Florence Creagh

(b. Margate, England, **/**/1867 – d. East London, South Africa, 02/10/1948). Actress. Florence Creagh was a British-born actress who, between 1898 and 1913, appeared in repertory in a wide range of plays, with multiple mentions in The Era, a weekly newspaper noted for its theatrical coverage. Her appearances ranged from A Fast Life (1900) at the Pavilion Theatre in Edinburgh to Daddy’s Boy (1908) at the Empire Theatre in Mossley. In 1900 she had married fellow actor Dick Cruikshanks, who was eight years her junior, and according to The Stage Year Book of 1911, the couple were both members of The Sketch Association. In 1914 they came out to South Africa with a H.G. Brandon play. While continuing her stage career, she also appeared in a number of films for African Film Productions: The Water Cure (B.F. Clinton/1916), A Border Scourge (Ralph Kimpton & Joseph Albrecht/1917), The Piccanin’s Christmas (Dick Cruikshanks & Joseph Albrecht/1917), Bond and Word (Dick Cruikshanks/1918) and Prester John (Dick Cruikshanks/1920). In 1920 she toured with Lew James’s local New Comedy Company, notably in the popular Business Before Pleasure, which also featured Cecil Kellaway, Grafton Williams and Edward Vincent. In October 1924 she and Cruikshanks acted in The Rising Generation for African Theatres. After their retirement from the stage, her husband became a cinema manager in East London, where he died in 1947 and she the following year.

Sources

Le Roux, André I. & Fourie, Lilla – Filmverlede: geskiedenis van die Suid-Afrikaanse speelfilm

Estate Papers, Western Cape Archives & Records Service

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