Violet Loraine (26 July 1886 – 18 July 1956) was an English

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

actress and singer.

Early life

She was born Violet Mary Tipton in

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, in 1886 and went on the stage as a chorus girl at the age of sixteen.

Musical revue

Her rise to fame came in April 1916 at the

Alhambra Theatre The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...

in the musical/revue ''

The Bing Boys Are Here ''The Bing Boys Are Here'', styled "A Picture of London Life, in a Prologue and Six Panels," is the first of a series of revues which played at the Alhambra Theatre, London during the last two years of World War I. The series included ''The Bing Bo ...

''. She was given the leading female part, Emma, opposite

George Robey Sir George Edward Wade, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (20 September 1869 – 29 November 1954),James Harding (music writer), Harding, James"Robey, George" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University P ...

playing Lucius Bing. It became one of the most popular musicals of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

era.

Recording and film

Her duet with Robey " If You Were the Only Girl (in the World)" became a "signature song" of the era and endured as a pop standard. She retired from the stage on her marriage on 22 September 1921 to Edward Raylton Joicey MC (1890–1955) and they had two sons, John and Richard. She returned to acting for the screen, appearing in ''

Britannia of Billingsgate ''Britannia of Billingsgate'' is a 1933 British musical comedy film directed by Sinclair Hill and starring Violet Loraine, Gordon Harker, Kay Hammond and John Mills. A family who work in the fish trade at Billingsgate Market encounter a film cr ...

'' (1933), a musical based on the play of the same name by Christine Jope-Slade and

Sewell Stokes Francis Martin Sewell Stokes (16 November 1902, London – 2 November 1979, London) was an English novelist, biographer, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and prison visitor. He collaborated on a number of occasions with his brother, Leslie ...

, followed by '' Road House'' in 1934.

Personal life

Violet Mary Joicey died in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

in 1956. Her brother was

Ernest Sefton Ernest Sefton (born as Ernest Henry Tipton; 13 January 1883 in Hackney, London – 5 December 1954) was a British film actor. He was the brother of Violet Loraine. Selected filmography * ''The Sign of Four'' (1932) * ''The Innocents of Ch ...

, also an actor.

Legacy

Research by the Kipling Society suggests that she was the thinly disguised music-hall singer upon whom

Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much o ...

modelled his character of "Vidal ("Dal") Benzaguen" in the humorous story "The Village That Voted The Earth Was Flat".There is a public-domain postcard picture available at http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_villagevoted_notes.htm

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1933) * '' Road House'' (1934)

References

External links

"If You Were the Only Girl (in the World)"
sung by Loraine and Robey (mp3) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Loraine, Violet 1886 births 1956 deaths English musical theatre actresses Music hall performers People from Kentish Town 20th-century English singers 20th-century English women singers