Artist Profile Ella Shields

Ella Shields (1879–1952) was an American-born singer, comedian and music-hall performer renowned as one of the leading female male impersonators of the early twentieth century. Born Ella Catherine Buscher in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, she developed an international career in vaudeville, music hall, theatre and recording.

First Australian Tour

Ella Shields made her first major Australian tour in 1921–1922, appearing on the Tivoli circuit and presenting her celebrated male-impersonation act.

Burlington Bertie — Shields’s best-known male character. She appeared as the shabby-genteel London gentleman in top hat and formal male dress, performing her signature song, Burlington Bertie from Bow. The character was built around comic masculine mannerisms, posture, voice and movement.
Young naval officer / “Middy” — Shields appeared in sailor or naval costume as a young male naval character. The performance combined comic singing with an energetic masculine swagger.
“Archie P.C.” — Policeman — A comic male policeman character forming part of her Australian male-impersonation repertoire. Shields used costume, voice and physical mannerisms to create the character.

Three-character male impersonation act — Australian publicity presented Shields as a specialist male impersonator capable of changing between several distinct male personalities during the same performance.

Her Australian engagements took her through the major variety-theatre Tivoli circuit. The Tivoli theatres were the principal venues associated with her Australian appearances during this period.

1922 Australian song and character work

During the Australian portion of her tour, Shields incorporated Australian material into her performance. Shields performed the Australian song “I’m Going Back Again to Yarrawonga” during her tour and later recorded it in London. The performance demonstrated her ability to adapt her established music-hall act to Australian audiences.

Return to Australia 1925

Shields returned to Australia for a second major theatrical Tivoli tour in 1925. She continued to perform her famous top-hatted male character. Burlington Bertie. Her act continued to include comic male types drawn from military, naval and working-life characters. A new military-themed number Tin Soldier was among the material associated with her later repertoire and publicity during this period.

Follies of 1932

Shields returned to Australia again in 1932, joining Frank Neil’s Follies of 1932. Shields appeared as one of the international attractions in the Tovoli Theatre, Melbourne production. The character Burlington Bertie continued to be one of the performances most closely associated with her.

Following the Melbourne engagement, the production and Shields’s performances at the Tivoli circuit Sydney Theatre Royal

1932- 1933 Later Australian Apperances

During the later Australian engagement, Shields continued presenting her established male-impersonation style in Sydney and Melbourne. The famous top-hatted gentleman Burlington Bertie remained a central part of her public identity. Shields continued to use changes of costume, voice, walk and gesture to portray masculine characters. Photographs from this period preserve Shields in male evening dress and character costume, providing visual evidence of her stage persona.

Her Australian tours in 1921–22, 1925 and 1932 form an important part of her international career and illustrate the popularity of female male impersonation on the Australian variety stage.

References

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. I’m Going Back Again to Yarrawonga — Ella Shields. NFSA collection item DBK9F1HJ. NFSA
National Portrait Gallery. Ella Shields (1879–1952), Music hall entertainer. National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery. Ella Shields — NPG D42839, 1915 sheet-music portrait. National Portrait Gallery
State Library of New South Wales. Collection material including Ella Shields as Burlington Bertie, 1932. State Library NSW Archives
Theatre Heritage Australia, Frank Van Straten. Frank Neil—“He Lived Show Business” (Part 3). Theatre Heritage Australia
Theatre Heritage Australia. Tony Locantro, Early Stages. Theatre Heritage Australia
British Pathé. Miss Ella Shields (1930) and Ella Shields (1937). Digital Transgender Archive+1
National Library of New Zealand. Shields, Ella, 1879–1952 theatre and performance collections. National Library of New Zealand