1896 Arrived in Sydney.
1896 Moved to Brisbane
1899 Returned to Sydney
1899 Returned to Brisbane
1908 Returned to Sydney
1908 Departed for London via Mebourne
1911 died - hepatitisOcc: Billed as "Australia's Greatest Mimic" - Many newspaper articles throughout Australia and New Zealand.
"New Vaudeville Company - 18 Star Artists........Also, Reappearance of the Popular Australian Mimic and Comedian, CARDEN WILSON. Also mentioned Pearl Helmridge and Elsie Brown"
Source: The West Austraian 1908--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BORN: c. 1873, England
DIED: 15 August, 1911, Sydney
AGED: 38
GRAVE: 2483/4 Church of England Select,
Section 6
Carden Wilson was a comic actor whose imitations of people gave joy to many Australians. Appearing at the Lyceum Theatre in 1900, the SMH critic commented, "Variation is lent to the entertainment by the performance of Mr Carden Wilson, who was loudly applauded for his excellent imitations of popular acts, amongst those specially recognised
being Mr George Rignold (q. v.) and Mr Bland Holt; whilst an imitation of a broken down phonograph was capitally rendered." At the Opera House Melbourne in 1905, The Bulletin declared, "Carden Wilson's imitations of actors living and continue to be a bright feature of the show." He appeared in LADY BLARNEY at the Lyceum in 1896, capitally playing the small part of the servant Doolittle and the audience would have been glad to see more of the character. Other appearances were in DEARER THAN LIFE and THE WEAVERS at the Theatre Royal in 1890, SINBAD THE SAILOR at the Alhambra Theatre in 1898, THE CHRISTIAN at Her Majesty's in 1901, and a season of variety at the National Amphitheatre in 1908. Garden's wife, actress Pearl Hellmrich, devotedly nursed her dying husband and kept her own turn going at the Tivoli and, declared The Bulletin, "if there are any benefits going to waste she deserves one of the fattest." Carden was the son of scenic artist, W.J. Wilson (q.v.). His eldest brother, William, was also a scenic artist, and another brother was comic actor, Frank Hawthorne. A cousin, theatrical agent William John Folkestone Wilson (q.v.) is also buried at
Waverley Cemetery.
(Source: Waverley Cemetery Archives; Dictionary of Australian Artists by Joan Kerr; The Bulletin 16-2-1905.
24-8-1911; Sydney Morning Herald 20-12-1890, 28-12-1896, 8-10-1898, 23-7-1900, 9-3-1901, 31-1-1908)
836. Ivan Leslie Brown
Birth : Mother Eva - no father listed
252. Vincent Frank Farran
Lived at 1-4 Windsor St Paddington 1903