Firth Shephard (27 April 1891 – 3 January 1949) was a British writer, theatre producer and presenter of plays.
Life and career
Shephard was born in London, the son of Richard Shephard and his wife Elizabeth, ''nee'' Oliver). He married Constance Evans, formerly a concert entertainer.
Among the works written by Shepard are Parlez-vous Français? " (with Fred Karno), 1915; ''Hot and Cold'', 1915 ; ''Extra Special'', 1916; ''Oh, Julie ''(with Lee Branson), 1920; ''Faust on Toast '' (with Adrian Ross), 1921; ''Little Miss Puck'', 1924; ''Dear Little Billie'', 1925; ''Shephard's Pie'', 1925; ''Lady Luck'', 1927 ;
As a manager, Shephard produced ''Dear Little Billie '' (with Laddie Cliff), ''Whispering Wires'', 1927 and many revues. He entered into partnership with
Leslie Henson
Leslie Lincoln Henson (3 August 1891 – 2 December 1957) was an English comedian, actor, singer, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hal ...
in 1928, and together they produced ''Skin Deep'', 1928, ''Her Past'', 1929, ''Follow Through'', ''A Warm Corner'', 1929, ''It's a Boy'', ''Oh, Daddy!''1930, ''Counsel's Opinion'', ''It's a Girl'', 1931, ''The Love Pirate'', ''Party'', ''Night of the Garter'', 1932, a revival of Lonsdale's ''
On Approval'', ''Nice Goings On'', ''Ladies' Night'', 1933, ''Indoor Fireworks'', ''Half-a-Crown'', ''Living Dangerously'' and ''Lucky Break'', 1934. Among his best-running productions of the 1930s was
Ian Hay
Major (Honorary Major General) John Hay Beith, Order of the British Empire, CBE Military Cross, MC (17 April 1876 – 22 September 1952), was a British schoolmaster and soldier, but is best remembered as a novelist, playwright, essayist, an ...
's ''
Housemaster
{{Unreferenced, date=October 2024
In education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care of board ...
'', which ran for 662 performances.
In the early years of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Shephard conceived the idea of sending a topical revue on tour, reusing the title ''Shephard's Pie''. According to ''
The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...
'', that show launched Shephard on his career as a war-time man of the theatre. After that he achieved some long runs despite the difficulties and dangers of operating a London theatre in wartime. Examples included ''The Man Who Came To Dinner'' (708 performances), ''Junior Miss'' (518 performances) and ''Arsenic and Old Lace'' (1, 337 performances).
[Gaye, pp. 1525, 1533 and 1534]
References
Sources
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1891 births
1949 deaths
British theatre managers and producers
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