Grace Palotta (c. 1870 – 21 February 1959) was an Austrian-born actress and writer. She was a

Gaiety girl Gaiety Girls were the chorus girls in Edwardian musical comedies, beginning in the 1890s at the Gaiety Theatre, London, in the shows produced by George Edwardes. The popularity of this genre of musical theatre depended, in part, on the beautifu ...

in London, and toured in Australia several times between 1895 and 1918.

Early life

Palotta was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. She explained of her origins that her mother was "French and English", her father "Hungarian and Italian". She studied at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

Career

Grace Parlotta, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 8) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes MET DP831723

Palotta made her stage debut in London in 1893. She spent four years working for

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 ...

at the Gaiety Theatre, where she often played roles that highlighted her comic timing, her beauty, and her accented English, though her singing voice was not strong. She also performed at the Tivoli Theatre in London. She sometimes played breeches roles, including the Prince in a

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

based on

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

, and the principal boy role in ''Aladdin.'' She toured in the United States in 1904, and with the Hugh J. Ward company in Australia, and New Zealand, several times, from 1895 to 1918. Palotta had roles in ''The Shop Girl, All Abroad'', ''Trial by Jury,

The Circus Girl ''The Circus Girl'' is a musical theatre, musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and Walter Apllant (Palings), with lyrics by Harry Greenbank and Adrian Ross, music by Ivan Caryll, and additional music by Lionel Monckton. ...

'', ''

The Messenger Boy ''The Messenger Boy'' is a musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and Alfred Murray, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, with music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton, with additional numbers by Paul Rubens (composer), Paul Rubens ...

'', ''

A Runaway Girl ''A Runaway Girl'' is a musical comedy in two acts written in 1898 by Seymour Hicks and Harry Nicholls. The composer was Ivan Caryll, with additional music by Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Aubrey Hopwood and Harry Greenbank. It was produced by ...

, A Gentleman in Khaki'', ''

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 Leslie St ...

,'' ''Aladdin'', ''The New Clown'', and ''The Man from Mexico.'' Palotta was a popular subject of picture postcards. She also wrote light articles and stories for periodicals. Australian composer

May Summerbelle Annie May Constance Summerbelle (1867 – 1947) was an Australian composer of light classical and popular music. She was the third daughter of Captain William and Honoriah Summerbelle of Double Bay. Her sister, Stella Clare, married Francis Jo ...

dedicated a 1904 waltz titled 'Beaux Yeux' (Beautiful Eyes) to grace. Her photograph appears on the cover artwork.

Personal life

Palotta married Henry Samuel Kingston in 1888, in East Dereham,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. She lived in Melbourne during

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

. She lived in Vienna and Jersey in her later years. She died at a nursing home in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

, London in 1959, in her late eighties.

References

External links

Six portraits of Grace Palotta
at the National Portrait Gallery
Grace Palotta, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes
(1890); in the Jefferson R. Burdick Collection of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

Miss Grace Palotta
a postcard in the collection of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

Postcard 'Miss Grace Palotta'
(1909), from the

Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill. Although often de ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palotta, Grace Austrian actresses 1870 births 1959 deaths Year of birth uncertain