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The noun cameo designates:
● literally: (an engraving upon) a gem or other stone of at least two differently coloured layers, such as sardonyx, so carved that the background is of a different colour from the raised design—this raised design is often a head in profile;
● figuratively:
– a short literary work or dramatic sketch;
– a minor but well-defined role in a play, film, etc., especially when performed by a notable actor.
In the sense of a minor role in a play, film, etc., the noun cameo is frequently used attributively, in expressions such as cameo part, cameo role and cameo appearance.
The British novelist Robert Bruce Montgomery (1921-1978) made a character define the expression cameo part as follows in Frequent Hearses (Harmondsworth (Middlesex): Penguin Books Limited, 1958), published under the pen name of ‘Edmund Crispin’ [chapter 1, page 29]:
‘As I say, she was taken on as an extra. After that she got a cameo part in a film called—damn, what was it?’ Judy flicked her fingers irritably. ‘Oh, I remember—Visa for Heaven.’
‘A cameo part?’
‘Yes, you know: the film equivalent of a bit part on the stage. Something just a little more important than merely walking on.
These are, in chronological order, the earliest occurrences that I have found of expressions such as cameo part, cameo role and cameo appearance:
1-: From a review of Les Huguenots, an opera performed in Atlanta by the Metropolitan Opera company—review by Louise Dooly, published in The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) of Tuesday 27th April 1915 [page 6, column 7]—Antonio Scotti (1866-1936) was an Italian baritone:
—However, here, the expression cameo role does not designate a minor role in Les Huguenots, but refers to the preciseness of Antonio Scotti’s performance:
Scotti, as soon as one sees his name on the program, gives one a sense of thorough satisfaction to come, and that was his role last night. Polished and exquisite in voice and action, adequate to every dramatic and musical exigency, his Count de Nevers proved as much a “cameo” role, clear cut and finished, as his long list of other masterpieces.
2-: From a review of Julius Cæsar, by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616), performed at the Grand Theatre, Derby, by the Irish actor Charles Doran (1877-1964) and his Shakespearean company—review published in the Derby Daily Telegraph (Derby, Derbyshire, England) of Tuesday 25th November 1924 [page 5, column 2]—both Portia, Brutus’s wife, and Lucius, Brutus’s attendant, are small roles in the play:
As wife to Brutus, Miss Barbara Everest made a very moving appeal to her lord when the conspiracy was afoot, and Miss Rachel Collett’s Lucius was another cameo part ably performed.
3-: From the Belfast Telegraph (Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland) of Monday 13th September 1926 [page 7, column 2]—the British film is London (1926), adapted from a short story by the British author Thomas Burke (1886-1945), starring the U.S. actress Dorothy Gish (1898-1968):
Mr. Jack M‘Laren, an Australian author and wanderer, […] is living in London with his wife, whom he married in Melbourne, Australia, on leaving Cape York. Mrs. M‘Laren is acting a “cameo part” with Dorothy Gish in Thomas Burke’s new British film.
4-: From a review of The Lily (1926), a U.S. film directed by Victor Schertzinger (1888-1941)—review published in The Bioscope (London, England) of Thursday 14th October 1926 [page 56, column 2]:
Special mention must be made of the old lady, whose name unfortunately is not available, who plays the part of Arnaud’s servant. She gives a beautiful comedy performance, and in facial expression and gesture she is perfect. Although only a cameo part it is certain to stand out in the minds of all who see the film.
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