Gertrude Lawrence was one of the most glamorous stars of the stage, both on Broadway and in her native England. She also appeared in a number of films and made many recordings and radio appearances.
Lawrence was married twice, her first husband was Francis Gordon-Howley (1924-1927) with whom she had a daughter Pamela. Her second spouse was Richard Aldrich (1940 until her death).
Although Lawrence died in 1952 she holds a place in TV history as the first star to appear on television in the U.S. On June 7, 1938 she, and castmates Paul McGrath and Nancy Coleman,
… More performed a 22 minute selection of scenes from her current Broadway hit Susan and God for the NBC TV cameras in Radio City in New York. The broadcast went out, to good reviews, live over W2XBS to an audience of no more than sixty people total. She had already appeared on an early form of "mechanical television" in England by this time.
Lawrence died at the peak of her career, having recently created the role of Anna Leonowens in The King and I on Broadway. The idea of turning the film Anna and the King of Siam into a musical was her idea as well.
After her death all the theatre lights, both movie and legitimate, were dimmed in her honor. A fitting tribute to one of the most luminescent stars of her era.
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