Vesta Tilley
Born: Matilda Alice Powles, May 13th 1864 British music hall singer and one of the most famous male impersonators of her era
Encouraged by her comedyactor songwriter music hall chairman father, Matilda made her first appearance on stage aged just 3½
Aged 6, Tilley made her first male dressed role in ‘The Pocket Sims Reeves’
Opera singer Sims Reeves
During her youth, Matilda used the stage name:
The Great Tilley
By the age of 11, Matilda’s salary was able to support her parents and siblings
April 1878 saw the first use of the name
Vesta Tilley
Composed of Vesta, a safety match brand and the Roman Goddess of heath and home and her childhood nickname, Tilley
Initially performing female roles, Tilley sang sentimental pieces such as ‘Poor Jo’ in which she played a workhouse child
As Tilley got older, she began to follow other male impersonators
“I felt that I could express myself better if I were dressed as a boy�
Performing songs portraying young men behaving embarrassingly or badly
Tilleys impersonations intended to be comical, allowing the audience to laugh at the characters often hyperbolic and inflated egos Fops Dandies
Amongst these roles were the titular character Berlington Bertie and the Seaside Sultan, a holidaying clerk
Equally comical was the play on her identity as a woman, a subject matter of many of her songs
“Girls are the ruin of men” “Following in fathers footsteps” “The girls I’ve left behind me”
A Victorian Lady, riding an ostrich
Pantomies were a natural progression in Tilley’s career, frequently landing the leading male role Pertiboy – Beauty and the Beast The titular roles in both Robinson Crusoe and Dick Whittington Captain Tra-la-la in Sinbad The prince in another production of Beauty and the Beast
“He’s behind you!”
At the height of her fame Tilley was making £500 a week - equivalent to £50,000 today
Vesta married Abraham Walter de Frece, a music hall entrepreneur and the son of a theatre owner in 1890
Walter founded a chain of music halls called The Hippodome, where Vesta would perform regularly
Already a famous entertainer, the paring allowed her career to continue to blossom
As a celebrated Vaudeville star, Vesta laid the foundation stone of Sunderland’s Empire Theatre in 1906, with a bar in the venue named after her
“The most perfectly dressed young man in the house�
In her going stardom, Tilley was able to find fame on both side of the Atlantic Performing at the first Royal variety performance in 1912 as ‘The Piccadilly Johnny with the glass eye’
Tilley would often spend months perfecting new characters. Roles with a lightly mocking edge, furthering her popularity amongst working class men.
Also wildly popular among women, she was viewed as a symbol of independence
Off stage Vesta made a conscious effort to emphasize her femininity; wearing copious amounts of fur and jewelry to protect herself from criticism
Tilleys popularity reached an all time high during WW1. Along with her husband, were actively involved in military recruitment both on stage and off. Running a military recruitment drive in a guise of characters like ‘Tommy in the trench’ and ‘Jack tar home from sea’
Tilley performed songs like ‘The army of today’s all right’ and ‘Jolly good luck to the girl who loves a soldier’ – Acquired herself the nickname ‘Britain’s best recruiting sergeant’ When I think about my dugout, Where I dare not stick my mug out… I’m glad I’ve got a bit of a blighty one!’
Giving up the stage was a compromise she made for her husband as he wished to become an MP and her prefession was not seen as respectable enough for such milieu.
Tilleys Farewell tour took a year to complete (19191920). Though she had no children, all proceedss from her tour were given to children’s charities in the cities the performances took place Her final appearance ws at the Colisuem Theatre London, aged 56
Living out her retirement in Monte Carlo as Lady de Frece with her husband, knighted in 1919 for their services to the war effort
Autobiography ‘recollections of Vesta Tilley’ was published in 1934
Vesta died in London 1952, aged 88. Buried alongside her husband, at Putney Vale Cemetary
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