Cissie Sewell

Elizabeth H. "Cissie" Sewell (born about 1893 – died after 1954) was an English-born stage actress, dancer, and ballet mistress, wife of Irish-born Canadian performer Cyril Biddulph.

Cissie Sewell
Cissie Sewell, from a 1920 publication
Born	about 1893 London
Occupation(s)	Actress, dancer, ballet mistress
Known for	Longtime association with Noël Coward and Charles B. Cochran
Spouse	Cyril Biddulph

Early life

Sewell was born in London. She trained as a dancer with Adeline Genée,^[1][2] and later with William C. Zerffi.^[3]

 

Photo of Mercer Templeton and Cissie Sewell in Broadway production of Honey Girl (1920)

Career

Sewell appeared on the London stage as a child in Alice Through the Looking Glass (1903–1904),^[4] and created dances for the London production of the musical Kissing Time (1919).^[5] Her Broadway credits included roles in The Bachelor Belles (1910), A Winsome Widow (1912), The Girl from Montmartre (1912–1913), The Marriage Market (1913),^[6] The Girl from Utah (1914), Hitchy-Koo (1917), Her Regiment (1917),^[7] The Girl Behind the Gun (1918–1919),^[8] Miss Millions (1919–1920), and Honey Girl (1920).^[9][10]

Off-stage, Sewell endorsed musical instruments,^[11] and worked with playwright Noël Coward, music director Elsie April, and producer Charles B. Cochran,^[12][13] especially as ballet mistress on the American and Australian productions of Bitter Sweet.^[14][15] She was also ballet mistress for a London production of Lights Up! in 1940.^[16] "Cissie's memory was fantastic," recalled Noël Coward in his autobiography. "In addition to her other virtues, an outspoken critical faculty allied to the kindest heart imaginable."^[17]

She and her younger sister Georgie toured as a dancing act together.^[18][19] A third Sewell sister, Marie, was also an actress.^[20]

Personal life

Sewell married Cyril Buddulph in 1912. He died in World War I, in August 1918; he was a lieutenant in Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.^[21][22]

References

1. "Cissie Sewell Who Dances in 'Honey Girl'". Boston Sunday Globe. March 21, 1920. p. 60. Retrieved August 13, 2022 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
2. "What's What on Broadway". Green Book Magazine. 20 (6): 970–971. December 1918 – via Internet Archive.
3. "Cissie Sewell Studying with Zerffi". Musical Courier. 81 (6): 33. August 5, 1920 – via Internet Archive.
4. Wearing, J. P. (2013-12-05). The London Stage 1900-1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Scarecrow Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-8108-9294-1.
5. Monkman, Phyllis (May 21, 1919). "Dancing Days and Nights". The Sketch. 106: 246.
6. "Donald Brian Dances to his own Music". Boston Sunday Post. January 11, 1914. p. 33. Retrieved August 13, 2022 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
7. "Bewitching Music in 'Her Regiment'; Victor Herbert's Melody the Chief Feature of a Rather Old Style Operetta". The New York Times via TimesMachine. November 13, 1917. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
8. "Gay Military Musical Play; "The Girl Behind the Gun" Is Right Up to the Minute". The New York Times. 1918-09-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
9. Dietz, Dan (2021-06-15). The Complete Book of 1910s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 232, 279, 403, 446, 517. ISBN 978-1-5381-5028-3.
10. Dietz, Dan (2019-04-10). The Complete Book of 1920s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-1-5381-1282-3.
11. "Very Popular Among Artists" The Music Trade Review (August 21, 1920): 42.
12. Coward, Noel (1986). Autobiography: Consisting of Present Indicative, Future Indefinite and the Uncompleted Past Conditional. Methuen. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-413-60660-0.
13. "The Cochran Invasion". Liverpool Echo. 1933-09-01. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-08-14 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Hoare, Philip (1998-05-22). Noel Coward: A Biography. University of Chicago Press. pp. 210–211. ISBN 978-0-226-34512-3.
15. "Partners– At a Distance". Sun. 1931-02-15. Retrieved 2022-08-13 – via Trove.
16. Wearing, J. P. (2014-08-22). The London Stage 1940-1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-8108-9306-1.
17. "My Life Story by Noel Coward; "Bitter Sweet" Waltz was Composed in Taxi". Sydney Morning Herald. 1937-05-20. Retrieved 2022-08-13 – via Trove.
18. "Both Sewell Sisters With Donald Brian". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1922-09-21. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-08-13 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Jazz Retains Place in Public Affection, Dancing Sisters Say". The Baltimore Sun. 1923-07-04. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-08-13 – via Newspapers.com.
20. National Highways Association (1912). The National Highways Association Asks You to Attend the National Theatre, Washington, D.C., During the Week of April 16 to 22, 1922: The Performance of Fred Stone and His Company in "Tip Top".
21. Veterans Affairs Canada (2019-02-20). "Cyril Biddulph". The Canadian Virtual War Memorial. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
22. "Lieutenant Biddulph Killed". Billboard. Vol. 12, no. 30. October 12, 1918. p. 41 – via Internet Archive.

External links

• Cissie Sewell at the Internet Broadway Database