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Nellie Small

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Nellie Small
Nellie Small, August 1952
Nellie Small, August 1952
Background information
Born1900
Sydney, Australia
Died1968 (1969) (aged 68)
OccupationEntertainer

Ellen E. Small (1900 – 1968), who performed as Nellie Small, was an Australian nightclub entertainer, jazz and blues singer, male impersonator and comic.

Career

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Born as Ellen E. Small in Sydney, Nellie Small said in radio interviews that her heritage was as an Australian/West Indian. Small attended Roman Catholic convent schools, including Sisters of the Good Samaritan, until leaving at the age of 16 to become a domestic servant and factory worker.[1][2][3] She began her career in theatre during the 1920s after being offered a part in Cairo at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney.[3][4] For the Melbourne production of Chu Chin Chow in March 1923, Small received praise as the "wife's attendant".[3][5][6] She continued with the production in Perth in April and Sydney in May.[4][7]

During the Great Depression, Small worked as a cleaner, floor-washer and laundress.[1][2] After a period of no theatre work, in 1930 Small returned to the stage as a singer, often in men's clothing.[3] From that time she lived in North Sydney with her talent manager Edith and the latter's husband Ted Meggitt, a furrier.[1][2] Wearing men's clothing was initially a publicity stunt, but it developed into working as a male impersonator.[8][9] As an actress she took a minor role in the comedy feature film Strike Me Lucky (1935).[10] She sang blues and jazz standards at Sydney's Theatre Royal and the Tivoli in Melbourne, and later performed with The Port Jackson Jazz Band.[11][12]

In the 1950s she toured New Zealand and recorded the song "The End of the Affair" (1955), which Clinton Walker described as a contender for Australia's first rock 'n' roll single.[2][13][14] A painting of her by the artist Tibor Binder (born 1923) was shown in 1954 as the Picture of the Month at the Commonwealth Immigration Offices in Sydney[15] Small was embroiled in an embargo against live entertainment in Sydney's pubs in 1954.[16] The United Licensed Victuallers' Association, representing breweries, sought to ban live entertainers from performing as a distraction from customers drinking.[16] Through the 1950s and 1960s she made appearances on TV,[17][18] and continued to perform in clubs until 1964.[11]

Legacy

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Alana Valentine based her 1991 two-hander play, Small Mercies, on Small's story. It was rejected by the Melbourne Theatre Company.[11] Valentine then wrote a performance piece for the exhibition of photos of Small at the State Library of New South Wales in 2022. This grew into a Kabarett performance, Send for Nellie, directed by Liesel Badorrek, featuring Elenoa Rokobaro and Zara Stanton as music director of an all-female band, for the Sydney Festival in January 2024.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Crouch, Wally (13 September 1953). "The Color of Her Skin Often Brings a Rebuff". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XIV, no. 43. p. 46. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  2. ^ a b c d Dunstan, Rita (28 November 1953). "She's Proud to Be 53". The Mail. Vol. 43, no. 2, 164. Adelaide, South Australia. p. 55. Retrieved 27 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ a b c d Hull, Jean (15 January 1932). "She May Be Black But She's no One's Slave". Arrow. p. 2. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  4. ^ a b "Chu Chin Chou – A Fine Spectacle". The West Australian. Vol. XXXIX, no. 6, 516. 12 April 1923. p. 7. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  5. ^ "Her Majesty's Theatre". Table Talk. Melbourne, Victoria. 15 March 1923. p. 29. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  6. ^ "Event: Chu Chin Chou". AusStage. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Contributor: Nellie Small". AusStage. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  8. ^ Rogers, Destiny (18 February 2023). "Once-famous First Nations entertainer Nellie Small". QNews. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Male or Female?". Truth. Sidney. 13 December 1936. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  10. ^ "Strike Me Lucky – Review – Photos". Ozmovies. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ a b c Valentine, Alana (2 February 2023). "Send for Nellie". State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Coloured Singer was Popular". The Queensland Times. 3 July 1948. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  13. ^ Walker, Clinton. "Bodgie Boogie". clintonwalker.com.au. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  14. ^ "78 Discography for Mercury Records – OZ – A series". globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Picture of the month". The Good Neighbour. Australian Capital Territory. 1 March 1954. p. 6. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  16. ^ a b staff reporter (20 August 2019). "From the Archives: The Great Live Music War of 1954". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2023. Note: article cites reports from August and December 1954.
  17. ^ "Oldtime Stars For a Night". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 January 1958. p. 11.
  18. ^ "Male Impersonator". The Age. 1 September 1960. p. 26.
  19. ^ Elissa Blake. "Small by Name, Fierce by Nature". Limelight. pp. 16–22. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
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