Dan Rolyat, born Herbert Taylor (11 November 1872 – 10 December 1927), was an English actor and singer. After an apprenticeship with a touring company he was engaged by the impresarios

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

and

Robert Courtneidge Robert Courtneidge (29 June 1859 – 6 April 1939) was a British theatrical manager-producer and playwright. He is best remembered as the co-author of the light opera '' Tom Jones'' (1907) and the producer of '' The Arcadians'' (1909). He was ...

to play comic roles in

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

. He also played in

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

s and, later in his career, in

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

. Rolyat's greatest success was probably in the double role of John Smith and Simplicitas in '' The Arcadians'' (1909), first in the West End of London and then in the British provinces. While playing the role on tour he suffered a severe accident that threatened to end his career. He recovered and worked on until the mid-1920s when ill-health forced him to retire.

Early life and career

Rolyat was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

in the English Midlands, the son of Thomas Taylor, described in ''Who's Who in the Theatre'' as a "private gentleman".Parker, p. 790 Rolyat was educated at

Queen's College, Birmingham Queen's College was a medical school in central Birmingham, England, and a predecessor college of the University of Birmingham. It was founded by surgeon William Sands Cox in 1825 as The Birmingham Medical School, a residential college for med ...

He adopted the stage name of Dan Rolyat – "Dan" in honour of

Dan Leno George Wild Galvin (20 December 1860 – 31 October 1904), better known by the stage name Dan Leno, was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era. He was best known, aside from his music hall a ...

and "Rolyat" because he thought "Taylor" more distinctive when spelled backwards than forwards."Mr Dan Rolyat", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 12 December 1927, p. 10 He made his stage debut at Coutts's Theatre, Birmingham, in 1896, and joined a touring company playing in ''From Scotland Yard'' and ''Sentenced for Life''. He joined

's company, and toured as Sammy Gigg in the

The Toreador ''The Toreador'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and Harry Nicholls (comedian), Harry Nicholls, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton. It opened at the Gaiety ...

'' (1901). He was a member of

Fred Karno Frederick John Westcott (26 March 1865 – 17 September 1941), best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was an English theatre impresario of the British music hall. As a comedian of slapstick he is credited with popularising the custard-pie-in ...

's company, playing Sergeant Lightning in ''The Dandy Thieves'' (1905) and then appeared in

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

. He had established a reputation as a whimsically original comedian when he was cast for his first West End show in 1906 at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

."Dan Rolyat: Tragedy of a great laughter-maker", ''Derby Daily Telegraph'', 10 December 1927, p. 8 This was ''The Dairymaids'', by Paul Rubens and

Arthur Wimperis Arthur Harold Wimperis (3 December 1874 – 14 October 1953) was an English playwright, lyricist and screenwriter, who contributed lyrics and libretti to popular Edwardian musical comedies written for the stage. But, with the advent of talking f ...

. Rolyat played Joe Mivens; ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' thought him as funny as the show's star comedian,

Walter Passmore Walter Henry Passmore (10 May 1867 – 29 August 1946) was an English singer and actor best known as the first successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Passm ...

, and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' considered him to be the funnier of the two. In 1907 Rolyat created the role of Benjamin Partridge in

Edward German Sir Edward German (born German Edward Jones; 17 February 1862 – 11 November 1936) was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur S ...

's comic opera ''

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

''. That Christmas, he played the Baron in a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

version of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' at the

Theatre Royal, Birmingham The Theatre Royal, until 1807 the New Street Theatre, or, colloquially, New Theatre, was a 2,000-seat theatre located on New Street in Birmingham, England. It was erected in 1774 and demolished in 1956. The theatre was damaged by fire in 179 ...

. ''The Dairymaids'' had been produced by the impresario

, who engaged Rolyat to create the double role of John Smith and Simplicitas in the long-running musical '' The Arcadians'' in 1909. Also for Courtneidge, Rolyat played Suki in ''

The Mousmé ''The Mousmé; or The Maids of Japan'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in three acts with a book by Alexander M. Thompson and Robert Courtneidge, lyrics by Arthur Wimperis and Percy Greenbank and music by Lionel Monckton and Howard Talbot, premi ...

'' (1911). In 1912, while touring in ''The Arcadians'', he fell from his horse in Act II at the

Tyne Theatre and Opera House The Tyne Theatre and Opera House is a theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is a Grade I listed building, rated "in the top 4% of listed buildings" by English Heritage and is afforded a three star (the highest) rating by the Theatres Trus ...

and suffered such severe injuries to his back that there was doubt whether he would ever be able to appear on stage again. He recovered after several months and toured as Prince Bogumil in '' Princess Caprice'' in 1913.

Later years

Returning to the West End in October 1914, Rolyat appeared as Simon Slinks in a revival of another musical, ''

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 p ...

''. For the rest of his career he performed in variety and musical comedy, and in 1922 he played in a non-musical farce, ''Nuts in May''. In the mid-1920s his health gave way, and he had to retire from performing. He underwent surgery for

oral cancer Oral cancer, also known as oral cavity cancer, tongue cancer or mouth cancer, is a cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless red or white patch, that thickens, gets ulcerated ...

, but the operation was unsuccessful. An all-star benefit show was organised to raise money to support him. Rolyat was twice married. His first wife was the singer and actress Florence Smithson; the marriage was dissolved, and in 1915 he married the actress Constance Worth. He died at his home in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, south London, at the age of fifty-five and was buried at

Streatham Park Cemetery South London Crematorium and Streatham Park Cemetery is a cemetery and crematorium on Rowan Road in Streatham Vale. It has always been privately owned and managed and is now part of the Dignity plc group . The South London Crematorium is situ ...

in London.Wilson, Scott
''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons''
3d ed., McFarland & Company, Inc. (2016), p. 642

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolyat, Dan 1872 births 1927 deaths English male musical theatre actors 19th-century British male singers British music hall performers Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands Actors from the London Borough of Lambeth Burials at Streatham Park Cemetery Male actors from Surrey People from Brixton