Annie Vera Pearce (27 May 1895 – 18 January 1966) was an Australian stage and film actress. Her lengthy career was carried out in both her home country and in England.

Biography

Born in Broken Hill (

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

), Pearce spent much of her youth in Adelaide, and made her stage debut there at age five with the World's Entertainers She went on to train as a juvenile performer in pantomimes and musical comedies produced by J. C. Williamson Ltd, and in 1910 scored much acclaim for her role in the Firm's hit production ''Our Miss Gibbs'' (1910). After making her film debut in '' The Shepherd of the Southern Cross'' (1914), Pearce went to England with the aim of carving out a career there but was induced to return to Australia shortly afterwards by

Hugh D. McIntosh Hugh Donald "Huge Deal" McIntosh (10 September 1876 – 2 February 1942) was an Australian theatrical entrepreneur, sporting promoter and newspaper proprietor Early life McIntosh was born on 16 September 1876, to Hugh Fraser McIntosh, a Scottis ...

, General Manager of Harry Rickards Tivoli Theatres Ltd. Pearce made her return to the Australian stage in November 1914 as one of the stars of the ''

Tivoli Follies The Tivoli Follies was a series of vaudeville revue programs in Australia staged between 1914 and 1917 by the J. C. Williamson's organization through their "Tivoli" chain of theatres in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The name has since been revive ...

'' revue, and remained with the show throughout its two and a half year tour around the country. Among the other productions she appeared in over the next seven years were ''The Beauty Shop'' (1917), ''My Lady Frayle'' (1919), ''The Officers' Mess'' (1919), ''His Little Widows'' (1920) and ''

Chu Chin Chow ''Chu Chin Chow'' is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embellishments) on the story of '' Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves''. Gänzl, Kurt"''Chu Chin Chow'' Musical Tal ...

'' (1920), in which she played Zahrat-al-Kulub opposite Charles H. Workman (as Ali Baba). Pearce moved to the UK in 1922, with one of her earliest shows being ''Love's Awakening''. She went on to work consistently on the London stage in musicals and pantomimes up until her death. In 1954 she appeared with

Ralph Lynn Ralph Clifford Lynn (8 March 1882 – 8 August 1962) was an English actor who had a 60-year career, and is best remembered for playing comedy parts in the Aldwych farces first on stage and then in film. Lynn became an actor at the age of 18 ...

and

Robertson Hare John Robertson Hare, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the popular BBC sitcom, ''All Ga ...

in the West End farce ''

The Party Spirit ''The Party Spirit'' is a 1954 British comedy play by Peter Jones and John Jowett. It premiered at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool before transferring to the Piccadilly Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 131 performances between 23 Sept ...

''. Her last notable appearance, though, was in a 1957 New York City production of

Georges Feydeau Georges-Léon-Jules-Marie Feydeau (; 8 December 1862 – 5 June 1921) was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque. He is remembered for his farces, written between 1886 and 1914. Feydeau was born in Paris to middle-class parent ...

's farce ''Hotel Paradise'' (aka '' L'Hôtel du libre échange''). She also appeared in at least 16 films between 1931 and 1966.

Personal life

Pearce was in a long-term relationship with a married man,

. Her nephew Harold Holt became Prime Minister of Australia ten days after Pearce's death.

Historical note

Pearce won two beauty contests in Australia. The first was promoted by West's Pictures in Sydney in 1911. The second event, the 1916 White City Beauty Competition, created controversy when it became known that the judges were linked to the vaudeville industry. The revelation also led to a number of 100-1 bets being placed by well-known "sporting gentlemen" for Pearce to win. When she was announced the winner the huge audience reportedly went "frigidly silent eingtoo astounded to take the result seriously" "How Vera Won." ''Theatre Magazine'' June 1916, p.42 (Cited i
"Vera Pearce"
at the ''Australian Variety Theatre Archive''). Retrieved 16 February 2014.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Australian theatre credits
at

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Vera 1895 births 1966 deaths Actresses from New South Wales Australian stage actresses Australian film actresses People from Broken Hill, New South Wales Australian expatriate actresses in the United Kingdom