Marie Dainton

Marie Dainton (born approximately 8 June 1881 in Russia; died 1 February 1938 in London) was an actress active during the Victorian and Edwardian eras whose career encompassed music halls, pantomime, musical comedy, and dramatic theatre. Her father was Robert E. Sharlach, and her mother was the English actress and singer Jenny Dawson, who died in 1936. Some sources place Dainton's birth year as 1877 rather than 1881.

Dainton's stage debut occurred on 24 March 1894 at the York Theatre Royal in Little Red Riding Hood, a production in which she performed imitations of well-known theatrical personalities. This capacity for mimicry became her defining professional trait. Her first London appearance followed on 6 August 1894 at the Metropolitan music hall on Edgware Road. Later that same year, on 24 December 1894, she opened in the role of Mr. Falsehood in The House that Jack Built at the Opera Comique. In 1895 she toured as Flo in Buttercup and Daisy, and in 1898 she appeared in the pantomime Puss in Boots alongside Eugene Stratton at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Birmingham. In June 1899 she achieved considerable success at the Avenue Theatre in a production called Pot Pourri, in which she again offered impressions of popular stage performers.

During 1900 and 1901, Dainton appeared on Broadway at the Casino Theatre in New York as Paquita in the musical The Belle of Bohemia, the same role she played at the Apollo Theatre in London. Her New York engagement was briefly interrupted when a breach of contract dispute required court resolution before she could continue performing. She also toured Austria as Fifi in The Belle of New York during this period. In 1902, she appeared in A Chinese Honeymoon at the Strand Theatre in London, and that same year made several gramophone recordings for the Gramophone and Typewriter Co Ltd and Pathé of songs from that production, including "The à la Girl," "Sweet Little Sing-Sing," and "Mandie of Ohio."

Dainton originated the role of Peggy Machree at Wyndham's Theatre in London, opening on 28 December 1904, and subsequently took the leading role in the original production of The Girl Behind the Counter at the same theatre from 21 April 1906. She was a prominent participant in the Music Hall War of 1907, standing alongside performers including Joe Elvin, Gus Elen, and Marie Lloyd. In March 1909 she appeared in vaudeville at the Colonial Theatre in New York, once again presenting her celebrity impressions, which on that occasion included portrayals of Harry Lauder, Anna Held, Marie Tempest, Marie Lloyd, and Mrs. Patrick Campbell. A second American tour followed in October 1909, with engagements in Philadelphia and Chicago in The Silver Star and Madame Sherry.

In 1910 Dainton toured the English provinces as Clarice in the opera The Mountaineers before returning to music hall work. She appeared in Autumn Manoeuvres on tour in 1912 and in I Should Worry at the Palace Theatre and on tour in 1913. Later productions included Society Ltd in 1920, Riverside Nights in 1926, The Eternal Flame in 1929, and Getting George Married in 1930. Among her final stage appearances, she played the Duchess of Capablanca in The Werewolf, produced by the Independent Theatre Club at the Kingsway Theatre in London on 9 November 1932 for a run of eight performances, and appeared as a slut in the play Mary Read at London's Phoenix Theatre in 1934. Dainton died in London on 1 February 1938 following a short illness, at the age of 56.