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their attractiveness than the
American entertainments of the same grade do." Many of the best-known London couturiers designed costumes for stage productions by the 1890s. The illustrated periodicals were eager to publish photographs of the actresses in the latest stage hits, and so the theatre became an excellent way for clothiers to publicise their latest fashions.
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in 1894 explained the importance of the Gaiety Girls: "The piece is a mixture of pretty girls, English humor, singing, dancing and bathing machines and dresses of the
English fashion. The dancing is a special feature of the performance, English burlesques giving much more attention to that feature of
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budding stars left him to marry peers or men of title while other Gaiety Girls settled for a banker or a stockbroker. The Guv’nor finding this was playing ducks and drakes with his theatrical plans had a 'nuptial clause' inserted in every contract.... Debutantes were competing with the other girls
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became the
Countess of Dudley, and Olive May married into the peerage twice. First, she became Lady Victor Paget (marrying in 1913 and divorcing in 1921) and then the Countess of Drogheda (marrying the 10th Earl in 1922). The potential for such relationships was an underlying theme of many of the
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The young ladies appearing in
Edwardes's shows became so popular that wealthy gentlemen, termed "Stage Door Johnnies", would wait outside the stage door hoping to escort them to dinner. In some cases, a marriage into society and even the nobility resulted. For example, May Gates, a chorus girl in
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depended, in part, on the beautiful dancing corps of "Gaiety Girls" appearing onstage in bathing attire and in the latest fashions. The 1890s Gaiety Girls were respectable, elegant young ladies, unlike the actresses from London's earlier musical
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126:, for his girls to dine there at half-price. It was good exposure for the girls and made Romano's the centre of London's night-life. Many of the Gaiety Girls, such as
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Gaiety girls were polite, well-behaved young women. They became a popular attraction and a symbol of ideal womanhood. Edwardes arranged with Romano's
Restaurant, on
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At the old Gaiety in the Strand the chorus was becoming a matrimonial agency for girls with ambitions to marry into the peerage and began in the nineties when
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to get into the Gaiety chorus while upper-class youths were joining the ranks of the chorus boys.
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Profiles and photos of many of the best known Gaiety Girls (National
Portrait Gallery
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article about the marriage and other similar matches. 6 September, 1908, p. C1
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Gaiety Girls' photos and biographies at the
National Portrait Gallery, London
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37:"Stage Door Johnnies" redirects here. For the album by Claire Hamill, see
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and Lily Elsie both married the same wealthy
Scotsman, Ian Bullough.
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Gaiety Girls exhibition overview, National
Portrait Gallery, London
281:, who had charmed London the previous year when she sang Maisie in
497:(revised edition, 1976), pp. 132-33; and Wodehouse, P. G. (1933)
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Description of Gaiety Girls exhibition (National
Portrait Gallery)
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The Gaiety Stage Door: Thirty Years' Reminiscences of the Theatre
226:, married a nobleman, Baron Von Ditton, of Norway. Similarly,
190:, later enjoyed substantial acting careers. One Gaiety Girl,
411:(3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services.
257:, an expert on burlesque theatre who penned the 1972 book
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Article about marriage between Gaiety Girls and noblemen
359:, Victoria and Albert Museum, accessed March 10, 2015
30:
For the 1937 film sometimes known by this title, see
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Feature on Gaiety Girls at the Arthur Lloyd website
480:, December 3, 1911, p. 65, accessed April 16, 2017
202:Stage Door Johnnies; marriage into the upper class
517:Information about the stagedoor Johnnie marriages
409:British parliamentary election results 1918-1949
230:, another chorister in the same show, married
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470:"'The Dollar Princess' Who Took the Dollars"
27:Chorus girls in Edwardian musical comedies
269:, a star of the Old Gaiety, married the
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619:Cultural history of the United Kingdom
609:Musical theatre in the United Kingdom
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77:. The popularity of this genre of
314:, London, 24 November 1894, p. 116
310:Article about the Gaiety Girls in
210:Stage Door Johnnies waiting after
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347:, Sunday, 23 December 1894, p.9a.
232:William Poulett, 7th Earl Poulett
99:An American newspaper reviewing
69:, beginning in the 1890s at the
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495:Wodehouse at Work to the End
444:The New York Dramatic Mirror
432:The New York Dramatic Mirror
247:, particularly those set at
32:Paradise for Two (1937 film)
573:(1923) London:Jonathan Cape
73:, in the shows produced by
39:Stage Door Johnnies (album)
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446:, 12 September 1908, p. 2b
357:"Designing Stage Costumes"
67:Edwardian musical comedies
36:
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65:were the chorus girls in
394:, accessed March 9, 2008
378:January 4, 2008, at the
345:The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
335:, accessed March 9, 2008
323:, accessed March 9, 2008
275:4th Marquess of Headfort
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273:and then in 1901, the
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140:Florence Collingbourne
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71:Gaiety Theatre, London
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319:14 March 2007 at the
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474:Oregon Daily Journal
434:, 18 July 1908, p.3b
382:accessed 01 Mar 2007
196:Member of Parliament
373:(Arthur Lloyd site)
545:2016-03-03 at the
522:2008-05-09 at the
489:See, for example,
457:The New York Times
271:7th Earl of Orkney
223:The Beauty of Bath
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144:Cicely Courtneidge
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18:Stagedoor Johnnies
557:(Cassell, 1975)
284:The Messenger Boy
188:Constance Collier
16:(Redirected from
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132:Ellaline Terriss
48:Gaiety Girls in
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279:Rosie Boote
243:stories of
194:, became a
184:Sylvia Grey
172:Gaby Deslys
164:Evelyn Laye
113:Poster for
90:Description
603:Categories
533:References
312:Pick-Me-Up
255:Alan Hyman
160:Mabel Love
136:Lily Elsie
124:the Strand
84:burlesques
51:The Geisha
407:(1983) .
261:, wrote:
156:Zena Dare
543:Archived
520:Archived
376:Archived
371:Cuttings
317:Archived
277:married
54:, 1896;
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505:passim
476:, via
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58:center
297:Notes
559:ISBN
413:ISBN
186:and
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20:)
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