Marie Lloyd: Difference between revisions

Marie Lloyd ("Marie" French pronunciation: [maˈʀiː];^[1]12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), born Matilda Alice Victoria Wood, was an English music hall singer, comedienne and musical theatre actress during the late Victorian era. She was best known for her performances of songs, including "The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery", "My Old Man (Said Follow the Van)" and "Oh Mr Porter What Shall I Do". She received both criticism and praise for her use of innuendo and double entendre during her performances, and enjoyed a long and prosperous career, during which she was affectionately called the "Queen of the Music Hall".

Born in London, she was showcased as a teenager by her waiter father at his pub, the Eagle Tavern in Hoxton. In 1884, she made her professional debut as Bella Delmere, before changing her stage name to Marie Lloyd the following year. In 1885, she scored a success with her hit song "The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery", and she frequently topped the bill at prestigious theatres in London's West End. Between 1891 and 1893, she was recruited by the impresario Augustus Harris to appear in the spectacular Theatre Royal, Drury Lane Christmas pantomimes including Humpty Dumpty; or, The Yellow Dwarf and the Fair One, Little Bo Peep; or, Little Red Riding Hood and Hop O’ My Thumb, and Robinson Crusoe. By the mid-1890s, Lloyd was in frequent dispute with Britain's strict theatre censorship and became a target of straight-laced theatre critics and strict feminists, such as Laura Ormiston Chant.

Between 1894 and 1900, she became an international success when she toured France, America, Australia and Belgium with her solo music hall act. In 1907, she supported other performers during the music hall war and took part in demonstrations outside theatres, fighting for better pay and conditions for performers. During the First World War, in common with most other music hall artists, she enthusiastically supported recruitment into the armed services to help the war effort and toured hospitals and industrial institutions to help boost morale.

Offstage, Lloyd had a turbulent private life that was often the subject of much press attention: she was married three times, divorced twice, and frequently found herself in court giving evidence against two of her husbands who had physically abused her. In later life, she was still in demand at music halls and scored a late success in 1919 with her renowned performance of "My Old Man (Said Follow the Van)", which earned her a new audience. Privately, she suffered from bouts of ill-health and became alcohol-dependent, both of which imposed restrictions on her performing career by the 1920s. In 1922, she gave her final performance at the Alhambra Theatre, London, during which she was taken ill on stage, dying a few days later at the age of 52.

Biography

Family background and early life

Lloyd was born in Hoxton, London, to John Wood (1847–1940), an artificial flower arranger and waiter, and his wife Matilda Mary Caroline née Archer (1849–1931), a dressmaker and costume designer.^{[n 1]} Lloyd was the eldest of nine children^[3] and became known within the family circle as Tilley.^{[4][n 2]} The Wood family were respectable and hard-working,^[7] and financially comfortable. Lloyd often took career advice from her mother, whose influence was strong in the family. Lloyd attended a school in Bath Street, London, but disliked formal education and often played truant;^[8] with both her parents working, she adopted a maternal role over her siblings, helping to keep them entertained, clean and well cared for.^[9] Along with her sister Alice, she helped arrange family events where the Wood children often put on performances at the family home.^[10] She enjoyed the experience of entertaining her family and decided to form a minstrel act in 1879 called the Fairy Bell troupe comprising of her brothers and sisters.^{[11][n 3]}

Lloyd and the troupe made their debut at a mission in Nile Street, Hoxton, in 1880^[3][12] and followed this with an appearance at the Blue Ribbon Gospel Temperance Mission later the same year. Costumed by Matilda,^[3] they toured local doss-houses in East London, where they performed temperance songs, teaching people the dangers of alcohol abuse.^{[11][n 4]} Eager to show off his daughter's talent for performing, John secured her unpaid employment as a table singer at the Eagle tavern in Hoxton, where he was employed as a waiter.^[13] Among the songs she performed there was "My Soldier Laddie".^[14] Together with her performances at the Eagle, Lloyd briefly contributed to the family income by making babies' boots, and, later, curled feathers for hat making.^[15] She was unsuccessful at both and was sacked from the latter after being caught dancing on the tables by the foreman. She returned home that evening and declared that she wanted a permanent career on the stage. Although happy to have her performing in her spare time, her parents initially objected at her desire to commit to the stage full time. She recalled that when her parents "saw that they couldn't kick their objections as high as [she] could kick [her] legs, they very sensibly came to the conclusion to let things take their course and said 'Bless you my child, do what you like'."^[16]

