Dorothy (Dot) Quayle was an actor, born into an American acting family. She made her film debut at age three and performed in the West End in her teens in children’s roles in J. M. Barrie’s Quality Street and Daisy Ashford’s The Young Visiters [sic]. In the Second World War she was a cartographer at Bletchley Park, part of a team of 12 who cracked the German diplomatic code, Floradora. She joined Gielgud’s Haymarket Company in 1945, and retired from the stage shortly after her second marriage to Quayle in 1947, to focus on bringing up their three children.
A late letter regarding Gielgud’s friend, fellow actor, Anthony Quayle’s autobiography, A Time to Speak, to which this letter refers to without name, and which was published shortly before this letter. He writes to thank Dot for her “very sweet letter”, “the programme of the memorial performance” and “the splendid photograph”, and his “hope[s] [that] the book is selling well”.
Gielgud mentions that he has “sent a copy to John Perry, who worked with Tony at Gibraltar”. Perry, according to his obit in the Independent in 1995, was “one of the last surviving members of H.M. Tennent Ltd - “the Firm”, as it was known - which […] dominated the West End and provincial theatres for more than 30 years.” Perry and Quayle worked together in Gibraltar during the Second World War, while Quayle was on active service with SOE, the Special Operations Executive. Gielgud reports how “the book delighted him [Perry] and revived good memories for him as it did for me.”
He also mentions, in his postscript, Dorothy Quayle’s mother, Dorothy Dickson (who was then nearing her 100th year) and Elisabeth Bergner. Both were actresses and both Christian Scientists: “Wonderful to hear your Mother is still going strong. C S has obviously done her proud”.
Provenance: Anthony and Dorothy Quayle, by descent.
Folds, otherwise in very good condition.
