Dick, June, Born 1928
Dates
- Existence: 22 April 1928
Biography
June dick is the great, great granddaughter of Lord George Sanger. June was born on 22 April 1928 to Cissie Austen, great granddaughter of George Sanger and George Holloway.
June's parents divorced when she was only six months old. June was raised by her paternal grandparents George Hugh Holloway and Belvina Bonfanti, while her parents were touring their acts around the UK and America. During WWII, her mother, Cissie Austen worked for E.N.S.A. and travelled the country entertaining the troops, while her father, George Holloway travelled circus acts in music hall and variety theatres. By this point the family had left the traditional circus scene.
June grew up in Brixton Hill and stayed with her grandparents George and Belvina until they died. She was trained in tap dancing, ballet, piano, and as a classical singer. June, however, didn’t have an interest in becoming a professional performer and she trained as a fashion designer. June designed costumes for pantomime, shows on ice and variety amongst others.
June married three times, her first husband was Michael Sullivan the famous theatrical agent who discovered Shirley Bassey. June and Michael however divorced and June re-married an antiques dealer. After his death, she married her last husband, a theatre impresario, with whom she leased the Royalty Theatre in Kingsway, London. They put together the hit show ‘Bubbling Brown Sugar’ in the late 1970s and held Sunday concerts and concerts in the park with international performers. They ran the theatre until the business became too much for them and they gave it up.
Found in 10 Collections and/or Records:
A Biography of George Sanger, c1990 - 2000
Manuscript by June Dick about George Sanger's life, 10pp. Black pen and ink on ruled paper, text only on one side of the pages.
Costume Designs, Original Artwork, c1950 - 1959
Custome design drawings and sketches by June Dick, including designs for pantomime, ice shows and variety and music hall costumes. Also includes two designs for Shirley Bassey (leopard print outfit on red paper and orange bodice with open long orange skirt and black tights on blue paper), some contain annotations.
Interview with June Dick, 6 August 2018
Interview with June Dick, descendant of Lord George Sanger about the Sanger family history. Interview conducted by Professor Vanessa Toulmin and NFCA staff. Rushes. Filmed by NFCA staff. 8 x MP4 files , 42 mins.
Monographs and Research Material , c1900 - 2018
Photocopies of photographs and articles related to George Sanger, Sanger Circus and other related history and a biography of George Sanger.
Newspaper Cuttings, 1903 - 1911
Photocopies of newspaper cuttings about George Sanger's Circus and George Sanger's murder.
Photographs, c1890 - 1959
Black and white photographs of George Sanger's Circus showing staff, family, performers, animals, living wagons and parades, including Topsy Sanger, Harry Austin, George Holloway, Cissie Holloway, Cissie Austin, George Sanger, James Holloway, Abe Holloway, George Austin, Bellevina Holloway, Kate Holloway, The Three Holloways, Cirque Angelo, The Four Holloways, Ellen Chapman, Harriet Sanger and June Dick. Also some copies of photographs of the Bostock and Wombwell menagerie.
Research Material, c1900 - 2018
Various photocopies relating to Margate, Dreamland, Hall by the Sea, Sanger Circus and animal performance.
Ringling Brother's Circus Annual, 1901
Boooklet containing black and white photographs and text listing performers and workers. Also contains the official programme and the itenerary of the circus in the USA with images of different locations including, buildings, cotton plantations and other agricultural scenes with workers and some feature articles.
Sanger Family Collection
This collection contains black and white photographs of George Sanger's Circus, photocopies of newspaper cuttings and some research material related to the Sanger Family, original drawings for costume designs by June Dick, an interview with June about her family and life and various other items related to the Sanger family.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Book, 1864
Book containing obituaries for various members of the Holloway family including William, Jane, Edward, john and James and including references to James' rendering of Richard the Third at Ashlety's Royal Amphitheatre under the management of Cooke and other plays such as Macbeth, and Rob Roy by Walter Scott.