Dora Lindsay (born before 1890 – died after 1944) was a Scottish comedian and singer in the early twentieth century.

Early life and education

Lindsay was from

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, the daughter of a publisher father and a poet mother. Her grandfather, Louis Lindsay, was also a stage performer, described as a "celebrated Negro comedian" (meaning that he impersonated Black people in his act).

Career

Lindsay was a comedian and singer with the Anderson's Star Musical Company by 1903, and in Scottish music hall revues and pantomime productions In the 1910s and 1920s. She was often seen in a double act with comedian Bret Harte (not the writer), where the "droll couple" humor rested on the class differences between their accents. "Dora was a wee woman with a complete mastery of the intricacies and nuances of Glasgow working-class speech," explained one theatre historian. She performed as

Mother Goose Mother Goose is a character that originated in children's fiction, as the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. She also appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as ...

at the Glasgow Pavilion in 1920 and 1921. One of her signature songs was "Ah'm nut a can, Ah'm Dorothy Ann". She appeared in several short silent films made in Scotland. She was compared to

Harry Lauder Sir Henry Lauder (; 4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950)Russell, Dave"Lauder, Sir Henry (1870–1950)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011, accessed 27 April 2014 was a S ...

and

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 ...

by critics. Lindsay toured internationally in 1923 and 1924. "She is a born humorist, with remarkable knowledge of character impersonation," said a 1923 report in Australia. She later moved to Australia, and performed comedic songs in Scottish-themed entertainments on stage and radio, through the 1930s, and into the 1940s. She toured with the Long Tack Sam company in New Zealand in 1936. She wrote the words and music to a song, "Anzac" (1939).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsay, Dora Comedians from Glasgow Scottish expatriates in Australia Scottish women comedians