Ernest C. Rolls
Ernest Charles Rolls (born Josef Adolf Darewski; 6 June 1890 – 20 January 1964) was a British theatre producer, of Russian Jewish heritage, who lived and worked in Britain and Australia. Early life and career He was born in 1890, probably in Vienna, Austria (according to most sources and the 1901 UK census), or possibly in Warsaw, Poland, and was one of five children of a Russian Jewish opera singer, Eduard Darewski, born in Minsk. The family moved to Manchester, England, in 1894, and then to London in 1899. Among his brothers were composer and conductor Herman Darewski, and songwriter Max Darewski. By 1910, he had started working as a theatrical producer, and adopted the name Ernest C. Rolls. He managed the actress Eva Moore, but was sued by her for non-payment of earnings. He produced a controversial "re-telling" of the story of the Garden of Eden, The Dawn of Love, at the London Palladium in 1911, and several revues. These included Ragmania (1912) and Full Inside (1914), which featured several Australian chorus girls and where he met singer and comedienne Jennie Benson (1884–1979); they married in 1920. He also produced Venus Ltd. (1915), Hanky-Panky (1917), Any Old Thing (1917),