Early career and first marriage

Lloyd made her professional solo stage debut at the Grecian music hall (in the same premises as the Eagle Tavern)^[17] as Matilda Wood^[18] on 9 May 1885, at the age of 15.^[17] She performed "In the Good Old Days" and "My Soldier Laddie".^[18] which proved successful, and earned her a booking at the Sir John Falstaff music hall in Old Street where she sang a series of romantic ballads.^[19] Soon after this, she chose the stage name Bella Delmere^{[20][n 5]} and appeared on stage in costumes designed by her mother.^[21] Her performances were a success, despite her singing other artists' songs without their permission,^[16] a practice which brought her a threat of an injunction from one of the original performers.^[22] News of her act travelled; that October, she appeared at the Collins music hall in Islington in a special performance to celebrate the theatre's refurbishment, the first time she had appeared outside Hoxton, and two months later, she was engaged at the Hammersmith Temple of Varieties and the Middlesex Music Hall in Drury Lane.^[23] On 3 February 1886, she appeared at the prestigious Sebright Music Hall in Bethnal Green, where she met her agent George Ware, a prolific composer of music hall songs.^[24] After a few weeks, she began performing songs purchased from little-known composers^[25] and Ware suggested that she change her name. "Marie" was chosen for its "posh" and "slightly French" sound and "Lloyd" was taken from an edition of Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper.^[13][26]

Lloyd established her new name on 22 June 1886,^[27] with an appearance at the Falstaff Music Hall, where she attracted wide notice for the song "The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery" (which was initially written for Nelly Power by Lloyd's agent George Ware).^[26] The following year, her performance of the song had become so popular that she was in demand in London's West End,^[14] including the Oxford Music Hall, where she excelled at skirt dancing.^[28] George Belmont, the Falstaff's, proprietor, secured her an engagement at the Star Palace of Varieties in Bermondsey. She soon began making her own costumes, a skill she learned from her mother, and one she continued to use for the rest of her career.^[29] She undertook a month-long tour of Ireland at the start of 1886, earning £10 per week after which she returned to East London to perform at, amongst others, the Sebright Music Hall, Bethnal Green.^{[26][30][n 6]} On 23 October, The Era called her "a pretty little soubrette who dances with great dash and energy."^[31]

By the end of 1886, Lloyd was playing several halls a night^[32] and was earning £100 per week. She was now financially able to purchase new songs from established music hall composers and writers,;^[33] including "Harry's a Soldier", "She Has a Sailor for a Lover", "And the Leaves Begin to Fall", "Sure to Fetch Them", and "Oh Jeremiah, Don't you Go to Sea".^{[n 7]} By 1887, Lloyd began to display a skill for ad lib, and to gain a reputation for her impromptu performances.^[35] It was during this period that she first sang "Whacky-Wack" and "When you Wink the Other Eye", a song which introduced her famous wink at the audience.^[29][36] Unlike her West End audiences, her reputation as a "blue" performer did not impress her fans in the East End.^[37]

While appearing at the Foresters music hall in Mile End, she met and began dating Percy Charles Courtenay,^[38] a ticket tout from Streatham, London. The courtship was brief, and the couple married on 12 November 1887 at St John the Baptist, Hoxton^{[n 8]} In May 1888, Lloyd gave birth to a daughter, Marie (1888–1967).^{[3][n 9]} The marriage was mostly unhappy, and Courtenay was disliked by Lloyd's family and friends. Before long, Courtenay became addicted to alcohol and gambling, and grew jealous of his wife's close friendship with the 13-year-old actress Bella Burge,^{[n 10]} to whom Lloyd had rented a room in the marital house. He also became angry at the numerous parties Lloyd hosted for fellow members of the music hall profession including Gus Elen, Dan Leno and Eugene Stratton.^[43][44]

In October 1888, Lloyd returned from maternity leave and joined rehearsals for the 1888–89 pantomime The Magic Dragon of the Demon Dell; or, The Search for the Mystic Thyme, in which she was cast as Princess Kristina. The production, which was staged between Boxing Day and February at the Britannia theatre in Hoxton, gave her the security of working close to home for a solid two months. The engagement also gave her much needed experience of playing to a big audience.^[45] The following year, she found herself appearing at more Bohemian venues including the Empire and the Alhambra theatres, the Trocadero Palace of Varieties, and the Royal Standard playhouse.^[46] The following year, she gave birth to a stillborn child, which further exacerbated her deteriorating relationship with her husband.^[47]

