Phyllis Dare | |
|---|---|
 Darec. 1906 | |
| Born | Phyllis Constance Haddie Dones (1890-08-15)15 August 1890 |
| Died | 27 April 1975(1975-04-27) (aged 84) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1899–1951 |
| Relatives | Zena Dare (sister) |
Phyllis Dare (bornPhyllis Constance Haddie Dones; 15 August 1890 – 27 April 1975) was an English actress and singer famous for her performances inEdwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre in the first half of the 20th century.
Born inChelsea, London, Dare first performed on stage at the age of nine, in the ChristmaspantomimeBabes in the Wood (1899), together with her sister,Zena. Later that year, she appeared as Little Christina inIb and Little Christina. She soon played Mab in theSeymour Hicks musicalBluebell in Fairyland, and at the age of 15, she took over the starring role of Angela inThe Catch of the Season.
In 1909, Dare created the role of Eileen Cavanagh in the hit musicalThe Arcadians, where she met the producerGeorge Edwardes. This started a long association between the two, who collaborated on productions includingThe Girl in the Train,Peggy andThe Quaker Girl. In 1912, she starred inThe Sunshine Girl. In 1913 she joined the cast ofThe Dancing Mistress, as Nancy Joyce, at theAdelphi Theatre and continued to star in successful productions throughout the 1920s, including in the role of Mariana inThe Lady of the Rose (1922).
During her later career, she turned to straight plays, some of which includedAren't We All in 1929,Words and Music in 1932 andThe Fugitives in 1936. She appeared occasionally in films, starring inThe Argentine Tango and Other Dances in 1913,Dr. Wake's Patient in 1916,Crime on the Hill in 1933 andDebt of Honour in 1936. In the 1940s she appeared in a tour ofFull House and was later cast inOther People's Houses. In 1949, Dare opened as Marta the mistress inIvor Novello's musical,King's Rhapsody. The show ran for two years and was Dare's last theatrical endeavour. She retired toBrighton in 1951 and died 27 April 1975 at the age of 84.
Dare was born inChelsea, London.[1] Her father, Arthur Albert Dones, was a divorce clerk, and her mother was Harriette Amelia Wheeler.[1] Dare was the youngest of three children. Her sister,Zena, three and a half years her senior, also became a well-known musical comedy actress.[1] They had a brother named Jack.[2]
Dare's first performance on stage was in 1899, at the age of nine, in the ChristmaspantomimeBabes in the Wood at the Coronet Theatre in London.[1] Her sister Zena was also cast in this production, and they both adopted the surname of Dare. The next year, Phyllis was cast as Little Christina in a production ofIb and Little Christina at thePrince of Wales's Theatre, the same year repeating the role at the Coronet Theatre,[3] and she ended the year in the Christmas pantomimeLittle Red Riding Hood in Manchester. In 1901, she played one of the children inThe Wilderness, andSeymour Hicks andEllaline Terriss cast her as Mab in their musicalBluebell in Fairyland. The following Christmas, she performed in a production ofThe Forty Thieves.[4]
Dare took a few years off to concentrate on her studies. During this period, in March 1903, she received a marriage proposal fromLord Dalmeny. His family did not approve and had the young nobleman rapidly shipped off to Scotland.[5] When her sister Zena received a proposal from Maurice Brett, the second son ofLord Esher, his family approved, and the two married in 1911.[citation needed]
She was Charley, one of the Babes in theBabes in the Wood, at theTheatre Royal, Birmingham (1904–05).[6] Later in 1905, just after her fifteenth birthday, Dare took over the starring role of Angela inThe Catch of the Season from Terriss.[1] The role had been created by Dare's sister Zena.[1] Dare next appeared in a pantomime ofCinderella inNewcastle. She left the stage abruptly and travelled to a Belgian convent to continue her studies.[1] A rumour, originated by a Frederick Henry Wolfries, circulated that her sudden departure was a result of a pregnancy and that Terriss's husband, Seymour Hicks, was the hypothetical father; Hicks received written and verbal abuse for his alleged conduct.[7] In November 1906, Wolfries appeared at the LiverpoolAssizes accused of libelling Hicks, while passing himself off as Dare's brother. He was found guilty and sentenced to 8 months imprisonment.[7][8] Dare returned to London with her father in haste in 1906 to take over the title role, at age 16 and on short notice, of Julia Chaldicott, inThe Belle of Mayfair whenEdna May left the cast at theVaudeville Theatre.[1]
