Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English
actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and
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 ...
who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the highest paid film star in the world in 1937.
She was known affectionately as ''Our Gracie'' and ''the Lancashire Lass'' and for never losing her strong, native Lancashire accent. She was appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and an
Officer of the Venerable Order of St John (OStJ) in 1938, and a
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1979.
Life and work
Early life
Fields was born Grace Stansfield, a daughter of Frederick Stansfield (1874–1956) and his wife Sarah Jane 'Jenny' Stansfield née Bamford (1879–1953), over a
fish and chip shop
A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop, is a (often fast food) restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and c ...
owned by her grandmother, Sarah Bamford, in Molesworth Street,
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
. Her great-grandfather, William Stansfield (b.1805), of
Hebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England. It is west of Halifax and 14 miles (21 km) north-east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the Hebden Water. The town is the largest ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, was a descendant of the Stansfield family of
Stansfield
Stansfield is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located seven miles south-west of Bury St Edmunds, in 2011 its population was 221. The village has an Anglican church dedicated to All Saints. ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
.
Fields made her first stage appearance as a child, in 1905, joining children's repertory theatre groups such as "Haley's Garden of Girls" and the "Nine Dainty Dots". Her two sisters, Edith Fields and Betty Fields, and brother, Tommy Fields, all went on to appear on stage, but Gracie was the most successful. Her professional debut in variety took place at the Rochdale Hippodrome theatre in 1910, and she soon gave up her job in the local
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Althou ...
, where she was a half-timer, spending half a week in the mill and the other half at school. Early newspaper clippings show her appearing locally in venues such as Todmorden (December 1913), Milnrow (February 1914), and Burnley (July 1914)
with an appearance at The Palace in Blackpool in April 1914. The Burnley newspaper described her as “The Girl with the Double Voice”.
Fields met the comedian and impresario
Archie Pitt
Archie Pitt (1882 – 12 November 1940) was a British music hall performer, showman and talent agent. He is best known for his marriage to Gracie Fields whose career he managed.Babington p.57
Selected filmography Actor
* '' Danny Boy'' (1934)
...
and they began working together. Pitt gave Fields champagne on her 18th birthday, and wrote in an autograph book to her that he would make her a star. Pitt began to manage her career and they began a relationship; they married in 1923 at
Clapham Register Office. Their first revue was called ''Yes I Think So'' in 1915, and the two continued to tour Britain together until 1924. That year they appeared in the revue ''Mr Tower of London'', with other shows following in subsequent years, such as ''By Request'', ''It's A Bargain'' and ''The Show's The Thing''.
Pitt was the brother of Bert Aza, founder of the Aza Agency, which was responsible for many entertainers of the day including the actor and comedian
Stanley Holloway
Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles Stanley Holloway on stage and screen, on stage and screen, especially t ...
, who was introduced to Aza by Fields. Fields and Holloway first worked together on her film ''
Sing As We Go
''Sing As We Go'' is a 1934 British musical film starring Gracie Fields, John Loder and Stanley Holloway. The script was written by Gordon Wellesley and J. B. Priestley.
Considered by many to be British music hall star Gracie Fields' finest ve ...
'' in 1934 and the two remained close friends for the rest of their lives.
Fame
![Gracie Fields 1937](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Gracie_Fields_1937.jpg)
Fields came to major public notice in ''Mr Tower of London'', a show staged in
London's West End
The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...
.
Her career accelerated from this point, with
dramatic performances and the beginning of a recording career on
His Master's Voice (HMV). She was one of the most successful recording artists at the label, her first record, ''My Blue Heaven'' sold 500,000 copies in 1928. In 1933, HMV produced the four millionth Fields record, which was pressed by the singer herself on camera.
At one point, Fields was playing three shows a night in the West End. She appeared in the Pitt production ''SOS'' with
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 ...
, a play staged 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 ...
.
Fields' most famous song, "
Sally
Sally may refer to:
People
*Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name
Military
*Sortie (siege warfare), Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port
*Sally, ...
", which became her theme, was written for her first film, ''
Sally in Our Alley'' (1931), a major box office hit.
She went on to make a number of films, initially in Britain and later in the United States
(when she was paid a record fee of £200,000 for four films). Regardless, she never enjoyed performing without a live audience, and found the process of film-making boring. She tried to opt out of filming, before director
Monty Banks
Montague (Monty) Banks (18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950), born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the UK and the United States.