By the start of the 1890s, Lloyd had built up a successful catalogue of songs, which included "What's That For, Eh?", about a little girl who asks her parents the meaning of various everyday house-hold objects. Her biographer and theatre historian W. J. MacQueen-Pope described the song as being "blue" and thought that it spoke volumes about her reputation thanks to her "wonderful wink, and that sudden, dazzling smile, and the nod of the head."^[48] Similar-styled songs followed including "She'd Never had her Ticket Punched Before", which told the story of a young, naive woman travelling to London on her own by train; "The Wrong Man Never Let a Chance go By"; "That Was Before My Time"; "We Dont Want to Fight, But, by Jingo, If we Do";^[48] "Oh You Wink the Other Eye"^[49] and "Twiggy Vous"—a song which won her much success and increased her popularity abroad.^[48] After an evening's performance at the Oxford music hall, a French well-wisher requested a conversation and to meet Lloyd backstage. Flanked by Courtenay, she appeared at the stage door, where Courtenay threatened the man with violence as both had become suspicious of his interest in her. She took a chance and invited the man into her dressing room, where he identified himself as a member of the French government. He paid her the greatest compliment by confirming that "Twiggy Vous" was "most popular in Paris"; she was delighted at the news.^[50] At the end of the year, Lloyd returned to London where she appeared in the Christmas pantomime Cinderella in Peckham alongside her sister Alice.^[51]

1890s

Drury Lane and success

Augustus Harris (top) and the main star of the Drury Lane pantomimes, Dan Leno

Between 1891 and 1893, Lloyd was recruited by the impresario Augustus Harris to appear alongside Dan Leno in the spectacular and popular Theatre Royal, Drury Lane Christmas pantomimes.^{[n 11]} While lunching with Harris in 1891 to discuss his offer, Lloyd played coy, deliberately confusing the theatre with the lesser known venue the Old Mo so as not to appear conscious of Drury Lane's successful reputation; she compared its structure to that of a prison. Secretly, she was thrilled with the offer^[53] for which she would receive £100 per week. The pantomime seasons lasted from Boxing Day to March^[54] and were highly lucrative, but Lloyd found working from a script restrictive.^[55] Her first role was Princess Allfair in Humpty Dumpty; or, The Yellow Dwarf and the Fair One,^[56] which she dismissed as being "Bloody awful, eh?"^[57] She received mixed reviews from her opening performance. The Times described her as being "playful in gesture, graceful in appearance, but not strong in voice."^[58][56] Despite the weak start (which Lloyd blamed on nerves), the pantomime received glowing reviews from the theatrical press.^[59] The London Entr'acte thought that Lloyd "delivere[d] her text quite pungently, and sings and dances with spirit too."^[60] She was noted for her acrobatic dancing on stage, which included handstands, tumbles and high kicks. As a boy, the writer Compton Mackenzie was taken to the show's opening night and was "greatly surprised that any girl should have the courage to let the world see her drawers as definitely as Marie Lloyd."^[61]

Lloyd's biographer Midge Gillies defines 1891 as being the year that she officially "made it" thanks to a catalogue of hit songs and major success in the halls and pantomime. When she appeared at the Oxford music hall in June, the audience cheered so loudly for her return that the following act could not be heard; she was called "the favourite of the hour".^[62] During the summer months, she toured the northern provinces including Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester. At the last she stayed an extra six nights due to popular demand, which caused her to cancel a trip to Paris.^[63] The 1892 pantomime was Little Bo Peep; or, Little Red Riding Hood and Hop O' My Thumb, in which she played Little Red Riding Hood.^[64] The production was five hours long and culminated with the show's harlequinade.^[65] During the performance, her improvisational skills caused some scandal when she reached for a chamber pot in a scene that required her to instead climb out of bed to pray.^[66][67] The stunt angered Harris, who ordered her not to do it again or risk immediate dismissal. Max Beerbohm, who was in a later audience, asked "Isn't Marie Lloyd charming and sweet in the pantomime? I think of little besides her."^[68] On 12 January 1892, Lloyd and Courtney brawled drunkenly in her Drury Lane dressing room after an evening's performance of Little Bo-Peep. Courtney pulled a decorative sword off the wall and threatened to cut her throat; she escaped from the room with minor bruises and reported the incident to the Bow Street police station.^[69][70] In early 1893, she travelled to Wolverhampton where she starred as Flossie in another unsuccessful piece called The A.B.C Girl; or, Flossie the Frivolous^[71] which, according to MacQueen-Pope, "ended the Queen of Comedy's career as an actress".^[72].^{[n 12]}

Debut in America

Lloyd made her American stage debut in 1893, appearing at Koster and Bial's Music Hall in New York. She sang "Oh You Wink the Other Eye", much to the delight of her American audiences. Other numbers included "After the Pantomime" and "You Should Go to France and See the Ladies Dance", which both required her to wear provocative costumes.^[74] Her performances pleased the theatre proprietors, who presented her with an antique tea and coffee service.^{[29][n 13]} News of her success reached home, with the London Entr'acte reporting that "Miss Marie Lloyd made the biggest hit ever known at Koster and Bial's variety hall, New York."^[76]

