Winifred Emms (4 April 1883 – 28 September 1972), best 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 ...

Hetty King, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

entertainer who performed in the

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 ...

s as a

male impersonator Drag kings are mostly female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of an individual or group routine. A typical drag show may incorporate dancing, acting, stand-up comedy and singing, eit ...

over some 70 years.

Early life

She was born in New Brighton,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, where her itinerant family were living temporarily; they were usually based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Her father, William Emms (1856–1954), was a comedian and musician who performed as Billy King and ran Uncle Billy's Minstrels, a troupe who constantly travelled around the country with a portable theatre and caravans. As a child, she began appearing in her father's shows, imitating popular performers of the day. She adopted the name Hetty King when she first appeared on the stage of the Shoreditch Theatre, at the age of six.

Career

King started performing as a solo act in music halls in around 1902, doing impersonations of such stars as

Gus Elen Ernest Augustus Elen (22 July 1862 – 17 February 1940) was an English music hall singer and comedian. He achieved success from 1891, performing cockney songs including "Arf a Pint of Ale", "It's a Great Big Shame", "Down the Road" and "If It ...

and

Vesta Victoria Vesta Victoria (born Victoria Lawrence, 26 November 1873 – 7 April 1951) was an English music hall singer and comedian. She was famous for her performances of songs such as " Waiting at the Church" and "Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow Wow", both ...

. In her early career, she perfected an impression of the successful ''

lion comique The ''lion comique'' was a type of popular entertainer in the Victorian music halls, a parody of upper-class toffs or "swells" made popular by Alfred Vance and G. H. MacDermott, among others. They were artistes whose stage appearance, resplenden ...

'',

George Lashwood George Lashwood (born Edward George Wright; 25 April 1863 – 20 January 1942) was a popular English singer and comedian of the Edwardian era, who performed in music halls throughout the country, especially in London's East End and at seaside l ...

.Richard Anthony Baker, ''British Music Hall: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2014, , pp.171-174 For the week commencing 10 December 1904, she topped the programme at the newly opened (for 10 days) Empire Theatre in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

, billed as "The Society Gem". It was her first of many appearances at this theatre, part of W. H. Broadhead's theatre circuit. She started appearing regularly as a male impersonator from 1905, when she starred in ''

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 ''Dick ...

'' at the Kennington Theatre. Thereafter she appeared regularly, dressed as a " swell". In 1907, King travelled to the United States with the Canadian comedian

R. G. Knowles Richard George Knowles (October 7, 1858 – January 1, 1919) was a Canadian-American singer and comedian, who was successful in the British music halls and internationally in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, billed as "The Very Peculia ...

, and broke all records at the New York Theatre, performing songs including "I Want a

Gibson Girl The Gibson Girl was the personification of the feminine ideal of physical attractiveness as portrayed by the pen-and-ink illustrations of artist Charles Dana Gibson during a 20-year period that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries in th ...

" and "When I Get Back To

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

". After returning to England, she began performing the song "

Ship Ahoy! (All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor) "Ship Ahoy! (All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor)" is an English music hall song from 1908, written by Bennett Scott and A. J. Mills of the Star music publishing company in London. Some sources credit Scott alone; others additionally credit their ...

", written by

Bennett Scott Bennett Scott (12 October 1871 – 1 June 1930)Richard Anthony Baker, ''British Music Hall: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2014, , pp.154-156 was an English writer of music hall songs. Born in London, of Jewish background, he started wo ...

and A. J. Mills. She said that she first sang it at the

Liverpool Empire The Liverpool Empire Theatre is a theatre on the corner of Lime Street in Liverpool, England. The playhouse, which opened in 1925, is the second one to be built on the site. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in the United Kingdom and can ...

in 1908, but it did not become successful until 1909, when it became popular and, towards the end of the year, was described as the greatest

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 ...

hit for four years. It became her

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

, which she continued to perform throughout her career. Her career spanned both World Wars, when she performed in the uniform of either a soldier or a sailor. In the

First World War 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 toured in France and Belgium, entertaining the troops. In 1915, she appeared with her husband, Ernest Lotinga, at a fundraiser for '' The Evening News'' Prisoners of War Fund, staged at the Prince of Wales Hotel in

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...

