Daisy Jerome was born in the States in 1888 but moved to England as a child when her father suffered a financial crisis. Money was needed and she followed her sister on to the stage. She was a small, dainty figure with bright red hair, compelling eyes and an expressive face. Her appearance belied her risqué performances and her hoarse, sensual voice. She was a toe-dancer and a wooden shoe dancer, but best known as a mimic and comic singer. Daisy married Frederick Fowler in 1906 but they lived together for less than a year with Fowler blaming the marriage breakdown on the constant presence of his mother-in-law. He filed for divorce on the grounds of Daisy’s misconduct. She was living with Mr Cecil Allen in Battersea by this time and claimed Allen would marry her if she was divorced. The decree nisi was granted with Fowler saying he would shoot Allen if he didn’t marry Daisy. She left for a three year tour of Australia shortly after accompanied only by her mother. She adopted the name ‘the electric spark‘ and seems to have lived up to this in her public and private life.

In February 1910, before the divorce, Daisy took out a libel action against the Walsall Observer who had reported that ‘Daisy Jerome, without much provocation, is constrained to give three more than usual number of songs we get from one artist.’  The insinuation was that she gave encores when they were not required and this was a serious allegation with regard to future bookings. Daisy said she was not at all anxious to give encores but that she ‘made one of the hits of my life in Walsall.‘ The journalist replied that the house was a poor one on that night and that Miss Jerome received very little applause. He felt his article was a fair one. Daisy was awarded one farthing in damages.

In Australia in 1923 Daisy, now married to Captain La Touche took her maid to court for stealing and pawning some of her clothes and jewellery. Her maid, Cecil Lightening, said she was innocent and had only followed Daisy’s instructions. The maid had been told on one occasion that her employers were hard up and that she, the maid, was there to bluff the public and to bluff them into giving Daisy a big salary. The maid was acquitted.

Daisy Jerome was capable of arousing strong feelings in her audience and one young man jumped on to the stage from a box two tiers above the dress circle breaking his legs and injuring his spine. He is reported to have said, ‘Tell her I had to do it to tell her what I felt.’ He eventually recovered. Her star waned when film became more popular and and she dropped into obscurity. To finish, a snatch of one of her songs, previously sung by Marie Lloyd.,

And the parrot sat there with a nonchalant air and a cynical smile on it’s beak

At last the young fellow exclaimed with a leer am I the first you have ever loved dear?

And the parrot said, YES THIS WEEK!

Thanks to britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk  &  Trove.nla.gov.au