Upon her return to London, Lloyd introduced "Listen With the Right Ear", which was an intended follow-up to "Oh You Wink the Other Eye".^[77] Shortly after her return, she sailed to France, and in Paris she received "greater acclaim than any other English comedienne who had preceded her".^[78] She changed the lyrics to some of her best-known songs for her French audience and entitled them, "The Naughty Continong"; "Twiggy Vous"; "I'm Just Back from Paris" and "The Coster Honeymoon in Paris".^{[79][n 14]} At Christmas, she returned to London to honour her final Drury Lane commitment starring as Polly Perkins in Robinson Crusoe.^[54][81][82] The part allowed her to perform "The Barmaid" and "The Naughty Continong" and saw her perform a mazurka with Leno.^[83] Talking to a friend years later about her Drury Lane engagements, she admitted that she was "the proudest little woman in the world".^[54]

In May 1894, Courtenay followed Lloyd to the Empire, Leicester Square, where she was performing, and attempted to batter her with a stick, shouting: "I will gouge your eyes out and ruin you!" His assault missed Lloyd, but struck Burge in the face instead. As a result of the incident, Lloyd was sacked from the Empire for fear of a reprisal as it "[was] bad for business".^{[84][n 15]} Lloyd left the marital home, moving to 73 Carleton Road, Tufnell Park^[86] and successfully applied for a restraining warrant, which prevented Courtenay from contacting her.

A few weeks later, Lloyd began an affair with the music hall singer Alexander Hurley,^{[44][n 16]} which resulted in Courtenay initiating a divorce in 1894 on the grounds of her adultery.^[44][84] That year, together with a short tour of the English provinces, Lloyd travelled to New York with Hurley, where she appeared at the Imperial Theatre, staying for two months. She returned at Christmas to a "roar of applause" as "the audience soon found [that] the popular little lady had lost none of the brightness and chic that are her principal passports to public appreciation".^[88] She appeared in the Liverpool Christmas pantomime as the principal boy in Pretty Bo-Peep, Little Boy Blue, and the Merry Old Woman who lived in a Shoe. Her performance was praised by the press, who called her "delightfully easy, graceful and self-possessed."^[89]

Risqué reputation and transatlantic tours

By 1895, the content of Lloyd's songs were often receiving criticism from "straightlaced" theatre critics and strict, influential feminists. As a result, she frequently experienced resistance from the theatre censorship which dogged the rest of her career.^[90] The writer and feminist Laura Ormiston Chant, who was a member of the Social Purity Alliance, successfully campaigned to have large screens put up around the promenade at the Hackney Empire^[91] and managed to persuade Hackney council to ban the consumption of alcohol in auditoriums, forcing patrons out of the music halls and into the bars.^[92] Chant also protested Lloyd's lyrics as "racy" and filled with double entendre ("She'd never had her ticket punched before", for example) largely because of the manner in which she sang them, adding winks and gestures, and creating a conspiratorial relationship with her audience. As a result of a complaint by Chant, Lloyd was summoned before a council committee and was asked to sing her songs. She sang "Oh! Mr Porter", "A Little of What You Fancy"^[3] and "She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas",^[93] which she re titled "I Sits Amongst the Cabbages and Leaks" after some protest.^[94] The numbers were sung in such a way that the committee had no reason to find anything amiss. She then rendered Alfred Tennyson's drawing-room ballad "Come into the Garden Maud" in such an obscene way that the committee were shocked into silence.^[3] Chant would continue to protest the lyrics used by Lloyd.^{[n 17]} The restrictions imposed on the halls were beginning to affect trade, and many London music halls were threatened with closure.^[95] Lloyd's audiences rebelled and pulled down the screens at the Hackney Empire, and the council were bombarded with public complaints. To avoid social unrest, Hackney council lifted the drinking ban on 7 October 1896.^[96] Chant accepted defeat and emigrated to America the following year.^[97]

In 1896, Lloyd sailed to South Africa with her daughter, who appeared on the same bill as Little Maudie Courtenay, impersonating her mother.^[98] Lloyd came to the attention of the British randlord Barney Barnato, who lavished gifts on her in an attempt to woo her. His attempts were unsuccessful, but the two remained friends until his death in 1897. The tour was a triumph for Lloyd, and her songs became popular among her South African audience. She performed "Wink the Other Eye", "Twiggy-Vous", "Hello, Hello, Hello",^[99] "Whacky, Whacky, Whack!", "Keep Off the Grass",^[100] and introduced "Oh! Mr Porter", composed for her by George Le Brunn. Feeling satisfied at the success she had achieved, Lloyd returned to London two months later.^[99]

