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Gertie Millar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gertie Millar (February 21, 1879 -- April 25, 1952) was an English singer and actress of the early 20th century, famous for her performances in musical comedies.
Gertie Millar was born in Bradford, Yorkshire.
As a child, Millar performed in London pantomimes. She started out as a singer and dancer in the music halls of Yorkshire. Later, she moved to London where she was soon earning good notices and better pay appearing in variety bills.
In the new century, she starred in a series of musical comedies produced by George Edwardes. Edwardes former star, Marie Tempest, moved from musicals to straight comedy, and Millar took her place in Edwardes' musicals. Millar's featured roles in The Toreador (1901), A Country Girl (1902), and The Orchid (1903) led to larger roles in such successful musicals as The Spring Chicken (1905) and The New Aladdin (1906). She starred as Mitzi in The Girls of Gottenberg (1907), traveling to New York in the same role a year later. Returning to London, she played Franzi in A Waltz Dream (1908). Millar became one of the most photographed women of the Edwardian era.
Her biggest successes included the title role of Our Miss Gibbs (1909) introducing "Moonstruck", one of many hits written for Millar by her husband, composer Lionel Monckton, as well as her starring roles in The Quaker Girl (1910), Franz Lehar's Gipsy Love (1912), The Dancing Mistress (1912), Marriage Market (1913), and a major revival of The Country Girl (1913).
World War I brought a change in popular tastes, her husband was in poor health, and Edwardes had died in 1915. After appearing in two flop revues, two unsuccessful musical comedies and some productions in the provinces, Millar left the stage in 1918.
Monckton died in 1924. Some time afterwards, Millar married William Humble Ward, the second Earl of Dudley (1867-1932). Before the war, he had been the governor-general of Australia. In 1920, his first wife had been drowned in a swimming accident at their estate in Ireland. Millar had risen from working-class roots in Yorkshire to become Lady Dudley.
She died in Chiddingford, England.