Harry Welchman
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Harry Welchman (24 February 1886 – 3 January 1966) was an English star of
musical theatre 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 made several appearances in non-musical plays, but was remembered as, in the words of ''
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 ...
'', "perhaps the most popular musical comedy hero on the London stage in the years between the wars.""Mr Harry Welchman", ''The Times'', 4 January 1966, p. 10 Welchman was primarily a stage performer, but he made nineteen films between 1915 and 1954, some of them musical and others straight drama.


Early life and career

Welchman was born at
Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...
,
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
, the son of an Army colonel. He was educated at
Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...
,
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, where he was a sporting boy, playing, as he said, "all the games", including
hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
at county level. On leaving school at the age of eighteen he joined a touring
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, ...
company led by Ada Reeve.Parker, pp. 977–978 When he was twenty he was spotted while playing in Christmas
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 ...
by the impresario Robert Courtneidge, under whose management he became a well known juvenile lead in such West End hit shows as '' Tom Jones'' (1907) '' The Arcadians'' (1909) and '' Princess Caprice'' (1912). In 1915 he made his first film, in the title role of '' Mr. Lyndon at Liberty''."Harry Welchman"
British Film Institute, retrieved 1 June 2014
During the latter part of the First World War Welchman served in the
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
. After demobilisation he returned to the West End under the management of C B Cochran, appearing with
Alice Delysia Alice Henriette Lapize (3 March 1889 – 10 February 1979), better known by her stage name, Alice Delysia and sometimes Elise Delisia, was a French actress and singer who made her career in English musical theatre. After performing in the cho ...
in '' Afgar'' (1919). In 1921 he went to
Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresa ...
where he had two substantial successes, ''Sybil'', and ''The Lady of the Rose'', which, as ''The Times'' put it, "contained a famous duet in which Welchman tried without success to storm the affections of the heroine, played by Miss Phyllis Dare."


Operetta, film and later years

In 1925 Welchman made his Broadway debut as Rudolph Rassendyll in '' Princess Flavia''."Mr Harry Welchman", ''The Guardian'', 4 January 1966, p. 5 In the same year he appeared in London under his own management at the
Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...
in ''Love's Prisoner'' (1925). The piece, judged by ''The Times'' to be an unsuccessful mixture of
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...
,
melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...
and musical comedy, had a brief run. He had a greater success in a string of West End operetta-style musical hits, playing leading man roles. These included the Red Shadow in '' The Desert Song'' (1927), which ran at
Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...
for more than 400 performances; in '' The New Moon'' (1929) at the same theatre; in '' Victoria and Her Hussar'' (1931); and as
François Villon François Villon (; Modern French: ; ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these e ...
in a revival of ''
The Vagabond King ''The Vagabond King'' is a 1925 operetta by Rudolf Friml in four acts, with a book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and William H. Post, based upon Justin Huntly McCarthy's 1901 romantic novel and play ''If I Were King''. The story is a fictionali ...
'' (1937). He toured as Captain Hook in ''
Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...
'', in which ''
The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' found him less villainous than his predecessors in the role, but "melodious" with "a certain dash and attractiveness". In the 1930s and 40s Welchman appeared in more than a dozen feature films, some musical and others straight drama. Among the former were ''
A Southern Maid ''A Southern Maid'' is an operetta in three acts composed by Harold Fraser-Simson, with a book by Dion Clayton Calthrop and Harry Graham and lyrics by Harry Graham (poet), Harry Graham and Harry Miller. Additional music was provided by Ivor No ...
'' (1933) and '' Lisbon Story'' (1946); the latter include '' The Gentle Sex'' and ''
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' is a 1943 British romantic-war film written, produced and directed by the British film-making team of Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and ...
'' (1943). In 1947 Welchman moved to
Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
, where he bought a farm and spent more and more of his time, though never formally retiring from the stage. In 1959, when he was seventy-three, he played Lord Mortlake in
John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and entrepreneur, who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-war theatre. Born in London, he briefly worked as a jo ...
's ''
The World of Paul Slickey ''The World of Paul Slickey'' (1959) is a play by John Osborne. It was Osborne's only musical, intended as a social satire on high-society gossip columnists. After the huge successes of Osborne's previous plays '' Look Back in Anger'' and '' The ...
''; he and Marie Löhr, who played his wife, were singled out for praise as highlights of an otherwise dull evening. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' on 8 February 1960."Harry Welchman"
TVMaze.com, accessed 6 February 2023
Welchman was twice married. His first marriage, to Joan Challoner, was dissolved. His second wife was the actress Sylvia Forde, with whom he had a daughter. He died in Penzance at the age of seventy-nine.


Partial filmography

* '' The Verdict of the Heart'' (1915) * '' The Lyons Mail'' (1916) * '' A Princess of the Blood'' (1916) * ''
The Maid of the Mountains ''The Maid of the Mountains'', called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or "Edwardian" musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W. Tate, lyrics by Harry Graham a ...
'' (1932) * ''
A Southern Maid ''A Southern Maid'' is an operetta in three acts composed by Harold Fraser-Simson, with a book by Dion Clayton Calthrop and Harry Graham and lyrics by Harry Graham (poet), Harry Graham and Harry Miller. Additional music was provided by Ivor No ...
'' (1933) * ''
The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group the Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as the Band's "farewell concert a ...
'' (1936) * '' The Common Touch'' (1941) * '' This Was Paris'' (1942) * '' The Gentle Sex'' (1943) * ''
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' is a 1943 British romantic-war film written, produced and directed by the British film-making team of Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and ...
'' (1943) * '' Waltz Time'' (1945) * '' Lisbon Story'' (1946) * '' Loyal Heart'' (1946) * '' I'll Turn to You'' (1946) * '' Green Fingers'' (1947) * '' Judgment Deferred'' (1952) * '' Eight O'Clock Walk'' (1954) * '' Mad About Men'' (1954) * '' Three Cases of Murder'' (1955)


Notes


References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Welchman, Harry 1886 births 1966 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors English male silent film actors Male actors from Devon 20th-century English male actors