The following year, Lloyd went to New York where she re-appeared at Koster and Bial's Music Hall. Her first song was about a young woman who lacked confidence in finding a suitor. The chorus, "not for the very best man that ever got into a pair of trousers", "tickled the audience immensely". Following this, she performed the most popular song of the tour about a French maid who appeared innocent and petite at first sight, but it soon became "evident that she was not so demure as she looked, for she confided to her auditors that she 'knew a lot about those tricky little things they don't teach a girl at school'." Many other songs followed and were all warmly received. At the conclusion of each performance, she received gifts from the audience including bouquets and floral structures.^[101] The Era commented that "Miss Lloyd's clever character work, her versatility and unflagging endeavours to please were rewarded with deserved success".^[101] Lloyd returned to London, moved to Hampstead with Hurley,^[102] and appeared in pantomime, this time at the Crown Theatre in Peckham in a production of Dick Whittington in which she played the title role. In it, she sang "A Little Bit Off the Top", which Pope describes as being "one of the pantomime songs of the year". The Music Hall and Theatre Review was equally complimentary, saying: "Brilliant Repertory, Charming Dresses, A Unique Personality!"^[103] In 1899, Lloyd took her benefit at the Crown Theatre where she appeared in Dick Whittington. The entertainment culminated with a song from Vesta Victoria, and a short piece called The Squeaker, starring Joe Elvin.^[104]

1900s

In February 1900, Lloyd was the subject of a benefit performance at the Crown Theatre in Peckham. Kate Carney, Vesta Tilley and Joe Elvin were among the star turns who performed before the after piece, Cinderella, which starred Lloyd, her sister Alice, Kittee Rayburn and Jennie Rubie.^[105] The same year, Lloyd openly took up residence with Hurley in Southampton Row, London despite Lloyd's divorce to Courtenay not being confirmed by the receipt of the final decree. Hurley, an established coster singer in his own right, regularly appeared on the same bill as Lloyd, and his calm and collected nature was a welcome antidote to the abusive and abrasive Courtenay.^[106] Lloyd and Hurley set sail for a tour of Australia in 1901, opening at Harry Rickards Opera House in Melbourne on 18 May^[107] with their own version of "The Lambeth Walk".^{[108][n 18]} After the successful two-month tour, Lloyd and Hurley returned to London where she appeared in the only revue of her career. Entitled The Revue, it was written by Charles Raymond and Phillip Yorke with lyrics by Roland Carse and music by Maurice Jacobi. It was staged at the Tivoli theatre in celebration of the Coronation of King Edward VII.^[110] Lloyd and Courtenay's divorce became absolute on 22 May 1905, and she married Hurley on 27 October 1906.^[111] Hurley, although ecstatic with his earlier success in Australia, began feeling sidelined by his wife's popularity. W. J. MacQueen-Pope suggested that "[Hurley] was a star who had married a planet. Already the seeds of disaster were being sown."^{[112][n 19]}

Music hall strikes of 1907

Shortly after her marriage to Hurley, Lloyd went to Bournemouth to recuperate from exhaustion. Within days, however, she was back performing in London music halls.^[113] From the start of the new century, music hall artistes and theatre managers had been in dispute over working conditions, a reduction in pay and perks, and an increased number of matinée performances. The first significant rift was a 1906 strike,^[114] initiated by The Variety Artistes' Federation.^[115] The following year, the Music Hall War commenced, which saw the Federation fight for more freedom and better working conditions on behalf of music-hall performers.^[116] Although popular enough to command her own fees, Lloyd supported the strike,^[117] acted as a picket for the strikers and gave generously to the strike fund.^[118] To raise spirits, she often performed on picket lines and took part in a fund raising performance at the Scala Theatre. During one demonstration, she recognised someone trying to enter and shouted, "Let her through, girls, she'll close the music hall faster than we can." The singer was Belle Elmore, later murdered by her husband, Dr. Crippen. The dispute ended later the same year with a resolution broadly favourable to the performers.^[119] In 1909, Lloyd appeared at the Gaiety Theatre in Dundee where a critic for The Courier noted "Her bright smile and fascinating presence has much to do with her popularity, while her songs are of the catchy style, perhaps not what a Dundee audience is familiar with, but still amusing and of an attractive style."^[120]

