Kate’s Notes: Actress Helen Gilliland was born January 31, 1897 in Belfast, Northen Ireland. Sadly, she died November 24, 1942, when, en route to entertain the troops in the Far East, her ship was torpedoed by the Japanese Navy.

From the Sydney Morning Herald
Sydney, New South Wales
11 February 1941

FROM OPERA TO REVUE
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“Cheek Got Me My First Part”
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   One of the most versatile actresses to visit Australia is Miss Helen Gilliland (Mrs. Peter Franklin), who arrived in Sydney last week, and may play in a musical show here with Carl Brisson.
   They co-starred in a revival of the evergreen “Merry Widow,” which ran for 18 months at the London Hippodrome in 1933, and later they were together again in “Venus in Silk.”
   Mr. Brisson was in Hollywood when Miss Gilliland was there making a filmn just before she sailed for Australia, and he may possibly fly out to join her here.
   Miss Gilliland, who started her stage career in Gilbert and Sullivan operas, has appeared in everything from opera to musical comedy pantomime, and revue.
   She confesses that it was really cheek on her part which gained her first engagement with the D’Oyly Carte Company.
   “I was 16 at the time, and was studying at the Royal College of Music in London. I stole out of the college and presented myself for an audition with Rupert D’Oyly Carte. Actually I had been brought up very strictly in Ireland (the nice part!), and Gilbert and Sullivan operas were the only entertainments I had been allowed to see. I started with the company right away and sang the leading prima donna roles for about five years,” explined Miss Gilliland.
   When she first started singing, Miss Gilliland had what she describes as a “freak voice.” “I had the most astonishing range, and could manage ‘The Magic Flute’ with ease,” she explained laughingly. When singing as a soprano she won the Gold Medal of All Ireland, which had only been awarded once before, when John McCormack received the honour.
   Miss Gilliland thinks she must have established something of a record by completing a Gilbert and Sullivan season one Saturday night and appearing in a revue with George Robey at a matinee the following Monday.
   In London she was with Fred Astaire in the successful musical show, “Stop Fooling,” and she also starred in “Song of the Drum,” which was specially written for her by Frederick Lonsdale.
   “It is rather amusing to remember that this play had an Australian background, and Paul Cavanaugh, now well known for his appearances in Hollywood films, played the part of the Australian hero,” she said.
 In Pantomime
   “I’ve also been the principal boy in a pantomime,” exclaimed Miss Gilliland, with justifiable pride, for the role of a principal boy in an English pantomime is considered a high honour.
   “June, who married Lord Inverclyde, was the principal girl, and we played two shows a day in ‘Humpty Dumpty,’” said Miss Gilliland.
   If she had not been under contract to Florence Ziegfeld, Miss Gilliland would have co-starred with Maurice Chevalier in “The Love Parade.” At the time she was not free to accept the offer which Ernst Lubitsch made to her.
   When asked if she had any hobbies, Miss Gilliland replied, “I’m afraid I’m definitely the sporty type. I love golf and tennis, and am just longing to get down to your glorious beaches.”

-- transcription by Kate Maynard, 2010