Sarah Frances Louise Rudge (8 February 1870 – 1 September 1920), known professionally as Millie Hylton, was an English actress, dancer and

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 ...

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 ...

Early life

Sarah Frances Louise Rudge was born on 8 February 1870 on 22 Hope Street,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, to Annie Elizabeth (née Hemming) and Henry Rudge. Her father worked as brass founder and a chandelier maker, while her mother had a brief acting career in the Birmingham area. She was one of five sisters (collectively known as the

Rudge Sisters The Rudge Sisters were British actresses and dancers from Birmingham. Their father, Henry Rudge, was a brass founder and chandelier maker. Their mother, Elizabeth, had a brief acting career in the Birmingham area. They also had two brothers wh ...

): Letitia Elizabeth aka

Letty Lind Letitia Elizabeth Rudge (21 December 1861 – 27 August 1923), known professionally as Letty Lind, was an English actress, singer, dancer and acrobat, best known for her work in burlesque at the Gaiety Theatre, and in musical theatre at Daly's ...

, Elizabeth aka Adelaide Astor, Lydia aka Lydia Flopp (1877–1963) and Fanny aka Fanny Dango.Cruickshank, Graeme. "The Rudge Family: The Lives and Work of Letty Lind and her sisters", National Operatic and Dramatic Association newsletter, January 2005 Hylton was reputedly only four years old when she first went on the stage at the

Theatre Royal, Birmingham The Theatre Royal, until 1807 the New Street Theatre, or, colloquially, New Theatre, was a 2000-seat theatre located on New Street in Birmingham, England. It was erected in 1774 and demolished in 1956. The theatre was damaged by fire in 1792 ...

Career

Hylton started her career as a male impersonator in the music hall before she had turned 18, before being engaged by

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, London. She would make her debut there in 1886 in ''

Monte Cristo Jr. ''Monte Cristo Jr.'' was a Victorian burlesque with a libretto written by Richard Henry, a pseudonym for the writers Richard Butler and Henry Chance Newton. The score was composed by Meyer Lutz, Ivan Caryll, Hamilton Clarke, Tito Mattei, G. ...

'' Also at the Gaiety Theatre, Hylton portrayed the Genie of the Ring in a version of ''Aladdin''. After returning to the music halls, Hylton made her American debut in 1888 at

Tony Pastor Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes referr ...

's theatre in Long Beach and later performed at his theatre in New York. Afterwards, she toured with Pastor's theatre troupe. In 1890, she became the

at the

Theatre Royal, Brighton The Theatre Royal, Brighton is a theatre in Brighton, England presenting a range of West End and touring musicals and plays, along with performances of opera and ballet. History In 1806 the Prince of Wales (later George IV) gave Royal Assent for ...

. Following her return Hylton performed in the first

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

, '' In Town'', and as the titular role in the

Victorian burlesque Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian era, Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody music, parod ...

, ''Don Juan'' at the Gaiety Theatre (both in 1892). Her most famous songs were "The Rowdy-dowdy Boys", "Linger Longer Loo", and "The Last of the Dandies". In later life, she starred as the Abbess in ''Marie-Odile'' and as Mrs. Potash in ''

Potash and Perlmutter ''Potash and Perlmutter'' is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger. The film is based on an ethnic Jewish comedy with characters created by Montague Glass and Charles Klein for a 1913 Broadway play of the same name ...

''.

Personal life and death

From about 1891, for two years, she lived as the common law wife of variety agent Hugh J. Didcott, who had represented her since 1887. On 30 April 1894, Hylton married Henry Edward Clulow Sim in London. In 1895, Hylton gave birth to a daughter, Millie Sim, who would later become an actress. One year later, in 1896, Hylton sued Sim for divorce, alleging physical and verbal abuse, however they remained married until Sim's death from consumption in 1901. Hylton had been suffering from ill health and had undergone major surgery; she died at her home, 13 Langdale Gardens,

Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham District, Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of the ...

, from cancer on 1 September 1920, at the age of 50. She was buried at

Putney Vale Cemetery Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium in southwest London is located in Putney Vale, surrounded by Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park. It is located within of parkland. The cemetery was opened in 1891 and the crematorium in 1938. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hylton, Millie 1870 births 1920 deaths 19th-century English actresses 20th-century English actresses Actresses from Birmingham, West Midlands English stage actresses English female dancers Music hall performers Deaths from cancer in England