Leah Madeleine "Madge" Elliott (12 May 1896 – 8 August 1955) was a UK born Australian dancer and actor who was the wife and stage partner of

Cyril Ritchard Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...

until her death.

Life

Elliott was born in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in London in 1896, but her family soon emigrated to Australia. Her mother, Frances Selina Curtis ( Heighton), and her father, Nicholas Phillipps Elliott, lived in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

in Queenland where her father was a surgeon and she went to Grammar School. Her family moved to Sydney and there she was taught by dancing teacher Minnie Hooper. By 1911 she was trained and working in the children's ballet at the Melba-Williamson Opera Co. Her dance teacher, Minnie Hooper, tried to pair her up with

who was a handsome actor, but he couldn't dance. Elliott rejected him but they later teamed up and were known as "Madge and Cyril" and they went on a tour of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The pair then appeared in ''

Yes, Uncle! ''Yes, Uncle!'' is a musical comedy by Austen Hurgon and George Arthurs, with music by Nat D. Ayer and lyrics by Clifford Grey (who also wrote ''The Bing Boys are Here'' and the following series of highly successful reviews). The story is based o ...

'' and '' Going Up'', both in 1918. They went their separate ways and Ritchard shared an apartment with

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...

in New York while he appeared there and Madge made her first West End appearance in 1925. Ritchard joined her in London and they reestablished the dancing partnership. In 1927,

Laddie Cliff Laddie Cliff (3 September 1891–8 December 1937) was a British dancer, choreographer, actor, producer, writer, and director of comedy, musical theatre and film. He was noted for his versatility. His many London West End theatre appearances and ...

booked them to star in ''Lady Luck'' at the

Carlton Theatre The Carlton Theatre was a London West End dual-purpose theatre-cum-cinema built in 1927 for Adolph Zukor's Paramount Pictures. It continues in use as a cinema and is now called Empire Haymarket. It was designed by Frank Verity and Sam Bever ...

in 1927. In 1932, they returned to Australia where they became very popular. Madge was the centre of attention, with Ritchard as her partner. They appeared in a number of musicals in Australia including ''Blue Roses''. Elliott and Ritchard married at

St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians (colloquially, St Mary's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the cathedra, seat of the Catholic Bishops an ...

, on 16 September 1935. There were said to be 5,000 onlookers at the wedding, with Elliott's four-yard veil having a starring role. Ritchard's career took off in 1954. Elliott died in

Lenox Hill Hospital Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450-bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the region's many unive ...

, New York City, of bone cancer in 1955.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Leah Madeleine (Madge) 1896 births 1955 deaths British emigrants to Australia Actresses from Sydney 20th-century Australian dancers 20th-century Australian women