Career
Banks was born Mario ...
persuaded her otherwise, landing her a lucrative Hollywood deal. Fields demanded that the four pictures be filmed in Britain and not Hollywood.
The final few lines of the song "Sally", which Fields sang at every performance from 1931 onwards, were written by her husband's mistress, Annie Lipman. Fields claimed in later life that she wanted to "Drown blasted Sally with Walter with the aspidistra on top!", a reference to two other of her well-known songs, "Walter, Walter", and "
The Biggest Aspidistra In The World".
The famous opera star
Luisa Tetrazzini
Luisa Tetrazzini (June 29, 1871 in Florence – April 28, 1940 in Milan) was an Italian dramatic coloratura soprano of great international fame. Tetrazzini "had a scintillating voice with a brilliant timbre and a range and agility well b ...
heard her singing an aria and asked her to sing in
grand opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on o ...
. Fields decided to stay "where I knew I belonged."
Charity work
In the 1930s, her popularity was at its peak, and she was given many honours: she became an
Officer of the Venerable Order of St John (OStJ) for her charity work, and a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to entertainment in the
1938 New Year Honours
The 1938 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 1 January 1938.United Kingdom and Britis ...
, and was granted the
Freedom of the Borough of Rochdale in 1937.
She donated her house in
The Bishops Avenue
The Bishops Avenue, London N2, connects the north side of Hampstead Heath at Kenwood (Hampstead Lane), Hampstead to East Finchley and is on the boundary between the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey. It is considered to be one of the w ...
, north London – which she had not much cared for, and shared with her husband Pitt and his mistress – to an orphanage after the marriage broke down. In 1939, she became seriously ill with
cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...
. The public sent over 250,000 goodwill messages and she retired to her villa on
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
. After she recovered, she recorded a special 78rpm record simply called ''Gracie's Thanks'', in which she thanks the public for the many cards and letters she received while in hospital.
Fields also helped
Rochdale Association Football Club in the 1930s, when they were struggling to pay fees and buy sports equipment.
In 1933, she set up the Gracie Fields Children's Home and Orphanage at
Peacehaven
Peacehaven is a town and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. It is located above the chalk cliffs of the South Downs approximately six miles () east of Brighton city centre, on the A259 road. Its site coincides with the ...
,
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
, for children of those in the theatre profession who could not look after their children. She kept this until 1967, when the home was no longer needed. This was near her own home in Peacehaven, and Fields often visited, with the children all calling her 'Aunty Grace'.
World War II
![The British Army in France 1940 F4074](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/The_British_Army_in_France_1940_F4074.jpg)
In 1939, Fields suffered a breakdown and went to
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
to recuperate.
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
was declared while she was recovering in Capri, and Fields – still very ill after her cancer surgery – threw herself into her work and signed up for the
Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) headed by her old film producer,
Basil Dean
Basil Herbert Dean CBE (27 September 1888 – 22 April 1978) was an English actor, writer, producer and director in the theatre and in cinema. He founded the Liverpool Repertory Company in 1911 and in the First World War, after organising unoff ...
. Fields travelled to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
to entertain the troops in the midst of air-raids, performing on the backs of open lorries and in war-torn areas. During the war, she also paid for all servicemen and women to travel free on public transport within the boundaries of Rochdale.
Following her divorce from Archie Pitt, she married Italian-born film director
Monty Banks
Montague (Monty) Banks (18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950), born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the UK and the United States.
Career
Banks was born Mario ...
in March 1940. However, because Banks remained an Italian citizen and would have been interned in the United Kingdom after Italy declared war in 1940, she went with him to North America, possibly at the suggestion of
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
who told her to "Make American Dollars, not British Pounds", which she did, in aid of the
Navy League and the Spitfire Fund. She and Banks moved to their home in
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Fields occasionally returned to Britain, performing in factories and army camps around the country. After their initial argument,
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
offered her an official apology.
Although she continued to spend much of her time entertaining troops and otherwise supporting the war effort outside Britain, this led to a decline in her popularity at home. She performed many times for
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
troops, travelling as far as
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
, where she received an enthusiastic response from Australian personnel. In late 1945, she toured the
South Pacific Islands
Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...
.
Post-war career
After the war, Fields continued her career less actively. She began performing in Britain again in 1948, headlining 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 an ...
over
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
who was also on the bill. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
gave her her own radio show in 1947, dubbed ''Our Gracie's Working Party'', in which 12 towns were visited by Fields. It featured a live show of music and entertainment broadcast weekly, compered by Fields, who also performed, with local talents also on the bill. The tour commenced in Gracie's hometown of Rochdale. Like many BBC shows at the time, this show transferred to
Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg).
