Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West End by the age of 16, and was quickly promoted from minor to major roles in his Edwardian musical comedies.
After the outbreak of the First World War, her father had a series of failures and temporarily withdrew from production. No other producers offered the young Courtneidge leading roles in musical comedies, and she turned instead to the music hall, learning her craft as a comedian. In 1916 she married the actor and dancer Jack Hulbert, with whom she formed a professional as well as a matrimonial partnership that lasted until his death 62 years later. They acted together on stage and screen, initially in a series of revues, with Hulbert frequently producing as well as performing.
Courtneidge appeared in 12 British films in the 1930s, and one in Hollywood, finding this work to be very lucrative. She and Hulbert also recorded for Columbia and His Master's Voice, returning to the stage in the late 1930s. During the Second World War, Courtneidge entertained the armed forces and raised funds for the troops. She then had a long run in Under the Counter, a comedy in which she received glowing notices. Notable among her other successes was Courtneidge's performance in Ivor Novello's musical Gay's the Word from 1951 to 1952. During the rest of the decade, she focused on revues and straight plays.
After the mid-1960s, Courtneidge concentrated on the non-musical theatre, appearing in the West End and on tour in a range of plays, both serious and comic. While appearing in her last West End run in 1971, she celebrated 70 years on the stage. Afterwards, she continued to work for a further five years before retiring.
Life and career
Early years
Courtneidge, the elder daughter and second of three children, was born in Sydney to a theatrical family,Green, Stanley. "Cicely Courtneidge". Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre (books.google.com). Da Capo Press, 1980. . p. 86 while her father was touring Australia with the J. C. Williamson company. The family returned to England in 1894. Her parents were the Scottish producer and actor Robert Courtneidge and his wife, Rosaline May (née Adams), who worked under the stage name Rosie Nott. Rosaline was the daughter of the singer and actress Cicely Nott and the sister of three other actresses, including Ada Blanche, a well-known pantomime star.Pepys-Whiteley, D. "Courtneidge, Dame (Esmerelda) Cicely (1893–1980)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2011, accessed 8 August 2011 In 1901, at the age of eight, Courtneidge made her stage debut as the fairy Peaseblossom in her father's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Prince's Theatre, Manchester."Courtneidge, Dame Cicely", Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 8 August 2011
Courtneidge was educated in England and, for two teenage years, in Switzerland. On returning from the latter, aged 15, she embarked on an acting career, with the approval and encouragement of her parents. Robert Courtneidge cast her in small ingénue roles in his productions. Her London West End debut was at the Apollo Theatre in the comic opera Tom Jones (1907), which had a libretto co-written by her father."Apollo Theatre", The Times, 1 May 1907, p. 8 Her first starring role was Eileen Cavanagh in the long-running Edwardian musical comedy The Arcadians, which she took over from Phyllis Dare in 1910. In the piece that followed, The Mousmé (1911), which also featured a book co-written by her father, she was cast in one of the two leading female roles alongside Florence Smithson.The Mousmé, The Play Pictorial, July 1911, p. 40
At this stage in Courtneidge's career, there was some feeling in theatrical circles that her elevation to star status was largely due to her being Robert Courtneidge's daughter. Reviewing The Mousmé, The Observer wrote that the co-authors had "failed to supply any adequate dramatic raison d'être for the prominent character of Miyo, a fair-haired Japanese damsel, embodied by Miss Cicely Courtneidge with much sprightliness but far too much effort, facial and otherwise, of coy significance.""New Japanese Play", The Observer, 10 September 1911, p. 8 The Times liked her better and praised her "pretty impudence and roguery"."Shaftesbury Theatre – 'The Mousmé'", The Times, 11 September 1911, p. 9
Courtneidge continued to star in her father's productions. In September 1913, she played the part of Lady Betty Biddulph in the musical comedy The Pearl Girl."The Pearl Girl", The Times, 26 September 1913, p. 7 The cast included Ada Blanche; this was the third successive production in which aunt and niece had appeared together. Also in the cast, in the role of Robert Jaffray, was the 21-year-old Jack Hulbert, making his professional debut after success as an amateur while a Cambridge undergraduate. In June 1914, Courtneidge and Hulbert starred together in The Cinema Star, an adaptation by Hulbert and Harry Graham of Die Kino-Königin, a 1913 German comic opera by Jean Gilbert. The piece was a hit for Courtneidge and her father, playing to full houses at the Shaftesbury Theatre until Britain and Germany went to war in August 1914; anti-German sentiment brought the run to an abrupt halt.
