Connie Smith

(1875-1970)

Image: Stephen Bourne

Connie Smith was a Black American music hall and variety star who went on to become one of Britain’s most enduring and respected black actresses. She was born in Brooklyn in 1875, but came to Southwark with her husband Augustus when she was 21 and the couple lived in Brook Drive for many years.

In the Edwardian era, Connie and Augustus were a successful musical act and were among only a few black music hall entertainers touring the country. In Southwark, the couple were popular in several music halls including the Camberwell Palace of Varieties.

After her husband's death in the 1920s, Connie’s career continued to prosper and she made her West End debut in the lavish musical Show Boat, set in the American Deep South. This famous 1928 production at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane starred Paul Robeson, who was just one of a number of famous names Connie would go on to work with.

By the 1930s, Connie had made a name for herself as a character actress with roles in West End plays such as The Little Foxes (1941).

After the war, Connie was in more demand than ever! In 1946 she was one of the first black women to appear on television and ten years later – when she was an amazing 80 years old – she joined the distinguished English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre, London. As a member of the Company, she acted in The Crucible, The Member of the Wedding and, in 1958, Flesh to a Tiger in which jazz singer Cleo Laine made her dramatic debut.

Connie carried on acting until she was 90 and ill health forced her to retire. Her long and varied career was a huge influence on a generation of black actors who followed in her footsteps.

She died in 1970 aged 95 and her funeral was held at St George's Catholic Cathedral in Southwark. Connie is buried in an unmarked grave in the Variety Artists’ section of Streatham Park Cemetery.