London and in the provinces for a decade, he joined the company of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree where he remained for f ...
.[
]
West End star
On her return to England Jeffreys played in ''The Misogynist'' at the St James's Theatre
The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham; it lost money and after three seasons he retired. A succ ...
, with George Alexander and Allan Aynesworth
Edward Henry Abbot-Anderson (14 April 1864, Sandhurst, Berkshire – 22 August 1959, Camberley, Surrey), known professionally as Allan Aynesworth, was an English actor and producer. His career spanned more than six decades, from 1887 to 1949 ...
. She continued to appear in Alexander's company both in London and on tour in his Ruritania
Ruritania is a fictional country, originally located in central Europe as a setting for novels by Anthony Hope, such as ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1894). Nowadays the term connotes a quaint minor European country, or is used as a placeholder name f ...
n play ''The Prisoner of Zenda
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order ...
'', handing her role over to Fay Davis
Fay Davis (December 15, 1872 – March 1, 1945) was an American stage actress from Boston, Massachusetts who was a star of many Shakespearean plays.
Early life
Fay Davis was born December 15, 1872 in Boston, Massachusetts. She attended the W ...
in October 1896. Still under Alexander's management she then returned to her more familiar territory of modern-dress comedy as Lady Miranda in ''His Little Dodge'', an adaptation of a Feydeau farce. ''The Pall Mall Gazette
''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed int ...
'' judged that Jeffreys's highly promising gift for comedy had now come to fruition, and thought her the best of the cast, which also included Fred Terry
Fred Terry (9 November 1863 – 17 April 1933) was an English actor and theatrical manager. After establishing his reputation in London and in the provinces for a decade, he joined the company of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree where he remained for f ...
, Weedon Grossmith
Walter Weedon Grossmith (9 June 1854 – 14 June 1919), better known as Weedon Grossmith, was an English writer, painter, actor, and playwright best known as co-author of ''The Diary of a Nobody'' (1892) with his brother, music hall comedian ...
and Alfred Maltby
Alfred Maltby (c. 1842 – 12 February 1901) was an English actor, costume designer, playwright and columnist. He began his theatrical career in 1872, becoming a much sought-after costume designer in the West End theatre, West End. By 1875 he began ...
. The theatrical newspaper '' The Era'' said:
Her first marriage ended in 1903, when she obtained a divorce on the grounds of Curzon's cruelty and adultery; she was awarded custody of their two children, Evelyn Ellis Isabella and George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
(later a successful actor). In 1904 she married the actor-manager
An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the business, sometimes taking over a theatre to perform select plays in which they usually star. It is a method of theatrical production used co ...
Herbert Sleath (1870–1921), to whom she remained married for the rest of his life.[ They had no children.][
In several years between 1895 and 1906, Jeffreys was seen in the US, both on Broadway and in national tours.][ In 1905 and 1906, for example, Jeffreys divided her time between London and the US. She appeared on Broadway as Queen Sonia in ''The Prince Consort'' and on an American tour as Lady Gay Spanker in '']London Assurance
''London Assurance'' (originally titled ''Out of Town'') is a five-act comedy by Dion Boucicault. It was the second play that he wrote but his first to be produced. Its first production was by Charles Matthews and Madame Vestris's company and ...
''. After playing in ''On the Love Path'' at the Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...
she returned to New York, to create the part of Lady Clarke Howland in ''The Fascinating Mr Vanderveldt'', reappeared in London at the Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...
in a revival of ''The Marriage of Kitty'', and again returned to New York, playing Mrs Brooke in ''The Dear Unfair Sex'', after which she starred in a coast-to-coast tour as Kate Hardcastle in ''She Stoops to Conquer
''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18th ...
''.[
On her return to England Jeffreys appeared at His Majesty's Theatre, in May 1907, as Mrs Allonby in '']A Woman of No Importance
''A Woman of No Importance'' by Oscar Wilde is "a new and original play of modern life", in four acts, first given on 19 April 1893 at the Haymarket Theatre, London. Like Wilde's other society plays, it satirises English upper-class society. It ...
'' in a cast that also contained Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager.
Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous progra ...
, Marion Terry
Marion Bessie Terry (born Mary Ann Bessy Terry; 13 October 1853 – 21 August 1930) was an English actress. In a career spanning half a century, she played leading roles in more than 125 plays. Always in the shadow of her older and more famous si ...
, Kate Cutler
Kate Ellen Louisa Cutler (14 August 1864 – 14 May 1955) was an English singer and actress, known in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as an ''ingénue'' in musical comedies, and later as a character actress in comic and dramatic ...
and Viola Tree
Viola Tree (17 July 1884 – 15 November 1938) was an English actress, singer, playwright and author. Daughter of the actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree, she made many of her early appearances with his company at His Majesty's Theatre. Later she appe ...
