Daphne Pollard
Encyclopedia
Daphne Pollard was an Australian actress in American films, mostly short comedies. She was also a vaudeville
performer and dancer.
. Among her fellow actors were Harry Macdonough
, Frank Doane, Charles Halton
, Edward Craven, and Joseph Herbert. Pollard appeared with the Ziegfeld Follies
and in Winter Garden Theatre
shows. In 1909 Pollard was with a group which entertained at Keith and Proctor's Fifth Avenue Theater.
Pollard came to Los Angeles at the age of 16 in July 1907. She played a role in The Bohemian Girl
at the Los Angeles Theater that September, at $60/show. Pollard appeared to Humane Officers as no more than seven years of age. She looked very young because she was small and not well-developed for her age. She told officers that she was sixteen years old the previous August.
Pollard traveled to America with her sister, Ivy, who was twenty or more years of age. As a child Ivy brought Daphne to rehearsals of the Pollard Lilliputian Opera Company. Pollard joined when she was six years old and remained with the organization for eight years. The company featured youth performers whose ages ranged from six to sixteen years. This is how Daphne Trott became Daphne Pollard.
In 1914 Pollard was the petite star of The Girl Behind the Counter
at the Morosco Theatre
on Broadway (Manhattan). The production also featured actor Al Shean
. She followed this success with performances in A Knight for a Day
(1915) and The Passing Show of 1915. The latter play was staged at The Mason Theater in Los Angeles and also featured Marilyn Miller
. Pollard returned to New York while touring with the Keith Vaudeville Circuit in 1924.
girl comedy two-reel productions for the 1927–1928 season. There were four comedy units operating at once at one point on the set. Other actresses featured in the comedy shorts are Carole Lombard
, Anita Barnes, Leota Winters, and Kathryn Stanley. The first title to be released was Why is a Bathing Girl?
In this movie Pollard demonstrated her talent as a dancer. (Lombard and Pollard were extremely close friends during the time they were working for Sennett. Stories of wild practical jokes have been written about over the years.) She memorably appeared in several Laurel and Hardy
films of the mid-1930s, as a shrewish wife of Oliver Hardy
in Thicker than Water (1935) and Our Relations
(1936) and also as a maid in Bonnie Scotland
(1935). Her screen credits continued into the early 1940s, again appearing briefly with Laurel and Hardy in The Dancing Masters
(1943). Her final role was in Kid Dynamite
(1943).
Daphne Pollard died in Los Angeles in 1978.
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer and dancer.
Diminutive stage star
Born as Daphne Trott, she came to New York City with a company in October 1908. They performed musical and dramatic shows such as The Thief, The Chorus Lady, The Witching Hour, and Girls. The productions were staged at the Grand Opera HousePike's Opera House
Pike's Opera House, later renamed the Grand Opera House, was a theatre in New York City on the northwest corner of 8th Avenue and 23rd Street, in Chelsea, Manhattan.His other Pike's Opera House, in Cincinnati, burned in the Great Fire of Cincinnati, in 1866. Rebuilt after the fire, and the first...
. Among her fellow actors were Harry Macdonough
Harry Macdonough
John Scantlebury Macdonald was a Canadian singer and recording executive. Under the pseudonym Harry Macdonough, he was one of the most prolific and popular tenors during the formative years of recorded music....
, Frank Doane, Charles Halton
Charles Halton
Charles Halton was a stern-faced American character actor who appeared in over 180 films.One of his most memorable portrayals was as Carter, the bank examiner in It's a Wonderful Life...
, Edward Craven, and Joseph Herbert. Pollard appeared with the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
and in Winter Garden Theatre
Winter Garden Theatre
The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway in midtown Manhattan.-History:The structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange....
shows. In 1909 Pollard was with a group which entertained at Keith and Proctor's Fifth Avenue Theater.
