Florence Desmond

Biography

Florence Desmond, born Florence Dawson in London, was an English comedian, impersonator and actress. She began her stage career as a child, and after leaving school in 1920 her first public appearance was comedy in the manner of Nellie Wallace. C. B. Cochran hired her in 1925 for several revues, and in 1928 she toured the United States and Canada with Noël Coward and Beatrice Lillie. Her act later mixed songs with impressions of famous stars, making her popular in theater and cabaret, and she moved into British films during the 1930s. A 1933 BBC radio broadcast of her impersonations, among them Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, became the best-selling record A Hollywood Party. She added Mae West to her repertoire, appeared in the 1937 Royal Variety Performance and in the 1941 Palladium revue Apple Sauce alongside Max Miller and Vera Lynn, retired in 1954 and returned in 1958 for Auntie Mame.