Elinor Maud Dawe ( Flanagan, 2 July 1885 – 29 June 1962), who used the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Ella Retford, was an English

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

comedian, singer and dancer, and later a stage and film actress.

Biography

She was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

(not Ireland, as some sources suggest), and around 1900 moved to London where she performed in music hall shows, initially as a dancer. By 1906, she was established as a performer in revues and pantomimes, often playing the part of

principal boy In pantomime, a principal boy role is the young male protagonist of the play, traditionally played by a young actress in boy's clothes. The earliest example is Miss Ellington who in 1852 appeared in ''The Good Woman in the Wood'' by James Planch ...

. Theatre historian W. J. MacQueen-Pope called her "probably the best 'Aladdin' ever seen in pantomime... She was sparkle and grace personified and her dancing was a joy..". "Ella Retford (1886–1962)", ''Fred Godfrey Songs''
Retrieved 20 July 2020 The '' Sheffield Evening Telegraph'' said of her: "Miss Ella Retford’s powers as a comedienne are well-known to patrons of halls. But she excels herself. Possessing a fine voice, with certain peculiarities which impart a kind of naivete to her singing, she dances most gracefully, and displays capital elocutionary training". She made recordings for

Jumbo Records Jumbo Records was a record label set up in Britain in 1908 as a subsidiary of the Italian company Fonotipia. The 10-inch 78 rpm records were initially manufactured in Frankfurt for marketing in the UK, and then in Tonbridge, Kent, but in 1913 man ...

from 1908. In 1910 she made probably the first recording of the popular song "

Ship Ahoy! (All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor) "Ship Ahoy! (All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor)" is an English music hall song from 1908, written by Bennett Scott and A. J. Mills of the Star music publishing company in London. Some sources credit Scott alone; others additionally credit their ...

", and also recorded one of her most popular songs, " Molly O'Morgan", Michael Thomas, "Jumbo Records", ''mgthomas.co.uk''
Retrieved 20 July 2020 which was included in the 1946 British film ''

Gaiety George ''Gaiety George'' is a 1946 British historical musical film directed by George King and Leontine Sagan and starring Richard Greene, Ann Todd and Peter Graves.Harper p.179 It is set in the late Victorian music hall, when an Irish impresario ar ...

'' and on the soundtrack of the 2017 film '' Wonder Woman''. Her other successful songs included "Take Me on the Flip-flap", "Under the Honey Moon Tree", "Ella Retford", ''ItsBehindYou.com''
Retrieved 20 July 2020 "

Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty "Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty" is a music hall song written by Arthur J. Mills, Fred Godfrey and Bennett Scott in 1916. It was popular during the First World War, and tells a story of three fictional soldiers on the Western Front (World War I), ...

", "She's a Lassie from Lancashire", and "We're All North Country Lads and Lassies". She re-recorded several of her songs as a medley on Regal Zonophone Records in 1930. Peace comes to peckham 1947-320x414

Retford appeared in

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

s in 1912, 1921 and 1938. She also made film appearances as a character actress in ''

Darby and Joan Darby and Joan is a proverbial phrase for a married couple content to share a quiet life of mutual devotion. Usage ''The Nuttall Encyclopædia'' defined the phrase as "a married couple celebrated for their mutual attachment", the ''Random House ...

'' (1937), '' Poison Pen'' (1939), ''

I'll Be Your Sweetheart ''I'll Be Your Sweetheart'' is a 1945 British historical musical film directed by Val Guest and starring Margaret Lockwood, Vic Oliver and Michael Rennie. It was the first and only musical film produced by Gainsborough Studios. Commissioned by t ...

'' (1945), ''

Paper Orchid ''Paper Orchid'' is a 1949 British crime film directed by Roy Ward Baker, with a script written by Val Guest. It featured Hugh Williams, Hy Hazell and Garry Marsh, and was based on the 1948 novel of the same title by Arthur La Bern. It featur ...

'' (1949), and '' Shadow of the Past'' (1950). She continued to perform on stage in pantomimes until 1949, and appeared in 1954 on

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

as a judge in the contest '' Top Town''. ''Radio Times'', 18 June 1954, p.38
/ref> She was married to Thomas Dawe, a stage manager with

Fred Karno Frederick John Westcott (26 March 1866 – 17 September 1941), best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was an English theatre impresario of the British music hall. As a comedian of slapstick he is credited with popularising the custard-p ...

, from 1911 until his death in 1928. She died in London in 1962, aged 76.

References

External links

Portraits
by Bassano Ltd at

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

*
List of songs and monologues
performed by Ella Retford {{DEFAULTSORT:Retford, Ella 1885 births 1962 deaths Music hall performers English women comedians English women singers