Vokes family

The Vokes family

The Vokes family were three sisters, one brother and a second foster brother popular in the pantomime theatres of 1870s London and in the United States. Their father, Frederick Vokes, was a theatrical costumier and wigmaker who owned a shop at 19 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden. Their mother Sarah (née Wood; died 1871) was the daughter of Welsh born strolling player Will Wood and his actress wife.

They were:

  • Fred Vokes (1846–1888), actor and dancer
  • Jessie Vokes (1851–1884), actress
  • Victoria Vokes (1853–1894), actress
  • Rosina Vokes (1854–1894), actress
  • Fawdon Vokes (born Walter Fawdon; 1844–1904), actor

First as the "Vokes Children" and later the "Vokes Family," they began to perform at music halls and at pantomimes, and by their agility and humour made the name well known to English and American theatre-goers.[1] Early in this career, at the Lyceum Theatre, London, they danced in W. S. Gilbert's pantomime, Harlequin Cock Robin and Jenny Wren.[2]

Fred and his sisters are buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.[3]

The Vokeses through their mother's brother, actor William F. Wood (1799-1855), were first cousins of American actress Rose Wood Morrison, who was the maternal grandmother of Hollywood starlets Constance Bennett and Joan Bennett.

This familial connection and an overview of the Vokeses' lives is featured in detail in Joan Bennett's memoir, THE BENNETT PLAYBILL published in 1970.

20–22 March 1875 and during the week. "THE BELLES OF THE KITCHEN" author : unknown with Fred, Fawdon, Jessie, and Victoria Vokes. Royal Adelphi Theatre, Strand, Westminster, London, England.[4]

References

  1. ↑  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Vokes". Encyclopædia Britannica. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 178.
  2. ↑ "The Vokes Family". Its-behind-you.com, accessed 31 December 2010
  3. ↑ http://www.brompton.org/Residents.htm
  4. ↑ http://library.kent.ac.uk/library/special/html/specoll/DICKENS.HTM


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