The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
in 1950, sponsored by Wisk soap powder.
Billy Ternent
Billy Ternent (10 October 1899 – 23 March 1977) was a British orchestra leader, popular from the 1940s to the 1970s, best known for backing Frank Sinatra and his work at the London Palladium.
Biography
Ternent was born Frederick William Terne ...
and his Orchestra accompanied her.
In 1951, Fields took part in the cabaret which closed the
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people:
...
celebrations. She proved popular once more, though never regaining the status she enjoyed in the 1930s. She continued recording, but made no more films, moving more towards light classical music as popular tastes changed, often adopting a religious theme. She continued into the new medium of
LP record
The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...
s, and recorded new versions of her old favourite songs, as well as contemporary tracks, to 'liven things up a bit'.
Her husband, Monty Banks, died on 8 January 1950
of a heart attack, while travelling on the
Orient Express
The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...
. On 18 February 1952 in Capri, Fields married Boris Alperovici (d.1983), a Romanian radio repairman.
She claimed that he was the love of her life, and that she couldn't wait to propose to him. She proposed on Christmas Day in front of friends and family. They married at the Church of St Stefano on Capri in a quiet ceremony, before honeymooning in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
She lived on her beloved
Isle of Capri for the remainder of her life, at her home ''La Canzone Del Mare'', a swimming and restaurant complex which Fields' home overlooked. It was favoured by many Hollywood stars during the 1950s, with regular guests including
Richard Burton
Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
,
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
,
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...
and
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
.
Later years
Fields began to work less, but still toured the UK under the management of
Harold Fielding
Harold Lewis Fielding (4 December 1916 - 27 September 2003) was an English theatre producer.
Fielding was one of Britain's foremost theatrical producers who produced several musicals, including ''Mame'', '' Charlie Girl'', ''Half a Sixpence'', ...
(manager of top artists of the day such as
Tommy Steele
Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star.
After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele reco ...
and
Max Bygraves
Walter William Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012), best known by the stage name Max Bygraves (adopted in honour of Max Miller), was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, s ...
). Her UK tours proved popular, and in the mid-1960s she gave farewell tours in Australia, Canada and America; the last performance was recorded and released years later.
In 1956, Fields was the first actress to portray
Miss Marple
Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Chr ...
on screen,
in a US Television (
Goodyear Playhouse
''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television.
Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the ''Philco Tel ...
) production of
Agatha Christie's
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
''
A Murder is Announced''. The production featured
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Glob ...
and
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 19 ...
, and predates the
Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford, (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, television and film.
She came to national attention following World War II in the film adaptations of Noël Coward's '' Blithe Spirit'', and Osca ...
films by five years. She also starred in Television productions of ''
A Tale of Two Cities
''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the ...
'' (
DuPont Show of the Month
''DuPont Show of the Month'' was a 90-minute television anthology series that aired monthly on CBS from 1957 to 1961. The DuPont Company also sponsored a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology series hosted by June Allyson, ''The DuPont Show with Jun ...
, 1958), ''
The Old Lady Shows Her Medals
''The Old Lady Shows Her Medals'' is a play by J. M. Barrie. It was first published in his collection ''Echoes of the War'' in 1918, which also included the stories ''The New Word'', ''Barbara's Wedding'' and ''A Well-Remembered Voice''. It is set ...
'' (
United States Steel Hour
''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the U.S. Steel, United States Steel Corpor ...
)– for which she won a
Sylvania Award
The Sylvania Awards were given by the television manufacturer Sylvania Electric Products for various categories of television performance, broadcasting, scripts, music and other aspects of production between 1951 and 1959. In their day they rivaled ...
(1956) and received an
EMMY Award nomination for Best Single Performance by an Actress (1957) – and ''
Mrs 'Arris Goes to Paris
''Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris'' is a novel written by Paul Gallico and published in 1958. In the United Kingdom, it was published as ''Flowers for Mrs Harris''. It was the first in a series of four books about the adventures of a London charwoman. P ...
'' (
Studio One), which was remade years later with
Angela Lansbury
Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...
as Mrs Harris, a charwoman in search of a fur coat (or a
Christian Dior
Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...
gown in Lansbury's case).
