British postcard by The Rapid Photo Printing Co., London, no. 1828. Printed in Belgium.
British postcard by Ed. Raphael Tuck & Sons, Photochrome, no. 331 B. Photo: Bassano.
British postcard in the Philco Series, no. 2012 D. Photo: Bassano.
British postcard in the Empire Series, London, no. 28. Printed in Berlin.
Prima donna at London's Gaiety Theatre
Gertie Millar was born in 1879 in Manningham, Bradford, as Gertrude Miller. Her father, John Millar, was a mill worker and her mother, Elizabeth Millar, a seamstress. Gertie grew up to be tall, thin and attractive with dark hair and large limpid eyes. She was also tough, determined and ambitious.
At 13, she made her stage debut in a children's show. Gertie played Lily in the pantomime 'Babes in the Wood' (1892) in the St James's Theatre in Manchester. She also started singing and dancing in variety theatres in Yorkshire. Not long after, Gertie moved to London and started working in theatres there. Soon, she earned substantial sums and attracted much attention for her performances.
Her other early roles include Phyllis Crosby in the musical comedy 'A Game of Cards' (Shodfriars Hall, Boston, 1897); Dora in 'The New Barmaid' (a UK tour in 1898); 'The Silver Lining' (UK tour, 1898); Sadie Pinkhose in 'The Lady Detective' (UK tour, 1898); and Dandini in 'Cinderella' (Grand Theatre, Fulham, London, 1899).
In 1901, Lionel Monckton (1861-1924), an Oxford University-educated lawyer and theatre critic turned composer, gave Millar the role of Isabel Blyth in the musical 'The Messenger Boy'. She performed several songs in it that were very popular with the audience and made Millar a star. She married Monckton in 1902.
Gertie Millar's early career had coincided with the rise of operettas and musical comedies. This new form of entertainment in the Edwardian period was supported by George Edwardes, the manager of London's Gaiety Theatre and Daly's Theatres. The year before, the famous theatre manager had lost his star, Marie Tempest, after a disagreement over a costume, and he recruited Gertie Millar to be the new leading lady in his productions. From 1901 to 1910, Millar became the prima donna at the Gaiety Theatre in a series of highly successful musicals composed for her by her husband, Lionel Monckton, and Ivan Caryll.
British postcard in the 'Celebrities of the stage' series by Raphael Tuck & Sons, no. 234 (?).
British postcard by Rotary, no. 459 V. Photo: W.& D. Downey, London.
British postcard in the Star Series by Gottschalk, Dreyfuss & Davis, London. The card was printed in Germany. Millar's name is misspelt as Miller.
One of the most photographed actresses of the Edwardian era
One of Gertie Millar's greatest triumphs was her role as Bridesmaid Cora in her first musical for George Edwardes, 'The Toreador'(1901). During a national Gaitey Theatre Tour, she performed the role 675 times. Her next role was as Mary Gibbs in the musical 'Our Miss Gibbs' that opened at the Gaiety on 23 January 1902. Sydney Higgins at The Golden Age of British Theatre (1880-1920): "Its strong cast included George Grossmith jr., Robert Hale, Edmund Payne, Denise Orme, Jean Aylwin, Gladys Homfrey and Kitty Mason, but Gertie Millar was, without doubt, the star and made her the best known musical comedy performer in the country." Millar became one of the most photographed actresses of the Edwardian era, along with Lily Elsie and Gabrielle Ray.
The Gaiety Theatre closed for renovations in 1902, and the last show at the old theatre was 'The Linkman; or, Gaiety Memories', with Millar starring as Morgiana. In 1903, the new Gaiety Theatre opened in the presence of His Majesty King Edward VI and Queen Alexandra with the premiere of the musical comedy 'The Orchid' (1903) with Gertie Millar starring as Violet Anstruther. The show ran for 559 performances. Success after success followed during the next decade. Her other roles included Rosalie in 'The Spring Chicken' (Gaiety Theatre, 1905); Lally in 'The New Aladdin' (Gaiety Theatre, 1906); Mitzi, the innkeeper's daughter in 'The Girls of Gottenberg' (Gaiety Theatre, 1907-1908 and Broadway in 1908); Franzi in 'A Waltz dream' the English-language production of the Operetta 'Ein Walzertraum' by Oscar Straus (Hicks Theater, 1908); and Prudence Pym in 'The Quaker Girl' in Edwardes' new Adelphi Theatre (1910). The latter ran for an extremely successful 536 performances.
