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Harry Grattan
Harry Grattan (c. 1867 – 25 September 1951) was a British stage actor, singer, dancer and writer best known for his performances in musical comedies in the decades around 1900. Life and career Gratton started early as a child actor (along with his sister, Emilie), playing in ''Rip Van Winkle'' (1875), ''Slave Life'' (1875), ''Orson'' in 1876 (a show written for him and his sister by their father, H. P. Grattan), ''Little Goody Two-Shoes'' (1876) and ''Little Red Riding Hood; or, Harlequin Grandmama'' (1877). He played Captain Corcoran in the "Children's Pinafore" in 1879–80 at the Savoy Theatre (Emilie played Josephine). ''The Era'' wrote that, in the role, he was "very successful indeed, and looked the character completely." As an adult, Grattan appeared at various West End theatres. For example, during the Christmas season of 1889, he appeared at the Avenue Theatre in ''The Field of the Cloth of Gold''. With the advent of Edwardian musical comedy, Grattan became a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New Aladdin
''The New Aladdin'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and W. H. Risque, with music by Ivan Caryll, Lionel Monckton, and additional numbers by Frank E. Tours, and lyrics by Adrian Ross, Percy Greenbank, W. H. Risque, and George Grossmith, Jr. It was produced by George Edwardes at the Gaiety Theatre, opening on 29 September 1906 and running for 203 performances. The London production starred Grossmith, Harry Grattan (who also choreographed), Lily Elsie, Edmund Payne and Gaby Deslys (making her London debut). Gertie Millar, the established star of the Gaiety soon became available and replaced Elsie in the leading role, but shortly thereafter ''The Merry Widow'' made Elsie a big star. The Aladdin story had been dramatised extensively in England before and was very popular in pantomime versions, but this was the first book musical on the subject. P. G. Wodehouse wrote a comic dramatisation of the creation of ''The New Aladdin'' called "The Cooks an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1951 Deaths
Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United Kingdom announces abandonment of the Tanganyika groundnut scheme for the cultivation of peanuts in the Tanganyika Territory, with the writing off of £36.5M debt. * January 11 – In the U.S., a top secret report is delivered to U.S. President Truman by his National Security Resources Board, urging Truman to expand the Korean War by launching "a global offensive against communism" with sustained bombing of Red China and diplomatic moves to establish "moral justification" for a U.S. nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. The report will not not be declassified until 1978. * January 15 – In a criminal court in West Germany, Ilse Koch, The "Witch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1860s Births
Year 186 ( CLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, year 939 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 186 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Peasants in Gaul stage an anti-tax uprising under Maternus. * Roman governor Pertinax escapes an assassination attempt, by British usurpers. New Zealand * The Hatepe volcanic eruption extends Lake Taupō and makes skies red across the world. However, recent radiocarbon dating by R. Sparks has put the date at 233 AD ± 13 (95% confidence). Births * Ma Liang, Chinese official of the Shu Han state (d. 222) Deaths * April 21 – Apollonius the Apologist, Christian martyr * Bian Zhang, Chinese official and general (b. 133) * Paccia Marc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betty Bolton
Betty Bolton (7 January 1906 – 2 April 2005) was a British actress, beginning as a child star during World War I and continuing her career in the 1920s and 1930s. She was one of the first performers to appear on early British television. Early life and career Bolton made her debut in 1916, at the age of 10, in a revue called ''Some'', at the Vaudeville Theatre in London. Gertrude Lawrence was the principal dancer. Bolton's mother Maud was a West End stage manager. 'Betty', as she was originally billed (no surname), played in several revues by Harry Grattan, such as ''Odds and Ends'' and ''Mind Your Backs'' during World War I, some of them produced by Andr Charlot, playing precocious children. Photographs from two of these revues, including ''Cheep'' (1917) and ''Back Again'' (1919), show her remarkable powers of facial expression. The last show in which she performed as a child was the musical fantasy ''Fifinella'', in late 1919. Adult career Bolton was a versatile perform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
André Charlot
Eugène André Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French-born impresario known primarily for the musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He later worked as a character actor in numerous American films. Born in Paris, where his father was a theatre manager, Charlot made most of his pre-Second World War career in the West End theatre, West End of London, where he successfully imported and adapted the Parisian genre of intimate revue. He was known for his ability in talent spotting and played an important part in the early careers of many performers, composers and writers, including Jack Buchanan, Noël Coward, Jack Hulbert, Gertrude Lawrence, Beatrice Lillie, Jessie Matthews and Ivor Novello. Life and career Early years Charlot was born in Paris on 26 July 1882, the eldest of three children of Jules Charles Maurice Charlot and his wife, Jeanne Sargine ''née'' Battu.Moore, James RossCharlot, (Eugene) André Maurice (1882–1956) ''Oxford Dictiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in European theatre of World War I, Europe and the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, Middle East, as well as in parts of African theatre of World War I, Africa and the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I, Asia-Pacific, and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare; the widespread use of Artillery of World War I, artillery, machine guns, and Chemical weapons in World War I, chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of Tanks in World War I, tanks and Aviation in World War I, aircraft. World War I was one of the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflicts in history, resulting in an estimated World War I casualties, 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded, plus some 10 million civilian de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronald Jeans