Relationship with Bernard Dillon

Despite the cracks appearing in her marriage, Lloyd went on an American tour with Hurley in 1908. She was eager to equal the success of her sister, who had become popular in the country a few years previously. Lloyd enjoyed continual success every time she performed in North America.^[121] By 1910, her relationship with Hurley had ended, due in part to her endless parties and her developing friendship with the jockey Bernard Dillon, who won the 1910 Derby.^{[3][122][n 20]} Lloyd and the young sportsman began an open and passionate affair. For the first time, her private life eclipsed her professional career. She was seldom mentioned in the theatrical press in 1910, and when she did perform, it was not to the best of her abilities.^[123] The writer Arnold Bennett, who witnessed her on stage at the Tivoli Theatre in 1909, admitted that he "couldn't see the legendary cleverness of the vulgarity of Marie Lloyd" and accused her songs of being "variations of the same theme of sexual naughtiness."^[124] As with Courtenay years previously, the shy and retiring Dillon was finding it hard to adapt to Lloyd's elaborate and sociable lifestyle.^[125] Dillon's success on the racecourse was short lived.^[126] In 1911, he was expelled from the Jockey Club for borrowing £660 (£84,898 in 2024 adjusted for inflation)^[127] to bet on his own horses to win.^[128] Dillon's horses lost, and he ended up in debt with trainers.^[126] He became jealous of Lloyd's successful life in the spotlight.^[129] Depression led to drink and obesity, and he started to abuse her.^[130] Hurley, meanwhile, had initiated divorce proceedings, the strain of which had also caused him to drink heavily, which in turn finished his theatrical career.^[131] Lloyd left the marital home in Hampstead and moved to Golders Green^[132] with Dillon, a move which MacQueen-Pope describes as being "the worst thing she ever did."^[133]

Later years

A new show in London in 1912 showcased the best of music hall's talent.^[134] The Royal Command Performance took place at the Palace Theatre in London, which was managed by Alfred Butt.^[135] The show was organised by Oswald Stoll, an Australian impresario who managed a string of West End and provincial theatres. Stoll, although a fan of Lloyd's, disliked the vulgarity of her act and championed a return to a more family-friendly atmosphere within the music hall.^[136] Because of this, and her participation in the earlier music hall war, Stoll left her out of the line-up.^[14] He placed an advert in The Era on the day of the performance warning that "Coarseness and vulgarity etc are not allowed ... this intimation is rendered necessary only by a few artists".^[137] In retaliation, Lloyd staged her own show at the London Pavilion, advertising that "every one of her performances was a command performance by order of the British public".^[3][138] She performed "One Thing Leads to Another", "Oh Mr Porter", and "The Boy I Love is up in the Gallery" and was hailed as "the Queen of Comedy" by critics.^[139] The same year, she travelled to Devon where she appeared at the Exeter Hippodrome to much success. She performed "Every Movement Tells a Tale", which was "thoroughly enjoyed" by the audience and "[received] round after round of applause". She was also praised for her recital of a "Cockney girl's honeymoon in Paris", which was met by "roars of laughter".^[140]

Scandal in America

In 1913, Lloyd was booked by the Orpheum Syndicate to appear at the New York Palace Theatre. She and Dillon set sail on the RMS Olympic under the name Mr and Mrs Dillon^[141] and were met at the American port by her sister Alice, who had long since been in the country.^[142] Upon arrival, Lloyd and Dillon were refused entry when the authorities found out that they were not married despite them saying so in order to gain a visa. They were detained and threatened with deportation on the grounds of "moral turpitude"^[143] and were sent to Ellis Island while an enquiry took place.^[144] Dillon was charged under the White Slave Act with taking to the country a woman who was not his wife, and Lloyd was charged with being a passive agent.^[3] After a lengthy enquiry, a surety of $300 ($9,248 in 2024 adjusted for inflation)^[127] each, and an imposed condition that they were to live apart while in America, the couple were allowed to stay until March 1914.^[145] Alice later stated that "the indignity of the subsequent experience [while in custody] went to Marie's heart in a way she never survived. She could not bear to talk of that awful twenty-four hours."^[146]

Despite the problems, the tour was a success, and Lloyd performed to packed theatres throughout America. Her songs included "Every Little Movement", "The Tiddly Wink", "I'd Like to Live in Paris All the Time (The Coster Girl In Paris)", "Woman Knows how Far She can Go", "The Ankle Watch", and "The Aviator". The songs were an overall success, partly due to the Americanisation of the lyrics.^[147] On a personal level, Lloyd's time in America was miserable and was made worse by the increasing domestic abuse she received from Dillon. The assaults caused her to miss several key performances, which angered the theatre manager, Edward Albee, who threatened her with a breach of contract action. She claimed that illness made it difficult for her to perform and protested at her billing position.^[148] The theatrical press were not convinced. The New York Telegraph speculated "In vaudeville circles her domestic relations are thought to be at the bottom of her attacks of disposition."^[149] Back in England, Hurley had died of pleurisy and pneumonia on 6 December 1913.^[150] Lloyd heard the news while appearing in Chicago and sent a wreath with a note saying "until we meet again".^[151] Despite the gesture, she gave a selfish response to the news in The Morning Telegraph, saying: "With all due respect to the dead, I can cheerfully say that's the best piece of news I've heard in many years, for it means that Bernard Dillon and I will marry as soon as this unlucky year ends."^[152] Lloyd married Dillon on 21 February 1914, with the ceremony taking place at the British Consulate in Portland, Oregon.^[153] When the tour finished, Lloyd commented, "[I will] never forget the humiliation to which I have been subjected and I shall never sing in America again, no matter how high the salary offered."^[154]

