The great Gaiety Comedienne, Connie Ediss in a rare early talkie appearance of 1930. from the British talking picture “A Warm Corner” starring Leslie Henson, and directed by Victor Saville in 1930. Connie Ediss was born in Brighton, England, August 11, 1871, and was educated there and in Edinburgh. She made her first appearance in the English music halls under the name of Connie Coutts, and was “discovered” by Ted Marks while singing at the Oxford, London. Her first London appearance at the Middlesex Music Hall was less than a success, however, as they were a tough crowd, and indeed one drunk hurled a beer bottle at her, but fortunately missed! George Edwardes (Gaiety George) saw Ediss singing at the Alhambra, Brighton, and despite the fact that she had no formal training in acting (nor singing, for that matter) he engaged her for the Gaiety, London, to play Ada Smith [in succession to Lillie Bellmore and others] in “The Shop Girl” in 1895. The following year, “My Girl” was produced at the same theatre with brilliant cast including Ellaline Terriss, Grace Palotta, and Katie Seymour. Connie Ediss made history in this show, when she introduced the American Cake Walk to the British audiences. She also introduced American star May Irwin’s “Bully Song” to London. (This song, sung by May Irwin, is featured on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com accompanied by images of Miss Irwin, and footage of her in “The Widow Jones” from which the song came, filmed by Edison in 1896 …
Video Rating: 5 / 5
Bright Videos -brighton luggage blog.