Sadie Corré
Encyclopedia
Sadie Corré was a 4'2" English actress, tap dance
r, comic performer and leading pantomime
cat. She was sometimes credited as Sadie Corrie.
Corré was educated and trained at the Italia Conti stage school, where a classmate was Dinah Sheridan
. Her first stage appearance was aged 7 at the Palace Pier in Brighton
and her first professional role was aged 12 as Trouble in Madame Butterfly at the Streatham Hill Theatre.
Her next appearance was in Where the Rainbow Ends at the Holborn Empire. Corré's film roles at that time included juvenile parts with Marlene Dietrich
and Richard Tauber
. After Holborn she appeared in Noël Coward
’s Cavalcade
in 1931 for 11 months at the Theatre Royal
in London's Drury Lane
. Her next stage work was for the producer and manager Charles B. Cochran
during 1935 to 1936 at the Adelphi Theatre
in Follow the Sun
with Vic Oliver
.
Corré’s break came in 1937 when she was invited by Hughie Green
to join his touring concert party “Hughie Green and his Gang”. With a cast entirely made up of children, the company toured until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Corré later appeared on the same bill as Max Miller, Robb Wilton
and Wee Georgie Wood
. During 1939 and 1940 she toured as Michael in Peter Pan
and spent the rest of the war touring the country with ENSA
, entertaining the troops. In 1947, while she was appearing at the Gateshead Empire, Hughie Green invited her to join his new roadshow Opportunity Knocks.
Clarkson Rose who put her in his pantomime
Goody Two-Shoes at the King’s Theatre in Hammersmith
. She played a four-month season in 1960-61 at the London Palladium
with Norman Wisdom
in Turn Again, Whittington as the Cat. Over the next twenty years Corré was a regular pantomime cat, appearing with, among others, Arthur Askey
, Eddie Gray
, Dana
, Spike Milligan
, Joe Brown
, Tommy Cooper
, Norman Vaughan
and Jess Conrad
. She appeared in two award-winning television documentaries – Lord Snowdon
's Born to Be Small in 1971, about people of restricted growth, and The Skin Game in 1970, an edition of LWT
's arts magazine series Aquarius
that examined pantomime animal traditions.
. Arthritis
forced her to retire and her cat costume was donated to London's Theatre Museum
. Corré was a Past Officer of the Grand Order of Lady Ratlings
and had also sat on the Board of the Variety Artists’ Federation.
Corré appeared as a Transylvanian in the cult film,
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
as well as an Ewok
in Return of the Jedi.
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...
r, comic performer and leading pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
cat. She was sometimes credited as Sadie Corrie.
Early years
Her parents were Abraham and Kate Corré, who owned the Carlton Tavern public house. Her father died in 1919 and her mother continued to run the pub alone until she married William Bundle in August 1922. From this union Sadie gained a half brother, Edward, and two half sisters, Joan and Alma. Under medical advice Sadie was given huge numbers of over-ripe bananas to eat as this considered to be the cure at that time for her lack of height. Needless to say it didn't work and Sadie never ate bananas again.Corré was educated and trained at the Italia Conti stage school, where a classmate was Dinah Sheridan
Dinah Sheridan
Dinah Sheridan is an English actress who appeared in the films 29 Acacia Avenue and Genevieve .She made her film debut in 1937, and has frequently appeared on television...
. Her first stage appearance was aged 7 at the Palace Pier in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and her first professional role was aged 12 as Trouble in Madame Butterfly at the Streatham Hill Theatre.
Her next appearance was in Where the Rainbow Ends at the Holborn Empire. Corré's film roles at that time included juvenile parts with Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
and Richard Tauber
Richard Tauber
Richard Tauber was an Austrian tenor acclaimed as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. Some critics commented that "his heart felt every word he sang".-Early life:...
. After Holborn she appeared in Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
’s Cavalcade
Cavalcade (play)
Cavalcade is a play by Noël Coward. It focuses on three decades in the life of the Marryotts, a quintessential British family, and their servants, beginning at the start of the 20th century and ending on New Year's Eve in 1929....
in 1931 for 11 months at the Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal is the name of many theatres, especially in the United Kingdom. The name was once an indication that the theatre was a patent theatre, with a Royal Patent without which performances of serious drama would be illegal.United Kingdom:...
in London's Drury Lane
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
. Her next stage work was for the producer and manager Charles B. Cochran
Charles B. Cochran
Sir Charles Blake Cochran , generally known as C. B. Cochran, was an English theatrical manager. He produced some of the most successful musical revues, musicals and plays of the 1920s and 1930s, becoming associated with Noel Coward and his works.-Biography:Cochran was born in Sussex and educated...
during 1935 to 1936 at the Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
in Follow the Sun
Follow the Sun
Follow the Sun is a 1951 biographical film of the life of golf legend Ben Hogan. It starred Glenn Ford as Hogan and Anne Baxter as his wife. Many golfers and sports figures of the day appeared in the movie.-Plot summary:...
with Vic Oliver
Vic Oliver
Vic Oliver was an actor and radio comedian.He was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of Viktor von Samek and came to England via America....
.
Corré’s break came in 1937 when she was invited by Hughie Green
Hughie Green
Hughie Green was the host of numerous British television shows.-Early life:Hugh H. Green was born in London; his Scottish father was a former British Army Major who made his fortune supplying tinned fish to the Allied forces in World War I, while his mother Violet was the Surrey-born daughter of...
to join his touring concert party “Hughie Green and his Gang”. With a cast entirely made up of children, the company toured until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Corré later appeared on the same bill as Max Miller, Robb Wilton
Robb Wilton
Robb Wilton, born Robert Wilton Smith was an English comedian and comic actor who was famous for his filmed monologues in the 1930s and 1940s in which he played incompetent authority figures....
and Wee Georgie Wood
Wee Georgie Wood
George Wood, better known as Wee Georgie Wood, was a British actor and comedian who appeared in films, plays and music hall revues. Wood, who was a midget, worked most his professional life in the guise of a child, appearing in comic and sentimental sketches. He also wrote a column in the weekly...