. The gathering included some 30 wounded soldiers. All the artists gave their services for free. In 1916, her act included "Songs the Soldiers Sing", in which she sang some of the less ribald songs invented by soldiers in the trenches. By around 1930, King was reputedly the highest-paid music hall star in the world. Much of her success was due to her painstaking observation of the mannerisms of such men as sailors and soldiers. She learned how to march, salute, light a pipe, and swing a

kitbag Kitbag Ltd. is a England sports retailer. The company was purchased by Fanatics, Inc. from Findel PLC in February 2016 for £11.5M, previously the company was purchased by Findel PLC in October 2006 from European Home Retail plc. Stores ...

of the right weight, so as to give the correct appearance of a man, while always ensuring that "her femininity shone through, sometimes winking at the audience as if to let them in on the subterfuge". King also played 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 Planch ...

" in many

s, and appeared on

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 th ...

, being described in 1933 as the "most virile of male impersonators... broadcasting favourite of long standing." King continued to entertain until the end of her life, and regularly performed in the United States, Australia and South Africa. By the late 1930s, she was seen as a

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...

act. She toured Britain from 1948 as one of the veteran music hall performers in the show ''Thanks for the Memory'' produced by Don Ross. King was known for her insistence on receiving top billing, and was described as "stubborn, uncompromising and a legend in the business for cantankerous and temperamental behaviour, horefused to consider any other type of performance as fashions changed." Stephen Dixon, "Hetty King", ''Voices of Variety'', 2013
Retrieved 10 December 2020

Personal life and death

In 1901, she married actor and writer

Ernie Lotinga Ernest Lotinga (19 March 1875 – 28 October 1951) was a British comedian and film actor. Lotinga became known for the Josser character whom he portrayed in a series of comedy films during the 1930s. Biography Lotinga was born in Sunderland into ...

(1876–1951), who was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. He was a music hall comedian, singer and theatre proprietor, billed as Dan Roe from 1898, who appeared in films in the 1920s and 1930s, often as the comic character PC Jimmy Josser. They had one child and divorced in 1917, a

decree nisi A decree nisi or rule nisi () is a court order that will come into force at a future date unless a particular condition is met. Unless the condition is met, the ruling becomes a decree absolute (rule absolute), and is binding. Typically, the condi ...

being granted on 16 March by Sir Samuel Evans on the grounds of King's misconduct with the vaudeville artist and actor

Jack Norworth John Godfrey Knauff (January 5, 1879 – September 1, 1959), known professionally as Jack Norworth, was an American songwriter, singer and vaudeville performer. Biography Norworth is credited as writer of a number of Tin Pan Alley hits. He wr ...

. The divorce was not contested.''Cambrian Daily Leader'' 23 March 1917 Her second marriage, in 1918, was to Alexander Lamond. King's half-sister, Olive Emms, was also an actress, who often travelled with her and acted as her dresser; her half-brother, Harold Emms, wrote many of King's songs with his French wife, Francine. King died in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, London, in 1972, aged 89, and was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

Commemoration

On 8 November 2010 a commemorative

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

was erected to King at her last residence in

by the theatre charity

The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America and the Theatre and Film Guild of Great Britain and America is a registered theatre charity and non-profit making theatre organisation based in London. The Guild's patrons include Brian Croucher ...

Songs recorded

" *"Piccadilly" *"Tell her the Old, Old Story" *"Down by the Riverside" *"I'm Going Away" *"Now I'm Home Again" *"Bye Bye Bachelor Days" *"Love 'em and Leave 'em Alone" *"Fill 'em up" *"Oh Girls, why do you Love the Soldiers" *"What Does A Sailor Care?" * "I'm Afraid to Come Home in the Dark"

Film

Hetty King appeared in the movie ''

Lilacs in the Spring ''Lilacs in the Spring'' is a 1954 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Errol Flynn and David Farrar. The film was made at Elstree Studios with sets designed by the art director William C. Andrews. Shot in T ...

'' (1954), which was directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

and starred

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in the British cinema ...

and

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...

. Towards the end of her career, aged 87, she appeared in a film entitled ''Hetty King – Performer'' (1970).

References

External links

* *''Kindly Leave the Stage'' R Wilmut *Emms family
terminated link---> *''Hetty King: Performer'' (1970) (TV documentary)
Ernie Lotinga – Filmography
* Interviewed on BBC Desert Island Discs 14 April 1969 – Can be heard via BBC iplayer {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Hetty 1883 births 1972 deaths British drag kings English women comedians Vaudeville performers Music hall performers 20th-century English singers 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English comedians