First World War and final years

Blue plaque memorial at the Courtenay and Lloyd home in Graham Road, Hackney

The couple returned to England in June 1914,^[151] and Lloyd started a provincial tour of Liverpool, Aldershot, Southend, Birmingham and Margate and finished the summer season at the London Hippodrome.^[155] She sang "The Coster Honeymoon in Paris" and "Who Paid the Rent for Mrs Rip Van Winkle?", the latter of which had been received particularly well with her American audiences. Within a fortnight, Britain was at war, which threw the music-hall world into disarray. The atmosphere in London's music halls had turned patriotic, and theatre proprietors often held charity events and benefits to help the war effort.^[156] Lloyd played her part and frequently visited hospitals, including the Ulster Volunteer Force Hospital in Belfast,^[157] where she interacted with wounded serviceman and toured munitions factories to help boost public morale,^[158] but she received no recognition for doing so.^[159] During 1914, she scored a hit with "A Little of What you Fancy", which critics thought captured her life perfectly up until that point. The song is about a middle-aged woman who encourages the younger generation to enjoy themselves, rather than indulging in life's excitement herself. During the rendition, Lloyd depicts a young couple who cuddle and kiss on a railway carriage, while she sits back and recalls memories of her doing the same in years gone by.^[160]

In January 1915, Lloyd appeared at the Crystal Palace where she entertained over ten thousand troops. At the end of that year, she performed her only war song, "Now You've Got your Khaki On", composed for her by Charles Collins and Fred W. Leigh, about a woman who found the army uniform sexy and thought that wearing it made the average pot-bellied gentleman look like a muscle-toned soldier. Lloyd's brother John appeared with her on stage dressed as a soldier and helped characterise the ditty. Following this, she sang the already well-established songs "If You Want to Get On in Revue", which depicted a young girl who offered sexual favours to promote her theatrical career, and "The Three Ages of Woman", which took a cynical look from a female's perspective of the opposite sex.^[161] She seldom toured during the war, but briefly performed in Northampton, Watford and Nottingham in 1916. By the end of the year, she had suffered a nervous breakdown which she blamed on her hectic workload and a delayed reaction to Hurley's death.^[162] Although very popular with American soldiers, Lloyd failed to capture the spirits of their English counterparts,^[163] and began feeling sidelined by her peers; Vesta Tilley had led a very successful recruitment drive into the services and other music hall performers had been honoured by royalty.^[164] As the war raged on, Lloyd's public image deteriorated.^[163] Her violent relationship with Dillon and professional snubs in public left her feeling like "someone's mother, rather than their sweetheart."^[165]

In 1915, Dillon was conscripted into the army, but disliked the discipline of regimental life. In an attempt to desert, he jumped off a moving train in France, and spent a long time on recuperation leave at home in Golders Green where he drank to excess. One night, Lloyd's friend Bella Burge received a knock at the front door to find a hysterical Lloyd covered in blood and bruises. When asked to explain what had caused her injuries, she stated that she had caught Dillon in bed with another woman and had had a showdown with her husband.^[166] By 1917, Dillon's drinking had become worse. That June, two constables were called to Lloyd and Dillon's house in Golders Green after Dillon committed a drunken assault on his wife. Police entered the house and found Lloyd and her maid cowering beneath a table. Dillon confronted the constables and assaulted one of them, which resulted in him being taken to court, fined and sentenced to a month's hard labour.^[167] Lloyd began drinking to escape the trauma of her domestic abuse, but she still managed to maintain her reputation. That year, she was earning £470 per week (£28,920 in 2024 adjusted for inflation)^[127][168] performing in music halls and making special appearances. The following year, she performed perhaps her best known song, "My Old Man (Said Follow the Van)", which was written for her by Fred W. Leigh and Charles Collins. The song depicts a mother fleeing her home to avoid the rent man.^[169] The lyrics reflected the hardships of working class life in London at the beginning of the 20th century, and gave her the chance to costume the character in a "worn out dress" and black straw boater, while carrying a birdcage.^[170]

In July 1919, she was again left off the cast list for that year's Royal Variety Performance, which paid tribute to the acts who helped raise money and boost morale during the war years. She was devastated at the snub and grew bitter towards her rivals who had been acknowledged. When Lloyd was mentioned for her efforts, she was compared to a "talented old aunt who must be allowed to have her turn at the piano even though all everyone really wants is jazz or go to the Picture Palace".^[171] She toured Cardiff in 1919 and in 1920, she was earning £11,000 a year (£558,098 in 2024 adjusted for inflation).^[127][168] Despite the high earnings, she was living beyond her means, with a reckless tendency to spend money. She was famous for her generosity, but was unable to differentiate between those in need and those who were behaving fraudulently.^{[172][n 21]} Her extravagant tastes, an accumulation of writs from disgruntled theatre managers, an inability to save money, and generous handouts to friends and family,^[174] resulted in severe money troubles during the final years of her life.^[168]

