Florence Dawson (31 May 1905 – 16 January 1993), better known by her

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Florence Desmond, was an English actress,

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

and

impersonator An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Entertainment: An entertainer impersonates a celebrity, generally for entertainment, and makes fun of ...

Biography

Early life and career

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 1905, Desmond was educated at the

Dame Alice Owen's School Dame Alice Owen's School (also known as Dame Alice Owen's or Owen's; referred to by the acronym DAOS) is an 11–18 mixed, partially selective secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, England. It i ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

. Her brother, Fred Desmond, was a comedy acrobat from the "Desmond and Marks" double act. She began her stage career at the age of ten. Upon leaving school in 1920, she embarked on a long and successful career in the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, especially as an impersonator of famous stars. She appeared extensively in

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

and occasionally in the

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...

. Her recording of the risqué song "The Deepest Shelter in Town" has been featured in multiple World War II music compilations. She was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1959 when she was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

at London's Adelphi Theatre.

Personal life

She was married twice, first to the aviator

Tom Campbell Black Tom Campbell Black (December 1899 – 19 September 1936) was an aviator, English aviator. He was the son of Alice Jean McCullough and Hugh Milner Black. He became a world-famous aviator when he and C. W. A. Scott won the London to Melbourne Ce ...

from 1935–1936 and, after Black's death, to aviator and insurance broker Charles Hughesdon from 1937 with whom she lived at Dunsborough Park in

Ripley, Surrey Ripley is a village in Surrey, England. The village has existed since Norman times – the chancel of the church of St. Mary Magdalen shows construction of circa 1160 there and supporting feet of fines and ecclesiastical records mention the ...

. She died in

Guildford, Surrey Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildfo ...

, in 1993 aged 87, where a ward was named after her at St. Luke's Hospital as well as a day unit at the Royal Surrey County Hospital.

Stage

*''Still Dancing'', 1925–1926 *''

This Year of Grace ''This Year of Grace'' is a revue with a book, music, and lyrics by Noël Coward. It opened in London on 22 March 1928 at the London Pavilion and ran for nearly 10 months, directed by Frank Collins, with a cast featuring Sonnie Hale, Maisie Gay, ...

'', 1928 *''Why Not To-night?'', 1933–1934 *''Streamline'', 1934 *''Funny Side Up'', 1939–1940 *''Apple Sauce'', 1940–1941 *''If the Shoe Fits'', 1946 * '' Under the Counter'', 1947

Filmography

References

* "Florence Desmond", by Florence Desmond, London: George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd, 1953. https://books.google.com/books?id=QJgrMQAACAAJ&dq=%22Florence+Desmond+By+Herself%22+Harrap&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQy7_mlbLWAhUo7oMKHc93AhoQ6AEIJjAA

External links

*
Photographs and literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desmond, Florence 1905 births 1993 deaths Actresses from London Actors from Guildford English women comedians English film actresses English radio actresses English stage actresses People educated at Dame Alice Owen's School 20th-century English actresses 20th-century English comedians