Alice Wood (20 October 1873 – 17 November 1949), known professionally as Alice Lloyd or Alice Hall, was a British

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

artist who was also popular in American

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

. She was the younger sister of

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 "The Boy ...

Life and career

Lloyd was born in Hoxton, London into the Wood family that included her elder celebrity sister Marie, who adopted the name

. There were ten children and many of them adopted the name Lloyd to appear in the music hall. From 1888, Marie, Alice and Grace appeared as the "Sisters Lloyd". Her sister

was popular in Britain, and it was said that, when in 1907 an American theatre owner, Percy G. Williams signed up Alice via his agents, he mistakenly thought he had contracted Marie. However, Alice became successful in the United States, and it was claimed that her name was placed in lights of the theatre straight after her first performance. She "quickly became virtually a resident of the American vaudeville stage".Anthony Slide, "Alice Lloyd", ''The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville'', University Press of Mississippi, 2012, pp.317-319 It was said that Marie was too coarse for American audiences and they preferred the more restrained Alice. Alice acted more demurely than Marie and tailored her act for American audiences, incorporating more sentimental songs and dressing attractively. In 1908 she was on the ocean liner RMS ''Mauretania'' when a broken propeller damaged the ship. It was reported that Alice sang for an hour to calm the passengers whilst power was restored to the vessel. In 1909 she appeared in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

in her first tour of western America. She toured the United States in 1912, playing cities in Montana, including Butte, where her friend, feminist writer

Mary MacLane Mary MacLane (May 1, 1881 – ''c''. August 6, 1929) was a controversial Canadian-born American writer whose frank memoirs helped usher in the confessional style of autobiographical writing. MacLane was known as the "Wild Woman of Butte".Wats ...

, published two detailed feature articles in the local press about their friendship and Alice's visit to Butte with her daughter Alice and performing sidekick Grace Field.MacLane, Mary: “Impressions of My Good Friend, Alice Lloyd,” ''Butte Miner'', 11 February 1912, p9; MacLane, Mary: "Mary MacLane's Impressions of Miss Alice Lloyd," ''Butte Miner'', 18 February 1912, p11 When, in 1913, both sisters appeared in competing theatres on opposite sides of

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, "there was little question among critics and audiences as to which was the bigger draw." Alice Lloyd returned to American vaudeville in 1919 after a three-year break, and again in 1925 after another break for a world tour during which her sister Marie and her husband, actor Tom McNaughton, both died. She recorded for

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

and remained a popular attraction in the U.S., but returned to England for the final time in 1928 after losing much of her money in the Wall Street crash. She lived in

Banstead, Surrey Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, north of Reigate, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Downs, it is on thr ...

, which became a centre of family activities. In 1933, Alice and other family members took part in a theatre tour in Britain, ''Memories of Marie''. She also took part in a revue, ''These Stars Made Variety'', in the late 1930s with

Hetty King Winifred Emms (4 April 1883 – 28 September 1972), best known by her stage name Hetty King, was an English entertainer who performed in the music halls as a male impersonator over some 70 years. Early life She was born in New Brighton, Ches ...

and

Ada Reeve Ada Reeve (born Adelaide Mary Reeves, 3 March 1874 – 5 October 1966) was an English actress of both stage and film. Reeve began to perform in pantomime and music hall as a child. She gained fame in Edwardian musical comedies in the 1890s. Re ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she performed in another revue, ''Black Velvet'', and played in a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

with her sister Rosie Lloyd in 1944. She died at home in Banstead in 1949, at the age of 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Alice 1873 births 1949 deaths Actors from the London Borough of Hackney British music hall performers Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses People from Hoxton