Nellie Small
Nellie Small, August 1952
Nellie Small, August 1952
Background information
Born1900
Sydney, Australia
Died1968 (1969) (aged 68)
Occupation(s)Entertainer

Ellen E. Small (1900 – 1968), who performed as Nellie Small, was an Australian nightclub entertainer, jazz and blues singer, male impersonator and comic.

Career

Born as Ellen E. Small in Sydney, Nellie Small said in radio interviews that her heritage was as an Australian/West Indian. Small attended Roman Catholic convent schools, including Sisters of the Good Samaritan, until leaving at the age of 16 to become a domestic servant and factory worker.[1][2][3] She began her career in theatre during the 1920s after being offered a part in Cairo at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney.[3][4] For the Melbourne production of Chu Chin Chow in March 1923, Small received praise as the "wife's attendant".[3][5][6] She continued with the production in Perth in April and Sydney in May.[4][7]

During the Great Depression, Small worked as a cleaner, floor-washer and laundress.[1][2] After a period of no theatre work, in 1930 Small returned to the stage as a singer, often in men's clothing.[3] From that time she lived in North Sydney with her talent manager Edith and the latter's husband Ted Meggitt, a furrier.[1][2] Wearing men's clothing was initially a publicity stunt, but it developed into working as a male impersonator.[8][9] As an actress she took a minor role in the comedy feature film Strike Me Lucky (1935).[10] She sang blues and jazz standards at Sydney's Theatre Royal and the Tivoli in Melbourne, and later performed with The Port Jackson Jazz Band.[11][12]

In the 1950s she toured New Zealand and recorded the song "The End of the Affair" (1955), which Clinton Walker described as a contender for Australia's first rock 'n' roll single.[2][13][14] A painting of her by the artist Tibor Binder (born 1923) was shown in 1954 as the Picture of the Month at the Commonwealth Immigration Offices in Sydney[15] Small was embroiled in an embargo against live entertainment in Sydney's pubs in 1954.[16] The United Licensed Victuallers' Association, representing breweries, sought to ban live entertainers from performing as a distraction from customers drinking.[16] Through the 1950s and 1960s she made appearances on TV,[17][18] and continued to perform in clubs until 1964.[11]

Legacy

Alana Valentine based her 1991 two-hander play, Small Mercies, on Small's story. It was rejected by the Melbourne Theatre Company.[11] Valentine then wrote a performance piece for the exhibition of photos of Small at the State Library of New South Wales in 2022. This grew into a Kabarett performance, Send for Nellie, directed by Liesel Badorrek, featuring Elenoa Rokobaro and Zara Stanton as music director of an all-female band, for the Sydney Festival in January 2024.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Crouch, Wally (13 September 1953). "The Color of Her Skin Often Brings a Rebuff". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XIV, no. 43. p. 46. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Dunstan, Rita (28 November 1953). "She's Proud to Be 53". The Mail. Vol. 43, no. 2, 164. Adelaide, South Australia. p. 55. Retrieved 27 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hull, Jean (15 January 1932). "She May Be Black But She's no One's Slave". Arrow. p. 2. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  4. 1 2 "Chu Chin Chou – A Fine Spectacle". The West Australian. Vol. XXXIX, no. 6, 516. 12 April 1923. p. 7. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  5. ↑ "Her Majesty's Theatre". Table Talk. Melbourne, Victoria. 15 March 1923. p. 29. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  6. ↑ "Event: Chu Chin Chou". AusStage. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "Contributor: Nellie Small". AusStage. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  8. ↑ Rogers, Destiny (18 February 2023). "Once-famous First Nations entertainer Nellie Small". QNews. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  9. ↑ "Male or Female?". Truth. Sidney. 13 December 1936. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  10. ↑ "Strike Me Lucky – Review – Photos". Ozmovies. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. 1 2 3 Valentine, Alana (2 February 2023). "Send for Nellie". State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  12. ↑ "Coloured Singer was Popular". The Queensland Times. 3 July 1948. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  13. ↑ Walker, Clinton. "Bodgie Boogie". clintonwalker.com.au. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  14. ↑ "78 Discography for Mercury Records – OZ – A series". globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  15. ↑ "Picture of the month". The Good Neighbour. Australian Capital Territory. 1 March 1954. p. 6. Retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove.
  16. 1 2 staff reporter (20 August 2019). "From the Archives: The Great Live Music War of 1954". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2023. Note: article cites reports from August and December 1954.
  17. ↑ "Oldtime Stars For a Night". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 January 1958. p. 11.
  18. ↑ "Male Impersonator". The Age. 1 September 1960. p. 26.
  19. ↑ Elissa Blake. "Small by Name, Fierce by Nature". Limelight. pp. 16–22. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
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