Joe Elvin
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Joe Elvin (born Joseph Peter Keegan; 29 November 1862 – 3 March 1935) was an English comedian and
music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
entertainer and a Founder of the
Grand Order of Water Rats The Grand Order of Water Rats is a British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation based in London. Founded in 1889 by the music hall comedians Joe Elvin and Jack Lotto, the order is known for its high-profile membership an ...
, a
show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...
charity. With other leading performers he took part in the Music Hall War of 1907, which supported less well paid
music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
artistes in their strike for better pay and conditions.


Biography

Elvin was the son of Joseph Peter Keegan (1840 – 1901), an actor and music-hall artiste, and his wife, Annie Delaney. He was educated at a
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school in
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while at the same time receiving tuition in dancing and other performance skills. He made his début in
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 ...
at Brighton's Theatre Royal in 1871 and began his music-hall career the following year as a juvenile comic and clog dancer at Crowder's in
Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
. He appeared with his father as 'Joe Keegan and Little Elvin', their first real success being ''Poor Jo'' which was based on Dickens's ''
Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...
''. During a season for the
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...
Tony Pastor in
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in 1882 they turned to more comic material. Dave Russell, 'Elvin, Joe (1862–1935)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004


Comedy career

Impresario
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 ...
described Elvin as one of a handful of physical comedians who "made significant changes in music-hall fare." Elvin developed the character of the loud, lovable, and irreverent
cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...
working man having a good time. With
Marie Dainton Marie Dainton (8 June c. 1881 – 1 February 1938) was an actress of the Victorian and Edwardian eras who appeared regularly in both music halls and in dramatic theatre. Early career Dainton was born in Russia, apparently in 1881, but other so ...
,
Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as "The Boy ...
and
Little Tich Harry Relph (21 July 186710 February 1928),Russell, Dav"Relph, Harry (1867–1928)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2013 professionally known as Littl ...
, Elvin was a leading force behind the 'Music Hall War' of 1907 when they persuaded other less well paid music hall artistes to strike for better pay and conditions and to picket the theatres that broke the strike. This action led to the formation of the 'Variety Artists Federation' (VAF), which decades later was absorbed into Equity. In December 1907 he helped found and became the first president of the
Variety Artistes Benevolent Fund The Royal Variety Charity is a British charity based in Twickenham, London, England. It is dedicated to giving support to those who have professionally served the entertainment industry and find themselves sick, impoverished or elderly. The char ...
, which was set up by performers to replace a previous society (founded by Elvin's father) which had been controlled largely by agents and managers. In 1909 Elvin was the prime mover in a scheme that eventually caused Brinsworth Home to be built for retired music-hall performers. Elvin was the brother of variety artiste Frank Keegan, who died in 1951. The two frequently appeared together as 'Keegan and Elvin', including at the 1887 variety performance benefit for Charles Ash at the Royal Victoria Hall in
Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...
. His wife, Charlotte Keegan, was also a variety artist, performing as Mrs Joe Elvin. She died on September 8, 1916.


Grand Order of Water Rats

In 1889 Elvin was a founder with
Jack Lotto Jack Lotto (born John Egington; 11 October 1856–28 August 1944) was a British music hall performer of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras whose speciality was a trick-cycling act. With entertainer Joe Elvin he co-founded the show business c ...
of the
Grand Order of Water Rats The Grand Order of Water Rats is a British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation based in London. Founded in 1889 by the music hall comedians Joe Elvin and Jack Lotto, the order is known for its high-profile membership an ...
, a show business charity which began life when a betting syndicate that had grown up around a trotting pony owned by Elvin agreed to donate any winnings to charity, gaining its name when someone referred to the pony during a rainy trip to the
Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
as looking more like a water rat. Elvin served as 'King Rat' in 1894. His interests included his extensive charitable and benevolent work and a lifelong interest in horse-racing, as owner, spectator, and keen gambler. He retired in the early 1920s and a benefit concert was held for him at the
London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...
in March 1923. He appeared in the 1900
silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
''The Rats''. Elvin is buried in
Bandon Hill Cemetery Bandon Hill Cemetery is a cemetery in Wallington, London, Wallington, south-west London. While it was founded in 1900 by the Croydon Rural District Council, it is actually located in the London Borough of Sutton and upon the formation of London ...
in Wallington in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
beside his friends and fellow music hall artistes
Eugene Stratton Eugene Augustus Rühlmann (May 8, 1861 – September 15, 1918) was an American-born dancer and singer. He adopted the stage name Eugene Stratton and spent most of his career in British music halls. Biography Stratton was born in Buffalo, ...
and
Jack Lotto Jack Lotto (born John Egington; 11 October 1856–28 August 1944) was a British music hall performer of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras whose speciality was a trick-cycling act. With entertainer Joe Elvin he co-founded the show business c ...
.Music Hall and Variety Artistes Burial Places
at www.arthurlloyd.co.uk


Notes


External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elvin, Joe 1862 births 1935 deaths British male comedians British music hall performers English vaudeville performers