In 1914, Courtneidge and Hulbert became engaged to be married, but their plans were delayed by Robert Courtneidge's insistence that they should wait for two years before marrying. They complied with this injunction and did not marry until February 1916. Soon after the outbreak of war, Hulbert joined the army. Courtneidge continued to appear in her father's productions in the West End and on tour. These were revivals of The Arcadians and The Pearl Girl and three unsuccessful new shows, The Light Blues, My Lady Frayle and Oh, Caesar! (all 1916).Gaye, p. 492"Obituary, Dame Cicely Courtneidge", The Times, 28 April 1980, p. 16
The failures put her father temporarily out of business, and as no other producer invited her to star in musical comedy, she turned instead to music hall variety shows. The Times later wrote that this was the first step in a new career as "a comedienne specializing in cameo character sketches". After an early variety engagement in Manchester, the critic of The Manchester Guardian wrote of her "pleasant voice and much charm of manner" in sketches and songs: "one may express a preference for Miss Courtneidge as the hospital sister, presented with all the bright graciousness which properly belongs to the character, over her more elaborate representation of the Flying Corps 'knut'.""Variety Theatres", The Manchester Guardian, 7 August 1917, p. 8
Courtneidge later recalled of her first years on the halls, "When I started, my name was in such small print you could hardly read it. Music hall is the toughest thing in the world. ... I often used to get the bird, and I've had pennies thrown at me many a time."Waymark, Peter. "70 years on stage for Cicely Courtneidge", The Times, 3 September 1971, p. 14 Nevertheless, she mastered the genre, according to her biographer Derek Pepys-Whiteley:
Courtneidge and Hulbert partnership
Having discovered that she seemed more suited to comedy than romantic leads, Courtneidge continued to perform in variety and made her debut in pantomime in 1918. She and Hulbert planned to work together in "light-hearted humour and burlesque, in revue and musical comedy". Their first revue was Ring Up, by Eric Blore and Ivy St. Helier, at the Royalty Theatre in 1921; they received good notices, but the material was weak, and the show was not a great success."Ring Up at the Royalty", The Observer, 4 September 1921, p. 12, and "Ring Up", The Times, 5 November 1921, p. 6 Courtneidge returned to variety, appearing at the London Coliseum in 1922."The Coliseum", The Times, 21 February 1922, p. 14
In 1923, Courtneidge and Hulbert appeared in The Little Revue, produced by Hulbert. The Times wrote of the show, "there is no reason why it should not have a dozen successors, all as good.""New revue at Little Theatre", The Times, 20 March 1924, p. 12 There were, in fact, five successors, described by Pepys-Whiteley as "a series of uninterrupted successes throughout eight years, in which both partners had star parts." These shows played in the West End and on tour in the UK, and in 1925 the Hulberts made their Broadway debut in their current revue, By-the-Way. The New York Times found the show "beguiling"."Revue from London proves beguiling; Cicely Courtneidge's Character Roles the Gems of 'By the Way' – Jack Hulbert Also Gifted", The New York Times, 29 December 1925 The fourth in the series, Clowns in Clover, contained one of Courtneidge's most celebrated sketches, "Double Damask", by Dion Titheradge, in which her character, Mrs. Spooner, and two shop assistants become entangled in tongue-twisters. When Courtneidge's 1932 recording of the sketch was reissued in 1972, The Gramophone said, "it is an enduring classic comedy sketch as funny now as it was then"."Revue 1919–1929", The Gramophone, August 1972, p. 117
In 1931 Courtneidge and Hulbert suffered a serious setback when they discovered that their financial manager had been speculating with their money, suffering heavy losses and putting their business into liquidation. Hulbert accepted responsibility for all the business's debts and undertook to repay every creditor. To achieve this, he and Courtneidge temporarily went their separate professional ways, reasoning that they could earn more as individual stars than as a double act. A boom in the film industry enabled both to earn large sums; Courtneidge appeared in 11 British films and one Hollywood film in the 1930s. She was amused to find that in eight weeks in a film studio she could earn more than she could in a year in the theatre. She and Hulbert managed to work together on several films, including The Ghost Train (1931) and Jack's the Boy (1932).
During this period, Courtneidge and Hulbert made gramophone records for Columbia and His Master's Voice. Both made solo recordings, and Courtneidge recorded songs and sketches with other artists, including Leo Sheffield,"Mrs. Bartholomew", HMV B4475 and Ivor McLaren and Lawrence Green, with whom she recorded "Double Damask" in 1932.HMV B4134 With Hulbert, she recorded such numbers as "Why has a cow got four legs".HMV B4475 on reverse of "Mrs Bartholomew" She also recorded Noel Gay's "There's Something About a Soldier", which she sang in Soldiers of the King (1933)."Cicely Courtneidge & Jack Hulbert Archive", Theatre Collection, University of Bristol, accessed 13 June 2018; and "Cicely Courtneidge – 'The Moment I Saw You' / 'There's Something About a Soldier'", Discogs.com, accessed 13 June 2018 Courtneidge's solo discs include another of her most celebrated sketches, "Laughing Gas" (1931).HMV B3993
Courtneidge did not return to the theatre until October 1937, playing the dual roles of Mabel and her daughter Sally in the musical Hide and Seek, co-starring with Bobby Howes, produced by Hulbert."Hide and Seek – Mr. Hulbert's Team at the Hippodrome", The Manchester Guardian, 5 October 1937, p. 10 "We are very much amused," said The Times."London Hippodrome – Hide And Seek", The Times, 5 October 1937, p. 14 Courtneidge and Hulbert were finally reunited as a stage act in Under Your Hat, a spy story co-written by Hulbert, with music and lyrics by Vivian Ellis. According to Pepys-Whiteley, this was their favourite of all of their joint productions. It ran at the Palace Theatre until April 1940 and was then filmed for the cinema."Picture Theatres", The Times, 11 October 1940, p. 6
1940s and 50s