Jessie Matthews facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jessie Matthews
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Matthews in 1917, aged ten.
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| Born |
Jessie Margaret Matthews
11 March 1907 |
| Died | 19 August 1981 (aged 74) Eastcote, London, England
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| Years active | 1919–1981 |
| Spouse(s) |
Henry Lytton Jr.
(m. 1926; div. 1930)Brian Lewis
(m. 1945; div. 1959) |
Jessie Margaret Matthews (born March 11, 1907 – died August 19, 1981) was a famous English actress, dancer, and singer. She was very popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and her career continued for many years after that.
Jessie starred in many successful stage musicals and films in the mid-1930s, like Evergreen. She became very well-known in the USA, where people called her "The Dancing Divinity" because of her amazing dancing. However, her British film studio didn't want to let their biggest star go. This meant that offers for her to work in Hollywood were often turned down.
Later in her career, Jessie made a big comeback in Britain. She took over the role of Mary Dale in a popular BBC Radio show called The Dales. This show was previously known as Mrs Dale's Diary.
Contents
Early Life
Jessie Margaret Matthews was born on March 11, 1907, in Soho, London, England. She was born in a small flat above a butcher's shop. Her family was not rich, and she was the seventh of sixteen children. Only eleven of her siblings survived.
Jessie's father, George Ernest Matthews, sold fruits and vegetables. Soon after she was born, her family moved to Livonia Street. When she was five, they moved again to Carlos Street in Camden Town. There, she went to St Matthew's School. In 1915, Jessie and her family moved back to Soho. They lived in a flat above some stables. She then went to Pulteney Street London County Council School for Girls.
Career
Starting Out
As a child, Jessie took dancing lessons in a room above a local pub. She first performed on stage on December 29, 1919, when she was 12 years old. This was in a show called Bluebell in Fairyland at The Metropolitan Music Hall in London. She started as a child dancer.
Jessie first appeared in a movie in 1923. It was a silent film called The Beloved Vagabond. She also had a small part in Straws in the Wind the next year. In 1923, Jessie also made her West End debut. She was in a show called Music Box Revue at the Palace Theatre. After this, she joined the chorus of London Calling!, a show by Noël Coward.
Jessie was then in the chorus of Charlot's Review of 1924 in London. She went with the show to New York. There, she was also the understudy for the main star, Gertrude Lawrence. The show then moved to Toronto. When Gertrude Lawrence became sick, Jessie took over her role. She received excellent reviews for her performance.
Becoming Famous
Jessie Matthews became a star in The Charlot Show of 1926. In this show, she danced ballet with Anton Dolin. She also performed in musical comedy with Henry Lytton Junior. Jessie and Henry got married that same year. However, they divorced after only a few years. During this time, she signed a big contract worth £25,000. This was a huge amount of money, equal to over £1 million today. She became a main actress on Broadway in The Charlot Show of 1927.
In 1927, Jessie starred in One Dam Thing After Another. This show featured the hit song "My Heart Stood Still", which she introduced. It was in this show that she first met her co-star, Sonnie Hale. The next year, they performed Coward's song "A Room with a View" in This Year of Grace. Critics praised her performance in this show. She was also very successful in another show called Wake up and Dream (1929). In this show, she and Sonnie Hale introduced Cole Porter's "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love".
Jessie's fame reached its highest point with her main role in the 1930 stage show Ever Green. This musical was partly inspired by the life of a famous music hall star. Ever Green was the most expensive musical ever put on a British stage at that time. It even had the first major revolving stage in Britain. In this show, Jessie introduced another famous song, "Dancing on the Ceiling".
Film Star
Jessie Matthews' first big film role was in the musical Out of the Blue (1931). But this movie was not very successful. However, the next year, she starred in There Goes the Bride, which was a hit. After that, she made The Man from Toronto and The Midshipmaid.
Jessie had great success in the film The Good Companions (1933). This movie was based on a popular novel. In 1933, she also starred in Waltzes from Vienna. This film was about the story behind the famous song "The Blue Danube". It was directed by a young Alfred Hitchcock. After that, she appeared in another film with many stars, Friday the Thirteenth (1933). In this movie, she appeared on screen for the first time with Sonnie Hale, who was her husband by then.
She then starred in the film version of Evergreen (1934). This movie featured a new song called "Over My Shoulder". This song became Jessie's special "signature song". It later gave its name to her autobiography and a musical show about her life.
