Tessie O'Shea

Tessie O'Shea was a Welsh actress and entertainer who was born in Cardiff and raised in the British music hall tradition. She began performing as a child, using the billing The Wonder of Wales. In her teens she became known through BBC radio and toured as a stage performer in Britain and South Africa. She often topped the bill at the London Palladium and later became a recording artist. In 1963 Noël Coward wrote the part of Ada Cockle for her in the Broadway musical The Girl Who Came to Supper, and her performance of traditional Cockney tunes won her a Tony Award as featured actress in a musical. She was a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963 and returned in 1964 with the Beatles. She later starred in the sitcom As Good Cooks Go and appeared in films including The Blue Lamp (1950), The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).