Jose Collins was an English actress and singer celebrated for her performances in musical comedies and early motion pictures.
Life and career
Charlotte Josephine Collins was born in London in 1887 to her mother, music hall performer and comedian Lottie Collins, who popularized the song "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay!", and her mother's music coach, Stephen Patrick Cooney,. They later married and Lottie took the name Charlotte Josephine Cooney. Collins got her start as a child performer, and by the age of 17 she had appeared in both pantomime and music hall as a singer and actress. She made her West End debut in a principal role in The Antelope. On Broadway, she appeared in Vera Violetta, The Merry Countess, and The Whirl of Society, among others. Her revue appearances included the Ziegfeld Follies, and The Passing Show. Collins recorded the song Just You and I and the Moon, composed by Dave Stamper with lyrics by Gene Buck, from the Ziegfeld Follies. She also starred in The Happy Day in London and Alone at Last on Broadway in 1916. Collins played the title role of Teresa, the gypsy bandit maid, in the hit musical The Maid of the Mountains to great acclaim, and as a result became known by the nickname of "Maid of the Mountains". In that show, she introduced the songs "Love Will Find a Way" and "A Paradise For Two." Collins played throughout the long run of this show and in many revivals over the years. Collins later appeared in Our Peg, A Southern Maid, Sybil, The Last Waltz, Catherine, Our Nell and Frasquita. She spent the remainder of her career in revues, variety and non-musical roles, as well as in films. In her film career, she starred as Bessie, the vengeful model, in The Light That Failed,, and she appeared in The Imposter, A Woman's Honor, and The Sword of Damocles, among others. Her only musical film was Facing the Music. Jose Collins was married three times: firstly, in 1911, to Leslie Chatfield; secondly in 1920 Lord Robert Edward Innes-Ker ; and thirdly to Dr Gerald Kirkland. Collins had no children by any of her marriages; her second marriage ended in divorce in 1935. She is commemorated by a blue plaque at Loughton. When erected, the plaque was on the actual house in which she lived towards the end of her life. This was demolished, and replaced by a block of flats called Collins Court.
