1. Gertrude Ward, Countess of Dudley, known as Gertie Millar, was an English actress and singer of the early 20th century, known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies.
17 Facts About Gertie Millar
1. 2.
Gertie Millar was one of the most prominent West End theatre performers of the early 20th century, starring in such long-running hits as The Toreador, The Orchid The Spring Chicken, The New Aladdin The Girls of Gottenberg, Our Miss Gibbs, The Quaker Girl, Gipsy Love, The Dancing Mistress, The Marriage Market, and A Country Girl.
3.
Gertie Millar was born in Manningham, Bradford, where her father, John Gertie Millar, was a mill worker, and her mother, Elizabeth, was a worsted-stuff worker and dressmaker.
4.
Gertie Millar started out as a singer and dancer in the music halls of Yorkshire.
5.
Gertie Millar made the song popular and earned a second song, "Captivating Cora", and a third, "I'm not a simple little girl".
6.
The Gaiety Theatre closed for renovations in 1902, and the last show at the old theatre was The Linkman; or, Gaiety Memories, with Gertie Millar starring as Morgiana.
7.
Gertie Millar married Monckton on 25 December 1902 in St Mark's Church, Surbiton, England.
8.
Gertie Millar became one of the most photographed women of the Edwardian period.
9.
Gertie Millar starred as Rosalie in The Spring Chicken and as Lally in The New Aladdin.
10.
Gertie Millar next starred as Mitzi in The Girls of Gottenberg.
11.
Gertie Millar visited and lunched with Millar occasionally over a period of many months and had written letters to her professing to love her and later expressing despondency over his finances.
12.
Monckton and Gertie Millar then moved to Edwardes' newest theatre, the Adelphi, where she played the title role, Prudence Pym, in another international hit, The Quaker Girl.
13.
Gertie Millar returned to the Adelphi to play Nancy Joyce in The Dancing Mistress, and back at Daly's she played Kitty Kent in The Marriage Market.
14.
Gertie Millar played Sallie Denbigh in The House of Bondage, a 1914 film.
15.
Edwardes died in 1915, and Gertie Millar's husband was in poor health.
16.
Two months later, on 30 April 1924, Gertie Millar married the 2nd Earl of Dudley.
17.
Gertie Millar, survived her second husband by two decades and died at her home in Chiddingfold in 1952, aged 73.