New Online Auction Offered by The McGuire Group (February 2- 6)

Lot #0038: Black & White Photo - Tessie O'Shea, Unsigned A. Rickerby Measures 12 3/4" x 19" and mounted on picture board.

Bidding is closed.
High Bid:$2.00
NA
Bidding Ended: Thu, Feb 6  9:07:00 pm ET
High Bidder: 25
Bid Increment: $1.00
Starting Bid: $1.00
Item has been viewed 1,588 times.

By her teens she was known for her BBC Radio broadcasts and appeared on stages in Britain and South Africa. She frequently finished her act by singing and playing a banjolele in the style of George Formby. While appearing in Blackpool in the 1930s, she capitalised on her size by adopting "Two Ton Tessie from Tennessee" as her theme song. In the 1940s, she was a frequent headliner at the London Palladium, and established herself as a recording artist in the 1950s.[2][5]

In 1963, Noël Coward created the part of the fish and chips peddler "Ada Cockle" specifically for O'Shea in his Broadway musicalThe Girl Who Came to Supper. Her performance of traditional Cockney tunes charmed the critics and helped win her a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.[6]

In 1963, O'Shea was a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show. She was popular enough that she came back in 1964 and shared the billing with the Beatles.[7] Their joint appearance drew what was then the largest audience in the history of American television, helping bring her to American audiences. She was a member of the repertory company on the short-lived CBS variety show The Entertainers (1964–65).[citation needed] In 1968, O'Shea was cast in the television movie The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which earned her an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Drama.[8]

O'Shea starred in a short-lived British sitcom As Good Cooks Go, which ran from 1969 to 1970. She appeared in films including London TownThe Blue LampThe ShiraleeThe Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. She regularly appeared on BBC TV's long running variety show, The Good Old Days.[

Bid Date Bid Amount Bidder
Feb 3, 2020 - 3:50:35 PM $2.00 i25
Feb 2, 2020 - 10:07:47 PM $1.00 i405
Click on any picture to see a larger image.