Ellen E. Small (19001968), who performed as Nellie Small, was an Australian nightclub entertainer, jazz and blues singer, male impersonator and comic. Career Born as Ellen E Small in Sydney, Nellie Small was an Australian Indigenous person, although she was referred to as having West Indian heritage. Small attended Roman Catholic convent schools, including Sisters of the Good Samaritan, until leaving at 16 to become a domestic servant and factory worker. She began her career in theatre during the 1920s after being offered a part in Cairo at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. For the Melbourne production of Chu Chin Chow in March 1923, the actress received praise as the "wife's attendant". She continued with the production in Perth in April and Sydney in May. During the depression the entertainer worked as a cleaner, floor-washer and laundress. After a period of no theatre work, in 1930 Small returned to the stage as a singer, often in men's clothing. From that time she lived in North Sydney with her talent manager Edith and the latter's husband Ted Meggitt, a furrier. Wearing men's clothing was initially a publicity stunt, but it developed into working as a male impersonator. As an actress she took a minor role in the comedy feature film Strike Me Lucky (1935). She sang blues and jazz standards at Sydney's Theatre Royal and the Tivoli in Melbourne, and later performed with the Port Jackson Jazz Band. In the 1950s she toured New Zealand and recorded the song "The End of the Affair" (1955), which Clinton Walker described as a contender for Australia's first rock 'n' roll single. Small was embroiled in an embargo against live entertainment in Sydney's pubs in 1954. The United Licensed Victuallers' Association, representing breweries, sought to ban live entertainers from performing as a distraction from customers drinking. Through the 1950s and 1960s she made appearances on TV, and continued to perform in clubs until 1964. References External links 20th-century Australian singers 1900 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Australian women singers Singers from Sydney