LADY ASTOR OUTDONE.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 January 1920, Page 3

LADY ASTOR OUTDONE.

VESTA TILLEY AS SPEAKER. London, Jan, 3. The Weekly Dispatch states that the by-election for Ashton-under-Lyne (rendered necessary by the elevation of the sitting member, Sir Albert Stanley, to the Peerage) will vie with the Plymouth by-election (which was won by Lady Astor) if Vesta Tilley justifies local expectations and supports her husband, Sir Walter de Frece, who is the Coalition candidate. Lady Astor's meetings will appear comparatively tame should the famous male impersonator let herself go.

[Vesta Tilley has been appearing on the stage in male attire for over fifty years, as she first stepped before the footlights in the dre3s of the other sex when she was a tiny tot of five She took London by storm in 1S78: and since has appeared in every hail of importance in the United Kingdom and the United States, retaining her popularity in a remarkable manner. Her husband, Sir Walter de Frece, who was knighted for his services at the Ministry of Pensions, is the managing director of the Variety Theatres Controlling Co., Ltd., which controls a string of theatres throughout England. He has written several songs, and is a brother of Lauri de Frece, the well-known actor.]