Olive Morrell, born Olive Miller (1877–1937), was an English actress, singer and Gaiety Girl best known for her roles in

Edwardian musical comedies Edwardian musical comedy is a genre of British musical theatre that thrived from 1892 into the 1920s, extending beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions. It began to dominate the English musical stage, and even the American musical ...

Early life

Morrell was born in

Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...

in 1877 and grew up in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, near London. A singing teacher introduced her to theatrical producer

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

, which led to roles at the

Gaiety Theatre, London The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand, London, Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre, London, Lyc ...

."Confidences of Stage Favorites: Miss Olive Morell"
''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', December 9, 1906, p. 5, via

Trove Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...

Career

Morrell played roles in the

'' A Greek Slave'' (1898–1899), '' San Toy'' (1900), ''

A Country Girl ''A Country Girl, or, Town and Country'' is a musical play in two acts by James T. Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross, additional lyrics by Percy Greenbank, music by Lionel Monckton and additional songs by Paul Rubens (composer), Paul Rubens. Th ...

'' (1902–1904), '' The Catch of the Season'' (1904–1906), ''Sergeant Brue'' (1904), ''Under a Panama'' (1904), ''The Talk of the Town'' (1905), and ''

The Spring Chicken ''The Spring Chicken'' is an Edwardian musical comedy adapted by George Grossmith, Jr. from ''Coquin de Printemps'' (1897) by Jaime and Duval, with music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Adrian Ross, Percy Greenbank and Gros ...

'' (1905). She appeared in a benefit performance of

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

's ''

Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used ...

'' in 1906. As a Gaiety Girl, Morrell's appearance and gowns were at least as reviewed as her talents, and she was a popular subject for photo postcards. In 1904, Morrell defended actresses from criticism by writer

Marie Corelli Mary Mackay (1 May 185521 April 1924), also called Minnie Mackey and known by her pseudonym Marie Corelli (, also , ), was an English novelist. From the appearance of her first novel '' A Romance of Two Worlds'' in 1886, she became a bestselli ...

, writing: "Actresses are not more extravagant than other people." She toured as a performer in musicals and

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 ...

in Australia for six months in the 1906–1907 season. The press interest in her appearance continued: "She is distinctly English, with her lovely complexion of milk and roses, a skin as fine as a baby's, straight delicate features, and good grey eyes", wrote one interviewer in a Melbourne newspaper, continuing to describe her teeth ("perfect"), her smile ("bewitching"), her eyebrows, her hair, her height, and her dress."The Interviewer: Miss Olive Morrell"
'' Table Talk'', Melbourne, November 1, 1906, p. 12, via Trove In the same 1906 interview, Morrell said:

"If any girl has any ability for the stage, I never blame her for going on. ... It is really the best thing a woman can do, and now there is a very much better class upon the stage. Managers have realized, I think, that a girl who is decently educated and nicely brought up is quicker to understand and learn, and also that she generally makes a better impression than the comparatively uneducated girl."

Personal life

Morrell married Australian politician Willie Kelly in 1908, in London. In 1909 the couple had a daughter, Mary Wentworth Kelly, and in 1911 they were living with four servants in Knightsbridge in London. When they separated, Morrell moved back to England with their daughter. Morrell died in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

in London in 1937.England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 for Olive Kelly
1937, Q1, via Ancestry.com

References

External links

* The

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

ha
six postcard images of Olive Morrell
by various photographic studios. * The U. S. National Library of Medicine ha
a photograph of Olive Morrell in a nurse's uniform
from about 1908, in their digital collections. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrell, Olive 1877 births 1937 deaths 19th-century English actresses 20th-century English actresses English expatriates in Australia English stage actresses English vaudeville performers Actors from the London Borough of Islington Actors from the London Borough of Camden People from Highgate People from Highbury