Olive Melba

Olive Melba.
Olive Melba was a child actress who began her career at just 7 years of age.  In 1914 she appeared at the Metropole Theatre, Abertillery in the production of “Life for a Life”.

She was known as “Little Olive” in the early days, she signed Mrs Willis’s book and wrote a little saying with drawings of faces. She wrote “Never pull a sour face when trouble troubles you but keep on smiling like this chap and success will favour you” – “Yours until the curtain falls” Signed the 7th March 1914.

It seems Olive Melba appeared in the same shows as Madge Trevelyan and Bessie Osborne who were all at the boarding house together on the same dates. 

Olive Melba began performing as a child and was described as a wonderful child actress and vocalist, the only child on the Vaudeville Stage who can reach top-E. The clipping (as seen right) is from the Stage Paper dated March 1911.

In later life Olive Melba was a comedienne, dancer and mimic, she married Hal Bevan a musical director. Her husband passed away in May 1955 aged 56, they lived at No.2 Gardnor Road, Hampstead, London. 

(More information to come).