Ellaline Terriss (1872-1971)
Ellaline Terriss (1872-1971)
(The Colonist [NZ] - 19th August, 1910)
Her Little Joke
Miss Ellaline Terriss, who was so charming as an American Missionary Girl in "Captain Kidd," once had an amusing adventure during rehearsals at the Vaudeville Theatre of a Christmas production in which she was taking the leading part. She was trying to push her way down to the stage through a crowd of children who were waiting to have their voices tried, when the choirmaster shouted down:
"What do you want here? Who sent you down?"
"I replied that no one had sent me down," says Miss Terriss.
"Then you've no business here," he replied. "Go away!"
"And I said to myself, 'Such is fame! Not even known in the theatre I am acting in!' I thought it would be rather fun, so I said, 'Oh, please, sir, do hear me sing, and I know a little piece of poetry, if you'd hear me.' 'All the grown-ups are engaged,' came the answer, 'but you can try if you like; you're about the height. we want,' so I pushed and got pushed down to the stage itself where the children were learning the pack of cards dance. My husband and Mr. Walter Slaughter were at the prompt table, and were coming to greet me when I motioned them not to, and, seeing something odd was happening, they said nothing. 'What can you sing?' asked the choirmaster. 'I'll try 'A Little bit of String,' if I may, I replied, and I heard him turn to Mr Slaughter and say, 'Extraordinary how they always pick things they can't do.' Well, I sang a verse, and a voice said, 'All right, that's enough. Just recite Old Mother Hubbard. Mind the h's!' This I afterwards learnt was a formula. I did so, and was engaged at 25s a week, and told to go and stand among the rabbits and lobsters. "This I did, and then I began to laugh, and then - well, the poor gentleman got very red, and we took him with us to lunch."
(Black and White [London, UK] - 2nd November, 1907)
Ellaline Terriss: An Appreciation
WHAT reply Miss Ellaline Terriss would make to the question, "What is the first essential to stage success?" were it addressed to her, we know not; but her admirers would doubtless assert that her surprising success, not less than her universal popularity, is due not merely to the possession of a face as expressive as it is beautiful, but to an overflowing vitality, a magnetic personality, a charming naturalness, which lend distinction to every role she assumes, and make her one of the most interesting and attractive personalities on the stage.
Beauty is a good letter of introduction, runs the old German proverb, but, as Emerson reminds us, "beauty, without expression, tires." Judged by this standard, the beauty of Ellaline Terriss never tires: it is ever accompanied by a vivacity which charms and captivates.
Shall we blame her because she prefers the sunshine of life and the rippling music of laughter to the shadows of pathos and tears? To enumerate her successes would be to chronicle almost every piece in which she has appeared since her debut at the age of sixteen under Mr. Beerbohm Tree in "Cupid's Messenger" at the Haymarket.
Carefully educated and trained for the stage by her talented father, William Terriss, of Adelphi fame, her success was so marked that she at once received a three years' engagement with Mr. (now Sir) Charles Wyndham at the Criterion, sustaining, among other parts, that of Ada Ingot in "David Garrick". Perhaps her first great hit was in the pantomime Cinderella.
Since her marriage to Mr. Seymour Hicks, Miss Ellaline Terriss has, in his company, scored success after success. It is only necessary to name such plays as "Quality Street", "Sweet and Twenty", "The Cherry Girl", and "Blue Bell in Fairyland" to revive in the memory of playgoers a host of delightful recollections.
(Behind the Footlights, by Mrs. Alec Tweedie - Dodd Mead and Co., New York, 1904)
Ellaline Terriss
Some people seem to be born old, others live long and die young; judging by their extraordinary juvenility, Mr. Seymour Hicks and his charming wife, nee Ellaline Terriss, belong to the latter category.
They are a boyish man and a girlish woman, in the best sense of lighthearted youthfulness, yet they have a record of successes behind them, of which many well advanced in years might be proud. No daintier, prettier, more piquante little lady trips upon our stage than Ellaline Terriss. She is the personification of everything mignonne, and whether dressed in rags as Bluebell in Fairyland or as a smart lady in a modern play, she is delightful.
It is a curious thing that so many of our prominent actors and actresses have inherited their histrionic talents from their parents and even grandparents, and Mrs. Hicks is no exception, for she is the daughter of the late well-known actor, William Terriss. She was not originally intended for the stage, and her adoption of it as a profession was almost by chance. A letter of her own describes how this came about.
"I was barely sixteen when Mr. Calmour, who wrote The Amber Heart and named the heroine after me, suggested we should surprise my father one day by playing Cupid's Messenger in our drawing-room, and that I should take the leading part. We had a brass rod fixed up across the room, and thus made a stage, and on the preceding night informed a few friends of the morrow's performance. The news greatly astonished my father, who laughed. I daresay he was secretly pleased, though he pretended not to be. A couple of months passed, and I heard that Miss Freke was engaged at the Haymarket to play the part I had sustained. Oh, how I wished it was I! Little did I think my wish was so near fulfilment. I was sitting alone over the fire one day when a telegram was handed to me, which ran: 'Haymarket Theatre. Come up at once. Play Cupid's Messenger to-night."
