Ouida MacDermott Princes Theatre Bristol 1908

Ouida MacDermott (24 May 1889 – 29 October 1980) was a British singer and actress whose career was mainly in

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 ...

and as a

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 ...

during the

Edwardian era The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

. She appeared on one of the first television broadcasts in 1930. She was born on the Strand in London as Annie Louise Mary MacDermott, the youngest child of

G. H. MacDermott Gilbert Hastings MacDermott (born John Farrell, 27 February 1845 – 8 May 1901) was an English lion comique, who was one of the biggest stars of the Victorian English music hall. He performed under the name of The Great MacDermott, and was wel ...

, an English

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 ...

and Annie Milburn. Her father was already married to Mary Ann Stradwick, with whom he had a son, but all four of his

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

children with Milburn took their father's name. Following her father on to the stage, MacDermott played Princess Arawanha in the

''Robinson Crusoe and His Man Friday'' at the Lyceum Theatre in London (1907–08) and the title role in the

''Aladdin'' 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 ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

(1908–09). In July 1910, she could be seen at the Argyle Theatre of Varieties in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, whilst the following year, she was at the Palace Theatre of Varieties in Hull. She toured in the musical comedy ''Business As Usual'' in 1915, and the following year, returned to pantomime in ''Dick Whittington and His Cat'' at the Gaiety Theatre in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. MacDermott appeared in ''Fiddle-De-Dee'' at Dublin's Theatre Royal in 1918, and played Prince Glorio in the pantomime ''The Tale of Cinderella'' at the

Scala Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was kn ...

(1928–29). When the diarist and critic

James Agate James Evershed Agate (9 September 1877 – 6 June 1947) was an English diarist and theatre critic between the two world wars. He took up journalism in his late twenties and was on the staff of ''The Manchester Guardian'' in 1907–1914. He later ...

went on a round of pantomime visits "with the intention of rediscovering not only my lost youth but a lost young man, the Prince Charming of long ago" it was in MacDermott that Agate found "him whom I sought – the fair, the not too refrigerative, the inexpressive he of long ago . . . ruffling it with inimitable grace and swagger. . . . She, in short, was Prince Charming. For all that, I fancied I detected a shade of uneasiness in Miss MacDermott's gesture. Might it not be out of date to slap a thigh? No, dear lady and dear boy! Slap on! Slap ever! One heart, at least, beats for you." An early television pioneer, a performance by MacDermott was broadcast by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

on 10 April 1930, days after the very first television transmission. She married at least three times: firstly, in 1909, to

artiste Sydney Arthur Leon Wood, the brother of Matilda Wood, who was better known as the performer

Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as " T ...

. The marriage was dissolved in 1911 after her adultery with the music hall performer

Jay Laurier James Alexander Chapman (31 March 1879 – 8 April 1969), known by his stage name, Jay Laurier, was an English actor. Early in his career he was a music hall performer, but by the late 1930s he was playing in the works of Shakespeare at the S ...

. She and Laurier (aka James Alexander Chapman) married in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in December 1912; they were divorced in 1916, with Laurier citing John Charles Harrison. MacDermott married Charles Harrison in Edinburgh in May 1917; they divorced in 1922, with Harrison citing Thomas Barrett. She deserted her family, including her 6-year-old son, to return to the stage. In 1939, and listed as 'divorced', she was living with her brother James and his wife at Pound Cottage in

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. She died at Nevetts Old People's Home in

Buntingford Buntingford is a market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It lies next to the River Rib and is located on the historic Roman road, Ermine Street. As a result of its location, it ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, in 1980, aged 91.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Annie Louise Mary Macdermott: 1980 - Ancestry.com
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacDermott, Ouida 1889 births 1980 deaths People from London Music hall performers English women singers Vaudeville performers Singers from London English stage actresses English television actresses 20th-century English actresses