Ellis, Mary, 1900-2003

Singer and actress Mary Ellis was born May Belle Elsas, June 15, 1897 (some sources say 1900) in New York, NY. She changed her name to Mary Ellis in 1918, when the Metropolitan Opera signed the soprano to a four-year contract. She made her Metropolitan debut December 14, 1918, in the world premiere of Giacomo Puccini's SUOR ANGELICA, and in 1919, she appeared in the premiere of Albert Wolff's operatic rendering of Maeterlinck's THE BLUE BIRD (L'OISEAU BLEU). In 1922, she left the Metropolitan for a David Belasco production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, and in 1924 she originated the title role in Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein, Rudolf Friml, and Herbert Stothart's operetta ROSE MARIE. Through the 1920s and into the 1930s, she performed in a number of plays with her third husband, Basil Sydney.

In 1933, Mary Ellis settled in London, where she began an association with actor-composer-writer-director Ivor Novello, eventually starring in three of his musical plays: GLAMOROUS NIGHT (1935), THE DANCING YEARS (1939), and ARC DE TRIOMPHE (1943). She also appeared in several films for Paramount Pictures, including PARIS IN SPRING (1935). A later theatrical highlight came with Terence Rattigan's PLAYBILL (1948), composed of the one-acts THE BROWNING VERSION and HARLEQUINADE, although she had a professional disappointment as Mrs. Erlynne in Noel Coward's AFTER THE BALL (1954), a poorly received version of LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN. It was Mary Ellis' last singing role. But she continued to appear in plays, giving her final stage performance in a 1970 production of MRS. WARREN' PROFESSION. A non-ghost-written autobiography, THOSE DANCING YEARS, appeared in 1982. Approaching her centenary in the 1990s, she took on a recurring role in the SHERLOCK HOLMES television series. Mary Ellis died January 30, 2003 in London, at the age of 105.

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