Decline and death

In 1920, Lloyd appeared twice at Hendon Magistrates Court and gave evidence of the abuse she had suffered from Dillon.^[175] Soon afterwards, she separated from Dillon and, as a result, became depressed.^[3] When asked by prosecutors how many times Dillon had assaulted her since Christmas 1919, Lloyd replied "I cannot tell you, there were so many [occasions]. It has happened for years, time after time, always when he is drunk."^[176] By now, she was becoming increasingly unreliable on stage; she appeared at a theatre in Cardiff for a mere six minutes before being carried off by stage hands. During the performance, she seemed dazed and confused, and she stumbled across the stage. She was conscious of her weak performances and frequently cried in between shows. Virginia Woolf was among the audience at the Bedford Music Hall on 8 April 1921 and described Lloyd as "A mass of corruption – long front teeth – a crapulous way of saying 'desire', and yet a born artist – scarcely able to walk, waddling, aged, unblushing."^[177]

In April 1922, Lloyd collapsed in her dressing room after a performance singing "The Cosmopolitan Girl" at the Gateshead Empire in Cardiff. Her doctor diagnosed her with exhaustion, and she returned to the stage in August. Her voice became weak, and she reduced her act to a much shorter running time.^[178] Her biographer Naomi Jacob thought that Lloyd was "growing old, and [she] was determined to show herself to her public as she really was ... an old, grey-faced, tired woman".^[179] On 12 August 1921, Lloyd failed to show for an appearance at the London Palladium, choosing instead to stay at home to write her will.^{[177][n 22]}

In the early months of 1922, Lloyd moved in with her sister Daisy in a bid to save money.^[180] On 4 October 1922, against her doctor's advice,^[178] she appeared at the Empire Music Hall in Edmonton, North London, where she sang "I'm One of the Ruins That Cromwell Knocked About a Bit". Her performance was weak, and she was unsteady on her feet, eventually falling over on stage. Her erratic and brief performance proved hilarious for the audience, who thought that it was all part of the act.^[181] A week later, while appearing at the Alhambra Theatre, she was taken ill on stage and was found later, in her dressing room crippled with pain, complaining of stomach cramps. She returned home later that evening, where she died of heart and kidney failure three days later, aged 52.^{[n 23]} More than 50,000 people attended her funeral at Hampstead Cemetery on 12 October 1922.^{[183][184][n 24]} Lloyd was broke at the time of her death and her estate, which was worth £7,334 (£505,852 in 2024 adjusted for inflation)^[127],^[185] helped to pay off debts that she and Dillon had incurred over the years.^[186]

Writing in The Dial magazine the following month, T.S. Eliot claimed: "Among [the] small number of music-hall performers, whose names are familiar to what is called the lower class, Marie Lloyd had far the strongest hold on popular affection."^[187] Her biographer and friend Walter MacQueen-Pope thought that Lloyd was "going down hill of her own volition. The complaint was incurable, some might call it heartbreak, perhaps a less sentimental diagnosis is disillusionment."^[188] The impersonator Charles Austin paid tribute by saying "I have lost an old pal, and the public has lost its principal stage favourite, one who can never be replaced."^[189]

Notes and references

Notes

References

Sources

• Bennett, Arnold (1976). Journal of Arnold Bennett: 1896–1910. London: Ayer Co Publishers. ISBN 978-0-51819-118-6.
• Farson, Daniel (1972). Marie Lloyd and Music Hall. London: Tom Stacey Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85468-082-5.
• Gillies, Midge (1999). Marie Lloyd: The One And Only. London: Orion BooksLtd. ISBN 978-0-75284-363-6.
• Jacob, Naomi (1972). Our Marie, Marie Lloyd: A Biography. London: Chivers Press. ISBN 978-0-85594-721-7.
• Mackenzie, Compton (1963). My Life and Times: Octave 1. London: Chatto & Windus. ISBN 978-0-70110-933-2.
• Macqueen-Pope, Walter (2010). Queen of the Music Halls: Being the Dramatized Story of Marie Lloyd. London: Nabu Press. ISBN 978-1-17160-562-1.
• Nuttall, Jeff (1977). Common Factors-Vulgar Factions. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-71008-592-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Rainey, Lawrence. S (2006). The Annotated Waste Land with Eliot's Contemporary Prose. London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-30011-994-7.

External links

• Marie Lloyd biography at the Victoria & Albert Museum
• People Play UK

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