Mabel Wennstrom Gibson (1901 – 1951) was an Australian singer and actor, best known for playing in musicals and operettas.

History

Gibson was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, a daughter of builder and Perth councillor Sydney "Sid" Gibson and his wife Catherine Charlotte Gibson, née Wennstrom (1879 – 2 May 1931). As a child, she studied piano under Richard J. Bastian, dancing under Flora Lewin and Alice Patten, and shone in juvenile pantomime. She passed the L.A.B. examinations in pianoforte, and won a Dame Nellie Melba Scholarship, to study at the Albert Street Conservatorium. She played in several amateur theatre groups before being engaged with

J. C. Williamson's J. C. Williamson's, formerly Williamson, Garner, & Musgrove and Williamson and Musgrove, was an Australian theatrical management company and theatre owner. With its beginnings in the theatrical productions of J. C. Williamson and his p ...

The Gibson family moved from the Mt Lawley suburb of Perth to the Melbourne suburb of Northcote sometime around 1925. Her first engagements with J.C.W. were as Clarice Hardwicke's understudy in ''

Sybil Sibyls were oracular women believed to possess prophetic powers in ancient Greece. Sybil or Sibyl may also refer to: Films * ''Sybil'' (1921 film) * ''Sybil'' (1976 film), a film starring Sally Field * ''Sybil'' (2007 film), a remake of the 19 ...

'' and as one of the trio of sisters in '' Lilac Time''. She went on to play Therese in '' Ma Mie Rosette'', Margot Spreckles in ''

'', Natalie in ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'', Juanita in ''

A Southern Maid ''A Southern Maid'' is an operetta in three acts composed by Harold Fraser-Simson, with a book by Dion Clayton Calthrop and Harry Graham and lyrics by Harry Graham and Harry Miller. Additional music was provided by Ivor Novello and George ...

'', Estelle in ''

The Street Singer A street singer is a street performance artist who performs by singing. Street Singer or The Street Singer may also refer to: Film and theatre * ''The Street Singer'' (1912 film), an American short silent film * ''The Street Singer'' (1937 film) ...

'', Annetta in ''

The Lady of the Rose ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' by

Jean Gilbert Jean Gilbert (11 February 1879 – 20 December 1942), born Max Winterfeld, was a German operetta composer and conductor. Life and career Gilbert was born in Hamburg into a family of musicians; his ancestors were cantors of the Jewish communi ...

and Harry Graham, Dora in ''

Funny Face ''Funny Face'' is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical ''Funny F ...

'', and Vittoria in ''

The Maid of the Mountains ''The Maid of the Mountains'', called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or "Edwardian" musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W. Tate, lyrics by Harry Graham an ...

'', all supporting roles. In Gilbert and Sullivan, she took a variety of roles — soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto — the last in trios with the sopranos Strella Wilson and Patti Russell. She was applauded for her Phoebe in ''

The Yeomen of the Guard ''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...

'' She appeared as a hospital nurse in the film ''

Diggers The Diggers were a group of religious and political dissidents in England, associated with agrarian socialism. Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard, amongst many others, were known as True Levellers in 1649, in reference to their split from ...

'', aka ''Dinkum Diggers'', produced at

Efftee Studios Efftee Studios was an early Australian film and theatre production studio, established by F.W. Thring (the name 'Efftee' deriving from his initials, 'FT' for Francis Thring) in 1930. It existed until Thring's death in 1935. Initially Efftee Films ...

Pat Hanna George Patrick "Pat" Hanna (born 18 March 1888 in Whitianga, New Zealand – 24 October 1973 in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England) was a New Zealand-born film producer, he was a soldier of the First World War who entertained post-war audience ...

. In 1933 she left for London where, to avoid confusion with another performer of a similar name, she took the stage name "Catherine Vennstrom", echoing her mother's birthname, and in London's West End starred in

Lawrence Wright Lawrence Wright (born August 2, 1947) is an American writer and journalist, who is a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, and fellow at the Center for Law and Security at the New York University School of Law. Wright is best known as th ...

's revue ''On With the Show'' at the

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

. She left for America, where she played Adelina von Hagen in

Edward Locke Edward J. Locke (1869–1945) was an American playwright born in England. He became a theatre and vaudeville actor while still in his teens. He wrote some vaudeville sketches and plays, the most successful of which was ''The Climax'', which ha ...

's ''

The Climax The Climax may refer to: * The Climax (1944 film), a horror film * The Climax (1930 film), a thriller film * The Climax (illustration), a work of art by Aubrey Beardsley See also * Climax (disambiguation) Climax may refer to: Language arts * ...

'' opposite

Guy Bates Post Guy Bates Post (September 22, 1875 – January 16, 1968) was an American character actor who appeared in at least twenty-one Broadway plays and twenty-five Hollywood films over a career that spanned more than fifty years. He was perhaps best rem ...

at the Hollywood Playhouse, and appeared in James B. Fagan's '' And So To Bed'' at the

Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...

. She auditioned for film roles, but was told she was "an inch or two too tall". She returned to Sydney in June 1935, and landed a role in '' Ball at the Savoy'', opening at the Theatre Royal on 6 July 1935. She married an American, Paul Hebrick Long, at

St Mark's Church, Darling Point St Mark's Church is an active Anglican church in Darling Point, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of a significant local heritage group that includes the church, rectory, and adjacent cottage. The group forms part of a la ...

on 29 October 1938 and moved to Ohio, where she died in 1951. Her sister Jean Gibson, a

chorine A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. Chorus line dancers in Broadway musicals and revues have been referred to by slang terms su ...

with J. C. Williamson's, left for Germany in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Mabel 1901 births 1951 deaths 20th-century Australian women singers Australian musical theatre actresses People from Perth, Western Australia