fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Leah Madeleine "Madge" Elliott (12 May 1896 – 8 August 1955) was a UK born Australian dancer and actor who was the wife and stage partner of Cyril Ritchard until her death.

Madge Elliott
Born	Leah Madeleine Elliott 12 May 1896 Fulham, London, England
Died	8 August 1955 (1955-08-09) (aged 59) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, dancer
Known for	Dancing in the UK and Australia
Spouse	Cyril Ritchard (m. 1935)
Children	one son (died as an infant)

Life

Elliott was born in Fulham in London in 1896, but her family soon emigrated to Australia. Her mother, Frances Selina Curtis (née Heighton), and her father, Nicholas Phillipps Elliott, lived in Toowoomba in Queenland where her father was a surgeon and she went to Grammar School.[1]

Her family moved to Sydney and there she was taught by dancing teacher Minnie Hooper. By 1911 she was trained and working in the children's ballet at the Melba-Williamson Opera Co.[2]

Her dance teacher, Minnie Hooper, tried to pair her up with Cyril Ritchard who was a handsome actor, but he couldn't dance. Elliott rejected him but they later teamed up and were known as "Madge and Cyril" and they went on a tour of New Zealand.[1]

The pair then appeared in Yes, Uncle![1] and Going Up, both in 1918. They went their separate ways and Ritchard shared an apartment with Walter Pidgeon in New York while he appeared there and Madge made her first West End appearance in 1925. Ritchard joined her in London and they reestablished the dancing partnership. In 1927, Laddie Cliff booked them to star in Lady Luck at the Carlton Theatre in 1927.[1]

In 1932, they returned to Australia where they became very popular. Madge was the centre of attention, with Ritchard as her partner. They appeared in a number of musicals in Australia including Blue Roses.

Elliott and Ritchard married at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, on 16 September 1935.[1][3] There were said to be 5,000 onlookers at the wedding, with Elliott's four-yard veil having a starring role.[1]

Ritchard's career took off in 1954. Elliott died in Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City, of bone cancer in 1955.[1]

References

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