Jose Collins

Josephine Charlotte Collins or Josephine Charlotte Cooney, also known as Josephine Charlotte Chatfield, Lady Robert Innes-Ker and Josephine Charlotte Kirkland (23 May 1887 – 6 December 1958) was best known as José Collins, an English actress and singer celebrated for her performances in musical comedies and early motion pictures. Collins was born in London in 1887 to her mother, music hall performer and comedienne Lottie Collins, who popularized ... more

Josephine Charlotte Collins or Josephine Charlotte Cooney, also known as Josephine Charlotte Chatfield, Lady Robert Innes-Ker and Josephine Charlotte Kirkland (23 May 1887 – 6 December 1958) was best known as José Collins, an English actress and singer celebrated for her performances in musical comedies and early motion pictures. Collins was born in London in 1887 to her mother, music hall performer and comedienne Lottie Collins, who popularized the song "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay!", and her mother's music coach, Stephen Patrick Cooney , who later married. Collins got her start as a child performer, and by the age of 17 she had appeared in both pantomime and music hall as a singer and actress. She made her West End debut in a principal role in The Antelope (1908). On Broadway, she appeared in Vera Violetta (1911), The Merry Countess (1912), and (sharing a duet with Al Jolson) The Whirl of Society (1912), among others. Her revue appearances included the Ziegfeld Follies (1913), and The... less