Argyle, Pearl (1910–1947)

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Argyle, Pearl (1910–1947)

English ballerina and actress. Born Pearl Wellman in 1910; died in 1947; studied with Marie Rambert ; married Curtis Bernhardt (an American film producer), in 1938.

Pearl Argyle rose quickly to leading roles after her debut with the Ballet Club (later Ballet Rambert) in 1926, creating La Fille in Bar aux Folies-Bergère, Hebe in Descent of Hebe, the wife in Les Masques, and the title roles in Andrée Howard's Cinderella and Mermaid. Joining the Sadler's Wells in 1935, she danced Les Syphides, Swan Lake, and created the Queen in Le Roi Nu. Argyle was also seen in many English films as well as revues. Following her marriage in 1938, she lived in America and danced in several Broadway musicals, including One Touch of Venus, before her death at age 37. The library of the Royal Ballet School in London was dedicated to her memory.