Pollard came to Los Angeles at the age of 16 in July 1907. She played a role in The Bohemian Girl
The Bohemian Girl
The Bohemian Girl is an opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Cervantes tale, La Gitanilla.The opera was first produced in London at the Drury Lane Theatre on November 27, 1843...
at the Los Angeles Theater that September, at $60/show. Pollard appeared to Humane Officers as no more than seven years of age. She looked very young because she was small and not well-developed for her age. She told officers that she was sixteen years old the previous August.
Pollard traveled to America with her sister, Ivy, who was twenty or more years of age. As a child Ivy brought Daphne to rehearsals of the Pollard Lilliputian Opera Company. Pollard joined when she was six years old and remained with the organization for eight years. The company featured youth performers whose ages ranged from six to sixteen years. This is how Daphne Trott became Daphne Pollard.
In 1914 Pollard was the petite star of The Girl Behind the Counter
The Girl Behind the Counter
The Girl Behind the Counter is an Edwardian musical comedy with a book by Arthur Anderson and Leedham Bantok, music by Howard Talbot and lyrics by Arthur Anderson , produced by Frank Curzon....
at the Morosco Theatre
Morosco Theatre
The Morosco Theatre was a legitimate theatre located at 217 West 45th Street in the heart of the theater district in midtown-Manhattan, New York, United States....
on Broadway (Manhattan). The production also featured actor Al Shean
Al Shean
Al Shean was the stage name for comedian Abraham Elieser Adolph Schönberg, although other sources give his birth name variously as Adolf Schönberg, Albert Schönberg, or Alfred Schönberg. He is most remembered for being half of the vaudeville team Gallagher and Shean, and as the uncle of the Marx...
. She followed this success with performances in A Knight for a Day
A Knight For A Day
A Knight for a Day is a 1946 Disney short film starring Goofy. Directed by Jack Hannah, this 7-minute animated comedy short was written Bill Peet, with Oliver Wallace composing the original music score.-Releases:...
(1915) and The Passing Show of 1915. The latter play was staged at The Mason Theater in Los Angeles and also featured Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences. On stage she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who...
. Pollard returned to New York while touring with the Keith Vaudeville Circuit in 1924.
Screen comedian
Pollard was cast in Mack SennettMack Sennett
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
girl comedy two-reel productions for the 1927–1928 season. There were four comedy units operating at once at one point on the set. Other actresses featured in the comedy shorts are Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
, Anita Barnes, Leota Winters, and Kathryn Stanley. The first title to be released was Why is a Bathing Girl?
In this movie Pollard demonstrated her talent as a dancer. (Lombard and Pollard were extremely close friends during the time they were working for Sennett. Stories of wild practical jokes have been written about over the years.) She memorably appeared in several Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
films of the mid-1930s, as a shrewish wife of Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...
in Thicker than Water (1935) and Our Relations
Our Relations
Our Relations is a 1936 feature film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, produced by Laurel for Hal Roach Studios.-Plot:Laurel and Hardy star as both their famous Stan and Ollie characters and as Stan and Ollie's twin brothers Bert and Alf...
(1936) and also as a maid in Bonnie Scotland
Bonnie Scotland
Bonnie Scotland is a 1935 American film starring Laurel and Hardy, produced by Hal Roach for Hal Roach Studios and directed by James W. Horne...
(1935). Her screen credits continued into the early 1940s, again appearing briefly with Laurel and Hardy in The Dancing Masters
The Dancing Masters
The Dancing Masters is a 1943 Laurel and Hardy feature film. The plot involves the team running a ballet school, and getting involved with an inventor...
(1943). Her final role was in Kid Dynamite
Kid Dynamite (film)
Kid Dynamite is a 1943 American film directed by Wallace Fox and starring the East Side Kids.- Cast :The East Side Kids:*Leo Gorcey as Ethelbert 'Muggs' McGinnis*Huntz Hall as Glimpy McGleavey*Bobby Jordan as Danny Lyons...
(1943).
Daphne Pollard died in Los Angeles in 1978.