M'lita Dolores was born Mary Poole in Mollart Street,

Hanley Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. Hanley is the ''de facto'' city centre, having long been the ...

(

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

) in 1890, and was an accomplished

roller skater Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, sid ...

, trick cyclist, speciality dancer, and

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 ...

. She had a varied career in Variety as a noted character actress, child impersonator, and later made her name in

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

. Her big break came when she won a talent contest at the Imperial concert hall, Glass Street (later used as a skating rink), and went on to become a household name in between two world wars.

Career

It was as M'lita Dolores that she became one of the brightest

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 ...

stars of the West End in the 1920s before ending her career in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

as a

radio personality A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

in the 1950s and 1960s.

Notes and references

1. M'Lita's star shone bright - Article from: The Sentinel (Stoke-on-Trent UK) Article date: April 19, 2008.

External links

BFIImperial (Stoke-on-Trent)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolores, Mlita 1890 births Year of death missing People from Hanley, Staffordshire English stage actresses 20th-century English actresses English women comedians Comedians from Staffordshire Actresses from Staffordshire