In 1957, her single "
Around the World" peaked at No.8 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, with her recording of "
Little Donkey
Little Donkey is a popular Christmas carol, written by British songwriter Eric Boswell in 1959, which describes the journey by Mary the mother of Jesus to Bethlehem on the donkey of the title.
The first version to chart was by Gracie Fields, fo ...
" reaching No.20 in November 1959.
The sheet music for the song was the UK's best-seller for seven weeks.
She was the subject of ''
This Is Your Life'' on 20 March 1960, 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 the
BBC Television Theatre
Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...
.
Fields regularly performed in TV appearances, being the first entertainer to perform on
Val Parnell
Valentine Charles Parnell (14 February 1892 – 22 September 1972) was a British television managing director and presenter, actor and theatrical impresario.
A former staple of stage production, his career in television started with the launc ...
's ''
Sunday Night at the London Palladium
''Tonight at the London Palladium'' is a British television variety show that is hosted from the London Palladium theatre in the West End. Originally produced by ATV for the ITV network from 1955 to 1969, it went by its original name ''Sunday ...
''. Fields had two Christmas TV specials in 1960 and 1961, singing her old favourites and new songs in front of a studio audience. 1971 saw ''A Gift For Gracie'', another TV special presented by Fields and
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series ''Sunday Night ...
. This followed on from her popularity on ''
Stars on Sunday
''Stars on Sunday'' was an unsuccessful Sunday tabloid newspaper in Ireland which went bankrupt in May 2003 just two months after its launch the previous March.
History
''Stars on Sunday'' was funded by the business partnership of John Donnelly ...
'', a religious programme on Britain's
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
, in which well-known performers sang hymns or read extracts from the Bible. Fields was the most requested artist on the show.
In 1968, Fields headlined a two-week Christmas stint at the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
's prestigious
Batley Variety Club
Batley Variety Club was a variety club in Batley, West Yorkshire, England. During its existence, the club staged concerts by performers including Louis Armstrong, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Roy Orbison, Eartha Kitt, Morecambe and Wise, Ge ...
. "I was born over a fish and chip shop – I never thought I'd be singing in one!" claimed Fields during the performance recorded by the BBC.
In 1975, her album ''The Golden Years'' reached No. 48 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
.
In 1978, she opened the Gracie Fields Theatre, near
Oulder Hill Leadership Academy
Oulder Hill Leadership Academy (formerly Oulder Hill Community School) is a co-educational secondary school for 11- to 16-year-olds, located in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England.
History
The school fully opened to 13–16 years in 1977, u ...
in her native
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
, performing a concert there recorded by the BBC to open the show. Fields appeared in ten
Royal Variety Performance
The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...
s from 1928 onwards, her last being in 1978 at the age of 80, when she appeared as a surprise guest in the finale and sang her theme song, "Sally".
[
Her final TV appearance came in January 1979 when she appeared in a special octogenarian edition of '']The Merv Griffin Show
''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 a ...
'' in America, in which she sang the song she popularised in America, " The Biggest Aspidistra in the World". Fields was notified by her confidant John Taylor, while she was in America, that she had received the Queen's invitation to become a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(in the 1979 New Years Honours List), to which she replied: "Yes I'll accept, yes I can kneel – but I might need help getting back up, and yes I'll attend – as long as they don't call Boris 'Buttons'." Seven months before her death in 1979, she was invested as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
.
Death
Fields' health declined in July 1979, when she contracted pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
after performing an open-air concert on the Royal Yacht
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...
which was docked in Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
's harbour. After a spell in hospital, she seemed to be recovering, but died on 27 September 1979. The press reported she died holding her husband's hand, but in reality he was at their Anacapri home at the time, while Gracie was home with the housekeeper, Irena. She is buried in Capri's Protestant Cemetery, in a white marble tomb. Her coffin was carried by staff from her restaurant.
Honours and popular culture
Fields was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in the 1938 New Years Honours. In February 1979, she was invested as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
seven months before her death at her home on Capri, aged 81.
Fields was the mystery guest on the 1 May 1955 edition of ''What's My Line?
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'' After Bennett Cerf
Bennett Alfred Cerf (May 25, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American writer, publisher, and co-founder of the American publishing firm Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearanc ...
asked about one of her songs, Dorothy Kilgallen
Dorothy Mae Kilgallen (July 3, 1913 – November 8, 1965) was an American columnist, journalist, and television game show panelist. After spending two semesters at the College of New Rochelle, she started her career shortly before her 18th birth ...
correctly guessed it was her. Fields was granted the Freedom of Rochdale. The local theatre in Rochdale, the Gracie Fields Theatre, was opened by her in 1978.
