Florence Desmond (31 May 1905 – 16 January 1993) was the stage name of Florence Dawson, an English actress, comedienne and impersonator.

Biography

Early life
Born In London in 1905, Desmond was educated at the Dame Alice Owen's School, Islington. Her brother Fred Desmond was a comedy acrobat from the "Desmond and Marks" double act.


Career
She began her stage career at the age of ten. Upon leaving school in 1920, she embarked on a long and successful career in the theatre, especially as an impersonator of famous stars. She appeared extensively in radio, theatre and occasionally in the cinema.

She was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1959 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at at London’s Adelphi Theatre.


Personal life
She was married twice, first to the aviator Tom Campbell Black from 1935–1936, after his death to aviator and insurance broker Charles Hughesdon from 1937 with whom she lived at Dunsborough Park in Ripley, Surrey. She died in Guildford, Surrey in 1993 aged 87, where a Ward was named for her at St.Luke's Hospital.