Lily Elsie~One of the Most Photographed Girls in Edwardian Times

Описание: Lily Elsie~Lily Elsie (8 April 1886 -- 16 December 1962) was a popular English actress and singer during the Edwardian era, best known for her starring role in the hit London premiere of Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow.

Beginning as a child star in the 1890s, Elsie built her reputation in several successful Edwardian musical comedies before her great success in The Merry Widow, opening in 1907. Afterwards, she starred in several more successful operettas and musicals. Admired for her beauty and charm on stage, Elsie became one of the most photographed women of Edwardian times.

In 1920, Elsie moved with her husband to the Gloucestershire village of Redmarley D'Abitôt, spending ten more years away from the stage, which she had always found stressful, and enjoying social events and fox hunting. She returned to theatre, touring and then at the Prince of Wales's Theatre in London in 1927 as Eileen Mayne in The Blue Train, the English-language adaptation of Robert Stolz's German musical comedy Mädi. Her last show before retiring was Ivor Novello's successful The Truth Game back at Daly's Theatre in 1928--1929.
Finally, in 1930, Elsie's unhappy marriage ended in divorce as her health deteriorated further and she became subject to fits of ill temper. She became a hypochondriac and spent much time in nursing homes and Swiss sanatoria. She was diagnosed as having serious psychological ailments and underwent brain surgery that reportedly resulted in an improvement in her health. Her last years were spent at St. Andrew's Hospital in London.

Elsie died at St. Andrew's Hospital in London at age 76.