Vaudeville act's memorabilia to go up for auction

The Wilson, Keppel and Betty trio performed at the London Palladium and the Moulin Rouge during its 34-year lifespan.

A trove of costumes, props and photos from a prominent 20th Century vaudeville act are due to go up for auction.

Wilson, Keppel and Betty was a three-person comedy dance act, which had shows at the London Palladium and the Moulin Rouge during its 34-year lifespan.

Birmingham-born Jean MacKinnon, known as Jeanne, was the final dancer to play Betty in 1956-62.

Mrs MacKinnon died in 2018 and her personal collection is set to go under the hammer in Lichfield next month.

The collection contains costumes decorated with rhinestones and sequins, a mask, finger cymbals, and ballet shoes.

It also contains photographs of the trio, as well as cards signed by Joe Keppel, one of the act’s creators.

Richard Winterton Auctioneers, which is selling the collection at the Lichfield Auction Centre on 20 May, said it had an estimated value of £2,000-2,500.

The collection will go up for sale at the Lichfield Auction Centre on 20 May

Keppel and Jack Wilson originally formed a duo in 1920, before Betty Knox – the original Betty – joined the act in 1928.

The trio were known for their slapstick dance routines and for costumes based on Ancient Egyptian imagery.

• Listen on BBC Sounds: Barbara Windsor tells the story of the popular variety act Wilson, Keppel and Betty.

Ms Knox left the act in 1941 and became a journalist. Several dancers, including her daughter, took on her stage role in the following years.

Mrs MacKinnon was born in 1932 in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and returned to the city in the 1960s, after the trio stopped performing.

She died in Birmingham in 2018 and her archive was gifted to a friend from the entertainment business, Richard Winterton Auctioneers said.