Following her death, she was referenced in the 1987 film ''Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to:
Film, television, and theater Film
* Wish You Were Here (1987 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland
* Wish You Were Here (2012 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 ...
'', the 1996 film '' Intimate Relations'', and the 2006 film ''The History Boys
''The History Boys'' is a play by British playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Royal National Theatre in London on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where 185 performances were staged be ...
''.
In early 1985, an episode of the BBC television series ''Halls of Fame,'' which presented a nostalgic look at various famous regional theatres, included a medley of Fields' songs at the Palace Theatre, Manchester
The Palace Theatre, Manchester, is one of the main theatres in Manchester, England. It is situated on Oxford Street, on the north-east corner of the intersection with Whitworth Street. The Palace and its sister theatre the Opera House on Quay Str ...
, sung by Marti Webb
Marti Webb (born 13 December 1943) is an English actress and singer, who appeared on stage in ''Evita (musical), Evita'', before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one-woman show ''Tell Me on a Sunday'' in 1980. This included her biggest hit si ...
. At the 1985 Royal Variety Performance
The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...
, Su Pollard
Susan Georgina Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is an English actress and singer. Her career has spanned over 45 years; she is most famous for her role in the sitcom ''Hi-de-Hi!''. She also appeared in '' You Rang, M'Lord?'' and ''Oh, Doctor Beec ...
performed "Sally" in tribute to her. The following year's Performance also featured a section with a medley of Fields' songs, again sung by Webb.
On 3 October 2009, the final train to run on the Oldham Loop before it closed to be converted to a tramway, a Class 156, was named in her honour. In September 2016, a statue of Fields was unveiled outside Rochdale Town Hall
Rochdale Town Hall is a Victorian-era municipal building in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is "widely recognised as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country",. and is recorded in the National Heritage List for Engla ...
, which was the first statue of a woman to be erected for over a century in Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
.
''Gracie!
''Gracie!'' is a biopic television film on the life of Gracie Fields, with Jane Horrocks playing Fields and Tom Hollander her husband Monty Banks. It covers her career before the Second World War and the decline in her popularity during the war.
...
'' was a 2009 biopic TV film on her life, with Jane Horrocks playing Fields and Tom Hollander her husband Monty Banks. It covers her career before the Second World War and the decline in her popularity during the war.
Notable songs
* "We're All living at the Cloisters"
* "You Didn't Want Me When You Had Me"
* "Sally
Sally may refer to:
People
*Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name
Military
*Sortie (siege warfare), Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port
*Sally, ...
"
* "The Kerry Dance"
* "Sing As We Go"
* " Thing-Ummy-Bob (That's Gonna Win The War)"
* " The Biggest Aspidistra in the World"
* "Three Green Bonnets"
* "I Took my Harp to a Party"
* "The Trek Song"
* "Pedro the Fisherman
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Galician language, Galician name for ''Peter (given name), Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic fo ...
"
* "Only a Glass of Champagne"
* " Speak Softly, Love"
* "Angels Guard Thee"
* " Around the World"
* "Nuns' Chorus"
* "Little Donkey
Little Donkey is a popular Christmas carol, written by British songwriter Eric Boswell in 1959, which describes the journey by Mary the mother of Jesus to Bethlehem on the donkey of the title.
The first version to chart was by Gracie Fields, fo ...
"
* " Now Is the Hour"
* "The Carefree Heart"
* " The Isle of Capri"
* "The Woodpecker Song
"The Woodpecker Song" (''Reginella Campagnola'') is originally an Italian song. The music was written by Eldo Di Lazzaro in 1939, while the Italian lyrics were written by Bruno Cherubini (pseudonym "C. Bruno"). The English lyrics were written by H ...
"
* "Walter, Walter (Lead Me to the Altar)"
* " Young at Heart"
* "Christopher Robin is Saying His Prayers"
* "Far Away"
* "If I Had a Talking Picture of You"
* "Home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
"
* "Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye
"Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye" is a song by Phil Park and Harry Parr-Davies, made popular during the Second World War by Gracie Fields. It appeared in Fields' 1939 film ''Shipyard Sally''. Its use in the film is patriotic, Stephen C. Sh ...
