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She was aptly and affectionately dubbed "Two Ton Tessie" not only for her plentiful girth but for the tons of talent she possessed as one of the British Isle's most beloved, unabashed music hall entertainers. Give her an audience and bawdy Tessie O'Shea could have them on their feet in seconds flat.
The Welsh comedy and recording star was born in Cardiff as Teresa Mary O'Shea on March 13, 1913, the daughter of a humble newspaper wholesaler. Already showing off in music halls as a six-year-old and later dubbed "The Wonder of Wales," she captured several prizes for the various talent contests she entered with her singing and dancing. The once-slim youthful performer made her solo debut at the age of 12 at the Bristol Hippodrome and never stopped working, appearing on BBC Radio as a teen and gracing the English and South African stages as well.
As she grew in size, Tessie became a major attraction and gained notoriety for belting out such bawdy or novelty favorites as "Don't Have Any More, Missus Moore," "Why Am I Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Blushing Bride," "I Met Him By the Withered Weeping Willows," "Hold Your Hand Out, Naughty Boy" and "Nobody Loves a Fairy When She's Forty." She sang these while burying her hefty frame under loads of comic clothing -- complete with over-sized hats, striped stockings and elastic boots while
By the late 1930s Tessie had become a major radio and stage star, winning the hearts and respect of soldiers everywhere touring with ENSA during World War II. She later went out on the road with band-leader Billy Cotton in a highly successful musical revue called "Tess and Bill," a highlight was playing the Victoria Palace. The bump-and-grind tune "Two Ton Tessie from Tennessee," recorded in 1939, became Tessie's signature song, a ditty Ray Charles later added to his repertoire. In the 1940s, she found herself a frequent headliner at the London Palladium and later starred in the musical revue "High Time" in 1946.
Tessie became the star of two continents in the early 1960's when she traveled abroad and took the United States by storm. Having audiences immediately eating out of the palm of her hand, she became a Tony Award-winning sensation on Broadway with her scene-stealing song "London" in the musical "The Girl Who Came to Supper," a 1963 musical adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play "The Sleeping Prince." She would return to Gotham three years later with the musical "A Time for Singing" which was based on Richard Llewellyn's "How Green Was My Valley."
In addition to the stage, she included TV work here as a regular on the 1964 CBS show The Entertainers (1964) and also appeared on talk/variety/game shows. She was featured as Mrs. Cratchit in a TV version of Mr. Scrooge (1964) starring Cyril Ritchard as Scrooge and later won an Emmy nomination in 1968 for her feisty, atmospheric musical turn in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968) starring Jack Palance. In between her musical act took her successfully to such places as Las Vegas.
Film appearances were quite infrequent despite making an auspicious debut playing herself in the British musical London Town (1946) paired with stage and vaudeville star Sid Field. She subsequently was spotted co-starring in two obscure British comedies, Holiday's with Pay (1948) and The Ugly Little Boy (1977), both starring Frank Randle, had a singing cameo in the crime thriller The Blue Lamp (1950) and a featured part in the heart-warming Aussie tale The Shiralee (1957) starring Peter Finch. She later was spotted in the films The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966), The Best House in London (1969) (as a singer) and Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).
Tessie continued to travel here and abroad into the 1970's. In England, she appeared to great advantage on TV as a regular on the comedy series As Good Cooks Go (1969) and was a recurring musical guest on the variety show The Good Old Days (1953), as well as the stage. She received a "This Is Your Life" honor in 1984. Back in the States, she reappeared on Broadway in the whodunit musical "Something's Afoot" as Miss Tweed in 1976, and appeared very briefly in "Broadway Follies," which opened and closed on March 15, 1981.
Tessie performed until ill health forced her retirement. She died in Leesburg, Florida, on April 21, 1995, of congestive heart failure. She was 82. She became the brief center of attention when BBC celebrated her with the documentary "Two Ton Tessie!" that was first broadcast in March of 2011.
