
Ouida MacDermott (24 May 1889 – 29 October 1980) was a British singer and actress whose career was mainly in
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 ...
and as a
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 Planc ...
in
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 ...
during the
Edwardian era
In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...
. She appeared on one of the first television broadcasts in 1930.
She was born on
the Strand in London as Annie Louise Mary MacDermott, the youngest child of
G. H. MacDermott
Gilbert Hastings MacDermott (born John Farrell; 27 February 1845 – 8 May 1901) was an English comic singer or lion comique, who was one of the biggest stars of the Victorian English music hall. He performed under the name of The Great MacDerm ...
, an English
lion comique
The ''lion comique'' was a type of popular entertainer in the Victorian music halls, a parody of upper-class toffs or "swells" made popular by Alfred Vance and G. H. MacDermott, among others. They were artistes whose stage appearance, resplende ...
and Annie Milburn. Her father was already married to Mary Ann Stradwick, with whom he had a son, but all four of his
illegitimate
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce.
Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
children with Milburn took their father's name.
Following her father on to the stage, MacDermott played Princess Arawanha in the
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 ...
''Robinson Crusoe and His Man Friday'' at the
Lyceum Theatre in London (1907–08) and the title role in the
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 ...
''Aladdin'' at the
Prince's Theatre
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. It opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, with a capacity of 2,500. The current capacity is 1,416. The title "Shaftesbury Theatr ...
in
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
(1908–09).
In July 1910, she could be seen at the
Argyle Theatre of Varieties in
Birkenhead
Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...
, whilst the following year, she was at the Palace Theatre of Varieties in Hull. She toured in the musical comedy ''Business As Usual'' in 1915, and the following year, returned to pantomime in ''Dick Whittington and His Cat'' at the
Gaiety Theatre in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
.
MacDermott appeared in ''Fiddle-De-Dee'' at Dublin's
Theatre Royal in 1918, and played Prince Glorio in the pantomime ''The Tale of Cinderella'' at the
Scala Theatre
The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772; the last was demolished in 1969, after a catastrophic fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was known as the ...
(1928–29).
When the diarist and critic
James Agate
James Evershed Agate (9 September 1877 – 6 June 1947) was an English diarist and theatre critic between the two world wars. He took up journalism in his late twenties and was on the staff of ''The Manchester Guardian'' in 1907–1914. He late ...
went on a round of pantomime visits "with the intention of rediscovering not only my lost youth but a lost young man, the Prince Charming of long ago" it was in MacDermott that Agate found "him whom I sought – the fair, the not too refrigerative, the inexpressive he of long ago . . . ruffling it with inimitable grace and swagger. . . . She, in short, was Prince Charming. For all that, I fancied I detected a shade of uneasiness in Miss MacDermott's gesture. Might it not be out of date to slap a thigh? No, dear lady and dear boy! Slap on! Slap ever! One heart, at least, beats for you." An early television pioneer, a performance by MacDermott was broadcast by the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
on 10 April 1930, days after the very first television transmission.
She married at least three times: firstly, in 1909, to
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 ...
artiste Sydney Arthur Leon Wood, the brother of Matilda Wood, who was better known as the performer
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 ...
. The marriage was dissolved in 1911 after her
adultery
Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...
with the music hall performer
Jay Laurier. She and Laurier (aka James Alexander Chapman) married in
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 ...
in December 1912; they were divorced in 1916, with Laurier citing John Charles Harrison. MacDermott married Charles Harrison in Edinburgh in May 1917; they
divorced
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
in 1922, with Harrison citing Thomas Barrett. She deserted her family, including her 6-year-old son, to return to the stage. In 1939, and listed as 'divorced', she was living with her brother James and his wife at Pound Cottage in
Battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
,
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
.
She died at Nevetts Old People's Home in
Buntingford
Buntingford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It lies next to the River Rib and is located on the historic Roman road, Ermine Street. As a ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
, in 1980, aged 91.
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Annie Louise Mary Macdermott: 1980 - Ancestry.com
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacDermott, Ouida
1889 births
1980 deaths
Actresses from London
British music hall performers
English women singers
English vaudeville performers
Singers from the City of Westminster
English stage actresses
English television actresses
20th-century English actresses
Actors from the City of Westminster