Ronald Jeans (10 May 1887 – 16 May 1973) was a British playwright with a career spanning nearly 50 years. Early life Ronald Jeans was born in Oxton, Merseyside, the younger son of Sir Alexander Grigor Jeans (1849–1924), the founder and managing editor of the '' Liverpool Post and Mercury'', and his wife, Ellen Gallon (d. 1889). Career According to his entry in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', "Between the 1930s and 1955 he was one of the West End's most reliable sources of undemanding, expertly crafted social comedy." Jeans wrote the 1916 short revue "Oh, Law!" produced by Fred Karno, which was a revue version of Karno's most famous sketch "Mumming Birds." The plot of "Oh, Law!" centered on a dispute between rival revue producers in a copyright battle over the fictional show "Have a Banana!". It starred Vernon Watson as lead comic, impersonating music hall stars of the day. Selected plays *''Hullo, Repertory!'' (1915) *''No Reflection on the Wife'' (191 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical family, and his first successes were as a songwriter. His first big hit was " Keep the Home Fires Burning" (1914), which was enormously popular during the First World War. His 1917 show, '' Theodore & Co'', was a wartime hit. After the war, Novello contributed numbers to several successful musical comedies and was eventually commissioned to write the scores of complete shows. He wrote his musicals in the style of operetta and often composed his music to the libretti of Christopher Hassall. In the 1920s he turned to acting, first in British films and then on stage, with considerable success in both. He starred in two silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock, '' The Lodger'' and '' Downhill'' (both 1927). On stage, he played the title c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hitchy-Koo
''Hitchy-Koo'' is a 1912 American popular song and a series of musical revues, inspired by the song, staged on Broadway each year from 1917 through 1920 and on tour in 1922. Described by '' Variety'' magazine as a "hit song of 1912", the song was composed by Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams with lyrics by L. Wolfe Gilbert. Historian Eve Golden stated that the song is "a popular standard from the second-wave of ragtime tunes". Ian Whitcomb wrote that it was one of the first American popular songs to influence musical taste and culture in the United Kingdom with the "invasion of American popular music" in 1912. History First published and performed in 1912, "Hitchy-Koo" was a staple of the vaudeville repertoire in the 1910s and 1920s, enjoying popularity in both American and British theatres. The song was first recorded in 1912 for Columbia Records by the vaudeville comedy duo Collins & Harlan. Other vaudeville entertainers who performed the work included Fanny Brice. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miss Hook Of Holland
''Miss Hook of Holland'' is an England, English musical theatre, musical comedy (styled a "Dutch Musical Incident") in two acts, with music and lyrics by Paul Rubens (composer), Paul Rubens with a book by Austen Hurgon and Rubens. The show was produced by Frank Curzon and opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on 31 January 1907, running for a very successful 462 performances. It starred Harry Grattan and Isabel Jay. The show also had a Broadway run starring Bertram Wallis and an Australian production in 1907 and enjoyed various tours and revivals, including a 1914 revival starring Phyllis Dare. There was also a "matinee version" of the show called ''Little Miss Hook of Holland'', played by children for children. The musical was popular with amateur theatre groups, particularly in Britain, from 1911 through the 1950s.Bond, Ian"Rarely Produced Shows". St. David's Players, Retrieved 22 July 2010 1907 was a busy year on the London stage with numerous other notable openings, inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Spring Chicken
''The Spring Chicken'' is an Edwardian musical comedy adapted by George Grossmith, Jr. from ''Coquin de Printemps'' (1897) by Jaime and Duval, with music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Adrian Ross, Percy Greenbank and Grossmith.Howarth, Paul and Colin Johnson"''The Spring Chicken''" British Musical Theatre, Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 2 November 2016Gillan, Don Stage Beauty, accessed 15 April 2022 The story takes place in Paris and Château de Malmaison. Produced by George Edwardes at the Gaiety Theatre in London, the show opened on 30 May 1905. It ran for a very successful 401 performances. The London production starred Grossmith, Harry Grattan and Gertie Millar, with Henry Lytton later joining the cast. ''The Spring Chicken'' had a Broadway run in 1906 and toured in Britain and America. Roles * Gustave Babori (Advocate) – George Grossmith, Jr. * Boniface (His Head Clerk) – Lionel Mackinder * Baron Papouche (His Client) – Harry Gratta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