"
* "The Holy City
A holy city is a city important to the history or faith of a specific religion. Such cities may also contain at least one headquarters complex (often containing a religious edifice, seminary, shrine, residence of the leading cleric of the religi ...
"
* "When I Grow Too Old to Dream
"When I Grow Too Old to Dream" is a popular song with music by Sigmund Romberg and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, published in 1934.
The song was introduced by Evelyn Laye and Ramon Novarro in the film ''The Night Is Young'' (1935). It has sin ...
"
* "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake
"If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" is a popular song written by Al Hoffman, Bob Merrill, and Clem Watts and published in 1950.
In the U.S, the best known version of the song was recorded by Eileen Barton in January 1950. Joe Lipman ...
"
* "The Twelfth of Never
"The Twelfth of Never" is a popular song written in 1956 and first recorded by Johnny Mathis the following year. The title is a popular expression, which is used as the date of a future occurrence that will never come to pass. In the case of t ...
"
* "Those Were The Days Those Were the Days may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Those Were the Days'' (Johnny Mathis album) (1968)
* ''Those Were the Days'' (Cream album) (1997)
* ''Those Were the Days'' (Dolly Parton album) (2005)
* '' Those Were the Days – The Best of L ...
" (performed live at The Batley Variety Club in 1968)
* "Singin' in the Bathtub"
* "Stop and Shop at the Co-op Shop"
* "I Never Cried So Much in All My Life"
* "Take Me To Your Heart" (alternative English lyrics to "La Vie en rose
"La Vie en rose" (; ) is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the US in 1950, when seven versions reached the ''Billboard ...
")
Filmography
Box office ranking
For a number of years, British film exhibitors voted her among the top ten stars in Britain at the box office via an annual poll in the ''Motion Picture Herald''.
*1936 – 1st (3rd most popular star over all)
*1937 – 1st (3rd overall)
*1938 – 2nd
*1939 - 2nd
*1940 - 3rd
*1941 - 8th
(Portrait of Gracie Fields with flowers in her hair, 194-?) (15935112995).jpg, Portrait of Gracie Fields with flowers in her hair, 194-?
Gracie Fields With the British East Indies Fleet, Trincomalee, Ceylon, 20 October 1945 A30899.jpg, Gracie Fields with the British East Indies Fleet, Trincomalee, Ceylon, 20th of October 1945.
SLNSW 20575 Queue at Lyceum Theatre Gracie Fields taken for British Empire Films.jpg, Queue at Lyceum Theatre for a Gracie Fields film, taken for British Empire Films.
GracieFieldsStageDoorCanteen.jpg, Gracie Fields, still from The Stage Door Canteen.
Dame Gracie Fields house.jpg, Dame Gracie Fields house.
Statue of Dame Gracie Fields in Rochdale, Lancashire, England.jpg, Statue of Dame Gracie Fields in Rochdale, Lancashire, England.
References
Sources
*
*Lassandro, Sebastian (2019). ''Pride of Our Alley, vol 1 and 2.'' Bear Manor Media.
*Lassandro, Sebastian (2020). ''Gracie's War.'' Independently published.
*''Gracie Fields: The Authorised Biography'' (1995) by David Bret
David Bret (born 8 November 1954) is a British author of show business biographies. He chiefly writes on the private life of film stars and singers.
Life
Born in Paris, France, in 1954, Bret was adopted by an English couple and raised in Wath ...
*"Gracie Fields" by Jeffrey Richards in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''
Further reading
*
*
* – Paperback
*
* (First published 1991)
* – Paperback
* – Paperback . Digitalised 2002
*
*
* (First published 1938)
External links
*
*
The Official Dame Gracie Fields website
Gracie Fields
at Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...
Gracie Fields: A Biography by Joan Moules
Photographs and literature
* Gracie Fields and Thomas Thompson
Gracie Fields interview
on Parkinson, 05/11/1977
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Gracie
1898 births
1979 deaths
20th-century English actresses
Actresses awarded British damehoods
Actresses from Lancashire
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Deaths from pneumonia in Campania
English comedy musicians
English expatriates in Italy
English expatriates in the United States
English film actresses
English Protestants
English television actresses
English women comedians
Music hall performers
Musicians from Lancashire
People from Rochdale
Actors from Rochdale
Singers awarded knighthoods
20th-century English singers
20th-century English comedians
British comedy actresses
20th-century English women singers
British novelty song performers
People from Peacehaven