Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Saturday 18 November 1939, page 13


Peer and skating star wed

GLADYS MONCRIEFF, Aus-tralian songster, whose marriage did not interrupt her stage

career.

MRS. ERIK FISCHER, formerly Helene Kirsova, of the Russian ballet, who gave up a brilliant

career for marriage.

deVilliers romance links

blue blood and stage

Thrill of the moment for the romantically-minded is the Lord de Villiers-Lovett Mackinnon wedding. lt's always that way when the peerage takes a bride from the

stage.

Gilding on the romance is the news that the Lord in the case paid a substantial sum of money to take over the Canadian ice ballerina's contract so that they could be married at once.

PAYING for release from a

stage ' contract is a well-known procedure in England and America, particularly in Hollywood, but it is rare in

Australia.

That didn't matter to Lord Arthur Percy de Villiers. The 27-year-old third Baron de

Villiers, who is visiting Aus-tralia from his South African home, was not prepared to wait till February, when the skating contract would have expired.

He preferred to arrange that Lovett be free to marry with-out delay.

LADY DE VILLIERS, formerly Lovett Mackinnon, Canadian ice ballerina, whose romantic marriage was celebrated quietly at

a Cronulla church last week.

Lady de Villiers, who is 21, was dancing on skates with her sister Joy in the Switzerland Ice Show. She met Lord de Villiers on the boat coming from South Africa five months ago.

It looks as though her stage

career is over.

Similar case was that of Fayette Perry, charming little American comedienne, and Mr. Jimmy Allison, city clubman and station owner, who paid £3000 to free her from a stage

contract.

Fayette Perry came to Australia to appear for J. and N. Tait at the Palace Theatre in the production, "Very Good Eddie."

Later she took a contract from Hugh D. McIntosh, who refused to release her when she decided to marry and give up her career.

Mr. Allison dealt with that.

The two biggest theatrical wed-dings of recent Australian history were those of Toti dal Monte and Enzo de Muro Lomanti, of opera fame, and the musical comedy fav-orites, Madge Elliott and Cyril

Ritchard.

Both weddings took place at St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, in an atmosphere of traffic-stopping pub-lic acclaim and floral magnificence.

History repeats itself

THERE must be something about

the role of Sonia in "The Merry Widow" . . . Two of Australia's fav-orite stars, Carrie Moore and Gladys Moncrieff, married while playing that romantic part.

Carrie Moore created the role in Australia and married Percy Bigwood in 1908, while she was still appearing in the show.

Gladys Moncrieff married Tom Moore while appearing in a revival of "The Merry Widow" in 1924.

Each artist appeared in the show on the night of her wedding.

As Carrie Moore made her en-trance as Sonia, Andrew MacCunn, conductor for "the Firm," struck up the strains of the "Wedding

March."

The company threw confetti and rice and the audience Joined in the

fun.

Sixteen years later Mr. MacCunn struck up the same tune on a simi-lar entrance by Gladys.

These two artists asked for no re-lease of contract. They continued with their stage careers.

Just a few years ago Carrie Moore came out of retirement to play the part of Lilli Blum in "Music in the Air" at the Theatre Royal, Sydney.

One of the most recent romantic marriages connected with the theatre was that of Helene Kirsova, of the Russian ballet.

Kirsova returned to London with the company, concluded her con-tract, then came back to Sydney to wed Dr. Erik Fischer, of the Danish Consulate.

After her marriage offers were made to appear in a production with J. C. Williamson's, but Helene said she had given up her dancing career for marriage.

She is now living in Sydney, and

has a son, Ole.