Louie Pounds

was a principal tenor with the company in the 1880s and '90s, and her three sisters, Lily, Nancy, and Rosy, also appeared with the company.

Life and career

Pounds was born in Brompton, Kensington, London.

Early career and D'Oyly Carte years

Pounds's first professional stage appearance was in the provinces under the management of George Edwardes in 1890. Her London debut was in 1891 at the Opera Comique in "Joan of Arc". Over the next several years, she appeared at various London theatres, and in 1895 she toured of America. In 1897, she appeared as Dorothy Travers in the long-running "The French Maid". In 1899, while she was performing at The Crystal Palace, Arthur Sullivan approached her about the upcoming season at the Savoy Theatre.

Pounds joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and created the part of "Heart's Desire" in "The Rose of Persia" in 1899 and also appeared as the title character in the companion piece "Pretty Polly" (libretto by Basil Hood, music by François Cellier that played with "The Rose of Persia" and later with the first revival of "Patience").

" (1903). Following its run at the Savoy and a provincial tour of "A Princess of Kensington", Pounds left the D'Oyly Carte organisation, which vacated the Savoy Theatre at that time.

Later career

Along with many of her colleagues from "A Princess of Kensington", Pounds next appeared at the Adelphi Theatre in "The Earl and the Girl" (1903). Over the next twenty years she appeared in numerous musicals and plays.

In 1906, Pounds starred (with her brother Courtice) in the hit musical "The Belle of Mayfair". A review in The Daily Graphic of December 24, 1906 praised both siblings. [http://www.collectorspost.com/Pounds.htm] Another reviewer wrote, "Miss Louie Pounds has never been seen to better advantage. She looks a typical English girl, and her singing of 'And the weeping willow wept' is quite inimitably artistic". [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stage2/produce/bellm/th-bellm.html#review] In 1909, she played in London in "The Dashing Little Duke" (again with her brother). [http://www.halhkmusic.com/castlists/dashing.html]

Pounds then appeared on Broadway in "The Dollar Princess" in 1909–1910. She also toured in South Africa. Popular theatre stars of the period endorsed products, and Pounds was often photographed for this purpose. [http://www.dgillan.screaming.net/stage/theads/th-adver.html] Pounds retired in 1923 but reappeared in 1926, touring again until 1929. She played Widow Windeatt in the 1928 Alfred Hitchcock film "The Farmer's Wife".

Pounds also wrote an article, "Memories of an Earlier Iolanthe," that appeared in the March 1931 issue of "The Gilbert & Sullivan Journal".

Pounds died in Southsea at the age of 98.

References

*cite book|last=Ayre|first=Leslie|year=1972|title=The Gilbert & Sullivan Companion|location=London|publisher=W.H. Allen & Co Ltd Introduction by Martyn Green.

External links

* [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/whowaswho/P-Q/PoundsLouie.htm Louie Pounds] at Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte
* [http://www.collectorspost.com/Pounds.htm Profile and photos of Pounds and her brother]
* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=6833 Information about "The Dollar Princess"]
*Imdb name|id=11876|name=Louie Pounds
* [http://www.dgillan.screaming.net/stage/pounds/pounds-l.html Photographs]
* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stage2/produce/bellm/th-bellm.html#review Information and review of "The Belle of Mayfair"]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an22911078 Postcard: "Prosperity attend you."]