This was followed by First a Girl (1935), where she played a character who dressed as a boy. Then came It's Love Again (1936), where she had an American co-star, Robert Young. That year, people voted her the sixth biggest star in the country.
Jessie then started appearing in films directed by her husband, Sonnie Hale. These included Gangway (1937), Head over Heels (1937), and Sailing Along (1938). In 1938, she was the fourth biggest British star at the box office.
In 1939, Jessie and Sonnie Hale returned to the stage in their own musical, I Can Take It. This show had a successful tour. It was supposed to open in London, but World War II started, and the show was cancelled.
World War II
During the beginning of World War II, Jessie's voice and cheerful look made her a well-loved star in Britain. She was one of many British stars in the Hollywood film Forever and a Day (1943). She also returned to the West End stage in a show called Wild Rose in 1942.
Jessie's popularity changed in the 1940s after she was away from films for several years. She then made a thriller movie called Candles at Nine (1944), which was not very successful. She also directed and appeared in a short film, Victory Wedding (1944).
During the war, she traveled to Continental Europe to entertain soldiers as part of ENSA.
After the War
After the war, people saw Jessie Matthews as a reminder of the fancy pre-war times. She appeared in variety shows and returned to musical theatre in Maid to Measure in 1947. However, this show closed quickly. Jessie also started acting in plays that were not musicals. In 1949, she appeared in Terence Rattigan's Playbill. She then starred in the show Sauce Tartare, which ran for several months. In 1950, she toured Britain playing Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion.
From 1952 to 1953, Jessie toured Australia in a play called Larger Than Life. Back in the UK, she toured in Noël Coward's Private Lives in 1954. The next year, she worked with Sonnie Hale again in a comedy called Nest of Robins. They also toured with this play in 1957. This was their last time performing on stage together.
Jessie returned to movies when she played Tom Thumb's mother in the 1958 children's film tom thumb. After this film, she moved to Melbourne, Australia, and opened a drama school. She continued acting, appearing in Dinner with the Family (1959) for Australian television. Jessie moved back to the UK in 1960.
In the 1960s, Jessie became famous again. She took over the main role of Mary Dale in the BBC's popular daily radio show The Dales. This show had been on air for 21 years when it ended in 1969.
Later Career
Jessie Matthews was given an OBE award in 1970. This award recognizes her important contributions. She continued to perform in cabaret shows and make occasional appearances in films and on television throughout the 1970s. This included a guest role in the TV drama series Angels. Her last performance in a stage musical was in The Water Babies (1973). This show was based on the children's novel The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby.
She also played "Aunt Bessie" Merriman in the 1978 TV series Edward & Mrs. Simpson. This show told the story of King Edward VIII's decision to give up his throne. The same year, she returned to the theatre in Lady Windermere's Fan.
She took her one-woman stage show to Los Angeles in 1979. There, she won an award for the best performance in concert. Jessie's very last performance was on December 14, 1980, at London's Royal National Theatre.
Personal Life and Death
On February 17, 1926, when she was 18, Jessie married her first husband, actor Henry Lytton, Jr.. They divorced in 1930.
Jessie later married actor Sonnie Hale on January 24, 1931. They lived in a farmhouse in Hampton. After thirteen years of marriage, Sonnie Hale and Jessie Matthews divorced in 1944.
On August 9, 1945, she married for the third and last time to military officer Lt. Brian Lewis. They separated in 1956 and later divorced.
Jessie had one adopted daughter, Catherine Hale-Monro.
Jessie Matthews lived in Hatch End, north west London, later in her life. She died of cancer on August 19, 1981, at the age of 74.
Legacy
A documentary about Jessie Matthews called Catch A Fallen Star was shown on the BBC in 1987.
A special plaque was put up above the place where she took childhood dance classes. This was at 22 Berwick Street, Soho. It was unveiled on May 3, 1995, by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Theatre Shows
Jessie Matthews performed in many theatre shows throughout her career. Here are some of them:
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Filmography
Here is a list of films Jessie Matthews appeared in:
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Box Office Success
For several years, people who owned movie theaters in Britain voted Jessie Matthews among the top ten stars. This was in a yearly poll by the Motion Picture Herald.
- 1936 – 6th most popular star, 2nd most popular British star
- 1937 – 3rd
- 1938 – 4th
Images for kids
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Jessie Matthews' memorial plaque in Berwick Street.
See also
In Spanish: Jessie Matthews para niños