In 1907, Dare published her autobiographyFrom School to Stage. In the same year, she starred as the Sandow Girl in a provincial tour ofThe Dairymaids and again starred in the Christmas pantomimeCinderella.[1] In 1908, Dare returned toThe Dairymaids at theAdelphi Theatre for two months.[9] At the same theatre, she reprised her role asCinderella.[1]
In 1909, Dare created the role of Eileen Cavanagh in the hit musicalThe Arcadians at theOriginal Shaftesbury Theatre.[1] A review fromPlaygoer and Society Illustrated noted, "Miss Phyllis Dare does everything that is expected of her; she dances nicely, sings sweetly and looks pretty...."[10] This was an extraordinarily long-running musical, playing for 809 performances, and Dare stayed for the entire run. The musical marked the beginning of Dare's association with producerGeorge Edwardes, and she went on to star in several more of his productions in the next three years, includingThe Girl in the Train at the Vaudeville Theatre (1910, as Gonda van der Loo),Peggy at theGaiety Theatre (1911, as Peggy),The Quaker Girl in Paris (1911, as Prudence) andThe Sunshine Girl at the Gaiety and then on tour (1912–13, as Delia Dale). She leftThe Sunshine Girl in 1913 to join the cast ofThe Dancing Mistress, as Nancy Joyce, at the Adelphi Theatre.[4]
Dare began to develop a relationship with the composerPaul Rubens.[1] He had written the music forThe Sunshine Girl andThe Dairymaids, and they became acquainted.[1] He would write the music for her next series of shows, includingThe Girl from Utah at the Adelphi (1913, as Dora Manners),Miss Hook of Holland at the Prince of Wales's (1914 revival, as Sally Hook) andTina at the Adelphi (1915, as Tina).[1] He also dedicated his most famous song, "I Love the Moon" to her.[11] During the run of Tina, Dare became engaged to Rubens. Their engagement ended when Rubens became very ill with consumption. He died in 1917 at the age of 41.[12]
Dare performed on stage rarely for the next few years, appearing inHanky-Panky at theEmpire Theatre in 1917. She returned to the stage in 1919 as Lucienne Touquet inKissing Time at the Winter Garden and then played Princess Badr-al-budur inAladdin in 1920 at theHippodrome, London. She continued to star in successful productions throughout the 1920s, including as Mariana inThe Lady of the Rose atDaly's Theatre (1922), as Yvette inThe Street Singer (1924; 360 performances at theLyric Theatre and on tour), and as Fay Blake inRodgers and Hart'sLido Lady at the Gaiety Theatre (1926), in which she introduced the song "Atlantic Blues."[11] She then turned to straight plays. Some of these includedAren't We All (1929)Words and Music (1932), andThe Fugitives (1936).
Dare also appeared in a few films includingThe Argentine Tango and Other Dances (1913),Dr. Wake's Patient (1916),The Common Law (1923),Crime on the Hill (1933),Debt of Honour (1936),Marigold (1938) andGildersleeve on Broadway (1943).[13] A thoroughbred horse was named after Dare in 1920.[14]
In 1940, for the first time in over four decades, Zena and Phyllis Dare shared the stage, in a tour ofFull House, in which Dare played Lola Leadenhall. In 1941–42, she was Juliet Maddock inOther People's Houses, and in 1946 she played the Marchioness of Mereston inLady Frederick at theSavoy Theatre.[12] In 1949, Dare opened as Marta the mistress inIvor Novello's musical,King's Rhapsody, again with her sister Zena. The show ran for two years and was Dare's last theatrical endeavour.
Dare retired toBrighton, England, at the age of 61, where she died at the age of 84.[1] Her sister had died only six weeks earlier.[1]
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