Some of Millar's songs became famous, such as 'Keep Off the Grass' from 'The Toreador' (1901), 'Berlin Is On The Spree' from 'The Girls of Gottenberg' (1907) and 'Moonstruck' from 'Our Miss Gibbs' (1902), a hit song which Monkton had written especially for his wife. Her later roles included Lady Babby in 'Gipsy Love' after the Franz Léhar Operetta 'Zigeunerliebe' (Daly's Theatre, 1912); Nancy Joyce in 'The Dancing Mistress' (Adelphi, 1912); 'The Marriage Market' (Daly's, 1912), and Nan in 'The Country Girl' (Daly's, 1914). Millar continued to perform during the First World War, but it brought a change in the tastes of the theatregoing public. Edwardes died in 1915, and Millar's husband, Lionel Monckton, was in poor health.
At the Palace Theatre, Gertie Millar starred in Monckton's revues 'Bric a Brac' (1915) and 'Airs and Graces' (1917), and the musical comedies 'Houp-La' (1916) and 'Flora' (1918). Monckton's style no longer shone as brightly as in the past, and Millar was considered a star of the earlier Edwardian period. New stars were emerging to cater to the new tastes of the post-war generation. Audiences were now flocking to the comfort of the new cinema palaces for their escapism. In 1918, she made her final appearance at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, the city where she had been born. Millar's marriage to Monckton had not been a happy one, and she even asked for a divorce, but Lionel refused to grant it. Only after Monckton died in 1924, she remarried William Humble Ward, Second Earl of Dudley, becoming the Countess of Dudley. Before the war, he had been the Governor-General of Australia. Gertie Millar, the working-class girl from Yorkshire who grew up to be one of the best-loved stars and most photographed women of the Edwardian era, had become Lady Dudley. Her husband died in 1932. Twenty years later, Lady Dudley passed away in 1952 in Chiddingford, England.
But did Gertie Millar also appear on screen? According to IMDb and Wikipedia, the actress was known for the American silent film The House of Bondage (Pierce Kingsley, Raymond B. West, 1914). In this lost drama, Lottie Pickford (yes, Mary's sister) plays a young girl rebelling against her strict school and who is then tricked by a romantic suitor into prostitution. The film was produced by the Photo Drama Company and was based on the novel by Reginald Wright Kauffman. Marlene Pilaete, also known as EFSP's own Ms. Sherlock, has doubts about this info: "The Library of Congress mentions the actress in the film as Miller instead of Millar, so this may refer to somebody else. Apart from Millar's performance in Broadway, nothing is known about any additional work in the US, and it would be strange for such a musical star to travel to the US to play a small supporting part in an American production. Instead, in 1912 a Gertrude Miller played a child in the American film, A Western Child's Heroism. Maybe this was the same Miller? 'The House of Bondage' was performed in 1908-1909 in London as a stage play, and directed by Herbert Beerbohm Tree, but without Gertie Millar."
British postcard by Rotary Photo, no. 1603 J.
British postcard in the Silverine series by Ray & Co., London.
Vintage postcard, probably German by C.B.N.St., series 17-6 Dess., no. 7773. Mailed in Lillebonne, France, 25-4-1905.
British postcard by Rotary Photo, no. S.S. 112A. Caption: To wish you a very happy Christmas.
Sources: Sydney Higgins (The Golden Age of British Theatre (1880-1920)), Wikipedia (Dutch and English), and IMDb.
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