"I rushed to catch a train, and found myself at the stage door of the theatre at 7.15 p.m. All was hurry and excitement. I did not know how to make-up. I did not know with whom I was going to appear, and Miss Freke's dress was too large for me. The whole affair seemed like a dream. However, I am happy to say Mr. Tree stood by and saw me act, and I secured the honour of a 'call.' I played for a week, when Mr. Tree gave me a five-pound note, and a sweet letter of thanks. My father then said that if it would add to my happiness I might go on the stage, and he would get me an engagement."
How proud the girl must have been of that five pound note, for any person who has ever earned even a smaller sum knows how much sweeter money seems when acquired by one's own exertions. Five pound notes have come thick and fast since then, but I doubt if any gave the actress so much pleasure as Mr. Beerbohm Tree's first recognition of her talent.
Thus it really was quite by accident Miss Terriss entered on a theatrical career. Her father, knowing the hard work and many disappointments attendant on stage life, had not wished his daughter to follow his own calling. But talent will out. It waits its opportunity, and then, like love, asserts itself. The opportunity came in a kindly way; the talent was there, and Miss Terriss was clever and keen enough to take her chance when it came and make the most of it. From that moment she has never been idle, even her holidays have been few and far between.
Every one in London must have seen Bluebell in Fairyland which ran nearly a year. Indeed, at one time it was being played ten times a week. Think of it. Ten times a week. To go through the same lines, the same songs, the same dances, to look as if one were enjoying oneself, to enter into the spirit and fun of the representation, was indeed a herculean task, and one which the Vaudeville company successfully carried through. But poor Mrs. Hicks broke down towards the close, and was several times out of the bill.
It is doubtful whether Seymour Hicks will be better known as an actor or an author in the future, for he has worked hard at both professions successfully. He was born at St. Heliers, Jersey, in 1871, and is the eldest son of Major Hicks, of the 42nd Highlanders. His father intended him for the army, but his own taste did not lie in that direction, and when only sixteen and a half he elected to go upon the stage, and five years later was playing a principal light comedy part at the Gaiety Theatre. Like his wife, he has been several times in America, where both have met with success, and when not acting, at which he is almost constantly employed, this energetic man occupies his time by writing plays, of a light and musical nature, which are usually successful. One of the Best, Under the Clock, The Runaway Girl, Bluebell in Fairyland and The Cherry Girl have all had long runs.
When the Hicks find time for a holiday their idea of happiness is an out-of-door existence, with rod or gun for companions. Most of our actors and actresses, whose lives are necessarily so public, love the quiet of the country coupled with plenty of exercise when able to take a change. The theatre is barely closed before they rush off to moor or fen, to yacht or golf - to anything, in fact, that carries them completely away from the glare of the footlights.
(Wheelwoman And Society Cycling News [London, UK] - 7th August, 1897)
A Chat With Miss Ellaline Terriss
It was in her dainty dressing-room at the Gaiety Theatre that we chatted with the pretty young actress in "The Circus Girl."
It is late in the day to say that Miss Terriss is a great favourite. Lovely, unaffected, fascinating; it stands to reason that she is popular. She has not been a cyclist very long. At first she thought cycling was a stupid amusement, and made up her mind that she would never learn to ride such an idiotic thing as a bicycle.
"Did you find it difficult to learn when you once started?" we asked.
"No, not very, but I had several lessons; now we are quite a family of cyclists, my father, brother, and my husband, Mr. Seymour Hicks, all riding. We are enthusiasts over our bicycles, and it was not very long ago that I teased my friends about talking everlastingly of their machines, special makes of saddles, best style of lamps, correct methods of riding and pedalling and the score of items, anent accessories that cyclists make conversation of. I do not blame cycle maniacs any more."
Miss Terriss beautiful teeth gleamed mischievously, as she changed a snowy muslin robe for a fetching stage costume. We watched her fascinated, although we knew that when her toilette was complete, the inexorable "Call Boy" would come, and we should hear no more cycling experiences.
"Where have you done most riding?"
"Round about Ascot - we have a house down there - and during the fine weather my husband and I have some glorious rides. I have always taken a lot of exercise, and I sometimes wonder which I really like best, horseback riding or cycling. For some things, cycling is more exciting; then again horseback has so many advantages; on the whole I believe their merits are pretty evenly balanced. I have not taken any long rides, thirty miles being the furthest in one day. London is a place unknown to me as a wheelwoman. I have never ridden in town, and I am afraid I would never dare to."
"Do you think cycling has a good effect upon you, physically?"
"Yes, decidedly, I am sure of it. It has proved most invigorating, and I always feel more energetic after a ride than before. From all sides I hear what a lot of good cycling has done, and it passes my comprehension that there are people who pretend to know that it will die a speedy death."