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Gertrude LawrenceEnglish actress
Date of Birth: 04.07.1898
Country:  USA |
Content:
Early Life and Career
Gertrud Alexandra Dagmar Klasen, later known as Gertrude Lawrence, was born on July 4, 1898, in London, England. Her father was a bass-profundo singer who performed under the stage name Arthur Lawrence, and her mother, Alice, was a Danish immigrant. After her parents separated due to her father's alcoholism, Lawrence moved with her family to Bognor in 1904. It was there that she made her first public performance at an August Bank Holiday celebration.
To supplement her family's income, Alice sang in the chorus of a Christmas pantomime at the Brixton Theatre in 1908. Alice brought her daughter along when the chorus needed a child who could sing and dance. Lawrence's mother recognized her daughter's talent and enrolled her at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, where she studied dance, elocution, and acting.
Lawrence began her acting career in London in Max Reinhardt's "The Miracle" and Basil Dean's "Fifinella" at the Liverpool Repertory Theatre. She adopted her father's stage name and added the letter "a" to her given name, becoming Gertrude Lawrence. While playing in Gerhart Hauptmann's "Hannele," she met Noël Coward, who became a close friend and frequent collaborator.
Marriage, Scandal, and Fame
Lawrence toured with repertory companies until 1916, when she was hired by impresario André Charlot. She met dance director Francis Gordon-Howley, who was 20 years her senior. Despite the age difference, they married and had their only child, Pamela. The marriage was unhappy, and Lawrence left her husband and daughter to live with her mother. She obtained a divorce ten years later.
In 1918, Lawrence faked an illness to escape from work when Charlot discovered she had attended a late-night party. With her reputation tarnished, she managed to find work at Murray's nightclub in London in early 1919. She met Captain Philip Astley, who became her lover until he married actress Madeleine Carroll in 1931.
Noël Coward wrote his first musical revue, "London Calling!," specifically for Lawrence in 1923. The revue's success led to "André Charlot's London Revue" in 1924, which reached Broadway. Lawrence was set to tour with the show but contracted double pneumonia and pleurisy, spending 14 weeks in hospital.
After an unsuccessful Broadway musical, "Treasure Girl," Lawrence starred in the Australian play "Candle Light" in 1929. In 1931, she triumphed with Noël Coward's "Private Lives" in the UK and on Broadway. She fell in love with the owner of the theater in Dennis, Massachusetts, Richard Aldrich, and they married on her 42nd birthday in 1940. Their marriage lasted until Lawrence's untimely death.
Later Career and Controversies
According to Margaret Forster's 1993 biography of Lawrence, she and novelist Daphne du Maurier had a lesbian affair during the London run of du Maurier's play "September Tide." Forster's book published love letters between the two women, revealing that both du Maurier and Lawrence were bisexual. Additionally, Lawrence had an affair with du Maurier's father.
Lawrence appeared in only nine films in her 21-year career, including the romantic drama "Mimi" and Alexander Korda's historical epic "Rembrandt" with Charles Laughton.
Final Days and Legacy
In August 1952, Lawrence collapsed and was admitted to a New York hospital, where she was initially diagnosed with hepatitis. Her former son-in-law, Dr. Bill Cahan, suspected liver cancer, and a liver biopsy was performed early on September 6. Lawrence slipped into a coma, and her husband called Cahan to the hospital. Lawrence, who had not seen Cahan in years, briefly opened her eyes and appeared puzzled by his presence before passing away. An autopsy confirmed Cahan's diagnosis.
Lawrence was buried in the champagne-colored dress she wore in the "Shall We Dance?" number in the second act of "The King and I" at Lakeview Cemetery in Upton, Massachusetts.
