Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wednesday 3 August 1927, page 16


EMELIE POLINI.

Death in New York.

Private cable advices received in Sydney an-nounce the death in New York, after a serious illness, of Miss Emelie Polini, the well-known

actress.

Miss Polini, who won great popularity on the Australian stage, was the daughter of Mr. G. M. Polini, formerly manager of the London Adelphi and Vaudeville Theatres, and for 17 years manager for the late Wilson Barrett. She went on to the stage at the age of 16 in North London, where her ability so quickly im-pressed the directors of the Marlborough Theatre that, to her surprise, she was, at re-

hearsal, handed the leading part, and played it during the season. She then went on tour as Cigarette in a company directed by Mark Blow, and next played a round of leading parts in various dramatic productions before going to New York, where she was in the leading role in "Yes or No?" on Broadway when engaged by

J. and N. Tait for Australia.

She appeared in Sydney first in April, 1918, at the Palace, in "De Luxe Annie," and achieved a success so pronounced by her charm and dramatic strength that her contract, ori-ginally drawn up for only six mouths, was re-newed at six months' intervals, until her stay here extended to years. Miss Polini scored another success in "Eyes of Youth," and among the other plays in her repertoire were "The Little Damozel," "My Lady's Dress," "The Lie," "The Flaw," and "Madame Butterfly." The support accorded these was a reflection of her popularity with Australian audiences. Public patronage, in fact, demanded the re-vival of "De Luxe Annie" and "Eyes of Youth"

no less than five times.

On her marriage to Mr. Harold Wilfred Ellis of Sydney, Miss Polini abandoned her career as an actress and took up farm life with her husband at Hartley Vale. Later, however, she left Australia for America, where she appeared in dramatic productions in Chicago.