. In October 1907 Jeffreys appeared in the opening production of the Queen's Theatre in Madeleine Lucette Ryley
Madeleine Lucette Ryley (26 December 1858 – 7 February 1934) was an English actress and playwright known for her plays in London and then America in the late 1800s. She began writing plays under the pseudonym Noel Grant until she gained fame as ...
's comedy ''The Sugar Bowl'', under her husband's management. Also with Sleath's company she toured in Edwin Milton Royle's ''A White Man''. At His Majesty's in 1909 Jeffreys played a part some way removed from her usual agreeable and attractive characters, appearing as the vicious Lady Sneerwell in Tree's production of ''The School for Scandal
''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777.
Plot
Act I
Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sna ...
''. Reviews were good, and although ''The Athenaeum'' thought Jeffreys adopted "perhaps rather too gentle a manner to suggest the widow's acidity of temper", ''The Morning Post
''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''.
History
The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...
'' found her "agreeably disagreeable".
Later years
Later roles included Mrs Quesnel in ''The Case of Rebellious Susan'' and Madge Bolt in ''Is Matrimony a Failure?'' at the Criterion (1911), Comtesse Zicka in a revival of ''Diplomacy'' at Wyndham's (1913) and Mrs Cameron in ''The Flag Lieutenant'' at the Haymarket (1914). At the Globe, Jeffreys played the Countess Olga in ''Fedora'' in 1920 and Emily Ladew in ''Her Husband's Wife'' in 1921. The following year she was seen at Drury Lane as the Lady Violante in ''Decameron Nights''. Other roles included Lady Frinton in ''The Last of Mrs Cheyney'' at the St James's in 1925, Lady Trench in Frederick Lonsdale's ''Never Come Back'' with Allan Aynesworth
Edward Henry Abbot-Anderson (14 April 1864, Sandhurst, Berkshire – 22 August 1959, Camberley, Surrey), known professionally as Allan Aynesworth, was an English actor and producer. His career spanned more than six decades, from 1887 to 1949 ...
, Viola Tree and the young Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor, known for his commanding, stage-trained voice. For his lead role in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Amo ...
at the Phoenix Theatre in 1932 and Lady Mary Crabb in ''Fresh Fields'' at the Criterion in 1933.["Obituary: Ellis Jeffreys", ''The Stage'', 28 January 1943, p. 5]
In the 1930s Jeffreys appeared in thirteen films, playing Mrs Langford in '' Raise the Roof'' (1930), Elizabeth Green in ''Birds of Prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...
'' (1931), Lady Marian Mainwaring in '' Tilly of Bloomsbury'' (1931), Aunt Emily Debrant in ''Leap Year
A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or s ...
'' (1932), Lady Ellerslie in ''Two White Arms
''Two White Arms'', also known as ''Wives Beware'', is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Fred Niblo and starring Adolphe Menjou, Margaret Bannerman and Claud Allister. It is adapted from a play by Harold Dearden.
Produced by Eric Hakim Pro ...
'' (1932), Lady Marshall in '' The Barton Mystery'' (1933), Frau Kleiner in '' Where Is This Lady?'' (1933), Mrs Carmichael in '' Lilies of the Field'' (1934), Lady Elizabeth in ''Eliza Comes to Stay
''Eliza Comes to Stay'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Betty Balfour, Seymour Hicks and Oscar Asche. It was made at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith.Wood p.85
Cast
* Betty Balfour as Eliza Vandan
* Se ...
'' (1936), Lady Madeleine Knox in ''Limelight
Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a type of stage lighting once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illumination is created when ...
'' (1936), Mrs Hammond in ''While Parents Sleep
''While Parents Sleep'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Adrian Brunel and starring Jean Gillie, Enid Stamp Taylor and Romilly Lunge. The film is a screen adaptation of a 1932 play of the same name by Anthony Kimmins, which had been a ...
'' (1936), Lady Maude Wall in '' Return of a Stranger'' (1937) and Lady Tonbridge in ''Sweet Devil
''Sweet Devil'' is a 1938 British musical comedy film directed by René Guissart and starring Bobby Howes, Jean Gillie and William Kendall. It was made at Pinewood Studios.Wood p.97
Cast
* Bobby Howes as Tony Brent
* Jean Gillie as Jill Turne ...
'' (1938)."Ellis Jeffreys"
British Film Institute. Retrieved 2 September 2020
Jeffreys retired in 1938, and died at her home in Chobham
Chobham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England.
The village has a small high street area, specialising in traditional trades and motor trades. The River Bourne and its northern tributary, the Hale, ...
, Surrey on 21 January 1943.[ In an obituary notice '']The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'' said of her, "Ellis Jeffreys had all the qualities of a comedy actress – fine presence, keen humour, feeling, ease and distinction of manner, polish, and an accomplished technique".[ ''The Times'' said:
]
Notes, references and sources
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
External links
*
*
Photos of Jeffreys
at the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffreys, Ellis
1872 births
1943 deaths
English stage actresses
English film actresses
People from Colombo
20th-century English actresses