. During 1939 and 1940 she toured as Michael in Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
and spent the rest of the war touring the country with ENSA
ENSA
ENSA may refer to:* ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association* ENSA * École Nationale des Sciences Appliquées d'Oujda, an engineering school in Morocco* EC-Council Network Security Administrator...
, entertaining the troops. In 1947, while she was appearing at the Gateshead Empire, Hughie Green invited her to join his new roadshow Opportunity Knocks.
Pantomime cat
In 1948 Corré met the pantomime damePantomime dame
A pantomime dame is a traditional character in British pantomime. It is a continuation of en travesti portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. They are often played either in an extremely camp style, or else by men acting 'butch' in women's clothing...
Clarkson Rose who put her in his pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
Goody Two-Shoes at the King’s Theatre in Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
. She played a four-month season in 1960-61 at the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
with Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...
in Turn Again, Whittington as the Cat. Over the next twenty years Corré was a regular pantomime cat, appearing with, among others, Arthur Askey
Arthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
, Eddie Gray
Eddie Gray
Edwin "Eddie" Gray was a cultured winger who was an integral member of the legendary Leeds United football team of the 1960s and 1970s, later twice becoming the club's manager....
, Dana
Dana Rosemary Scallon
Dana Rosemary Scallon , known in her singing career simply as Dana, is an Irish singer and former Member of the European Parliament ....
, Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
, Joe Brown
Joe Brown (singer)
Joe Brown, MBE is an English entertainer.He has worked as a rock and roll singer and guitarist for more than five decades. He was a stage and television performer in the late 1950s and a UK recording star in the early 1960s...
, Tommy Cooper
Tommy Cooper
Thomas Frederick "Tommy" Cooper was a very popular British prop comedian and magician from Caerphilly, Wales.Cooper was a member of The Magic Circle, and respected by traditional magicians...
, Norman Vaughan
Norman Vaughan
Norman Vaughan may refer to:*Norman D. Vaughan , American dogsled driver and explorer*Norman Vaughan , British comedian...
and Jess Conrad
Jess Conrad
Jess Conrad OBE is an actor and singer from England.-Career:Having started his career as a repertory actor and film extra, Jess Conrad was cast in a television play "Bye, Bye Barney" as a pop singer...
. She appeared in two award-winning television documentaries – Lord Snowdon
Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon
Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, GCVO, RDI is an English photographer and film maker. He was married to Princess Margaret, younger daughter of King George VI and younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II....
's Born to Be Small in 1971, about people of restricted growth, and The Skin Game in 1970, an edition of LWT
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
's arts magazine series Aquarius
Aquarius (TV series)
Aquarius is a British arts television series, produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network. It ran from 1970-1977 when it was replaced by The South Bank Show....
that examined pantomime animal traditions.
Later years
Her last stage appearance was with Keith Harris when she played Cuddles at the 1984 Royal Command PerformanceRoyal Command Performance
For the annual Royal Variety Performance performed in Britain for the benefit of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund, see Royal Variety Performance...
. Arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
forced her to retire and her cat costume was donated to London's Theatre Museum
Theatre Museum
The Theatre Museum in the Covent Garden district of London, England, was the United Kingdom's national museum of the performing arts. It was a branch of the UK's national museum of applied arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum...
. Corré was a Past Officer of the Grand Order of Lady Ratlings
Grand Order of Water Rats
The Grand Order of Water Rats is an entertainment industry charity, and brotherhood, based in London. The Water Rats were founded in 1889 by comedian Joe Elvin. The first King Rat, as the head of the charity is termed, was music hall singer Harry Freeman. Comedian Dan Leno joined in 1890 and was...
and had also sat on the Board of the Variety Artists’ Federation.
Corré appeared as a Transylvanian in the cult film,
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
as well as an Ewok
Ewok
Ewoks originate from the Star Wars films. In the series, they are a species of teddy-bear-like hunter-gatherers that inhabit the forest moon of Endor. The Ewoks live in various tree-huts and primitive dwellings. They first appeared in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
in Return of the Jedi.
Selected filmography
- Funny Bones (1995) - Poodle Woman
- CaravaggioCaravaggio (film)Caravaggio is a British film directed by Derek Jarman. The film is a fictionalized re-telling of the life of Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.-Plot:...
(1986) - Princess Collona - Return of the Jedi (1983; as Sadie Corrie) - Ewok Warrior
- The Dark CrystalThe Dark CrystalThe Dark Crystal is a 1982 British-American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Although marketed as a family film, it was notably darker than previous material created by them. The animatronics used in the film were considered groundbreaking. The primary concept artist was the...
(1982; as Sadie Corrie) - Slave Master - Wombles (1977) - Womble, Madame Cholet
- The Old Curiosity Shop (1975; uncredited) - Midget
- The Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
(1975) - The smallest Transylvanian - Bright's Boffins (TV series; 1970) - Oswald (unknown number of episodes)
- Chitty Chitty Bang BangChitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The...
(1968) - Devil Doll (1964; uncredited) - Hugo, The Dummy
Links
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0180742/Corré on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
] - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6860694.eceObituary in The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
6 October 2009] - http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/sep/17/sadie-corre-obituaryObituary in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
17 September 2009] - http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/feature.php/25410/sadie-correObituary in The StageThe StageThe Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
28 August 2009]