Walter Groves (1856–1906) was a British actor, comedian, music hall artist, and writer of the late

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

and early

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

eras.

Biography

Groves was born in

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, to travelling actors Charles Groves (1807−1864) and Martha Bigg (1822−1915). His father was a working provincial actor of thirty years experience, while his mother had been a star of the London stage during childhood, appearing in the title role of ''

Tom Thumb Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first known fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, ...

'' at the

Theatre Royal, Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

and in ''Peter Bell, The Waggoner'' at the Royal Cobourg Theatre (today the Old Vic). Groves was one of ten children in the Groves family, the majority of whom eventually went on to work in the theatre. His elder brother

Charles Groves Sir Charles Barnard Groves CBE (10 March 191520 June 1992) was an English conductor. He was known for the breadth of his repertoire and for encouraging contemporary composers and young conductors. After accompanying positions and conducting ...

became a celebrated actor in the West End and on the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

stage. The first known recorded appearance of Groves is an appearance 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 the Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne, in ''Sinbad The Sailor''. Groves played the part of Tornado and also performed the

Harlequinade ''Harlequinade'' is an English comic theatrical genre, defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "that part of a pantomime in which the harlequin and clown play the principal parts". It developed in England between the 17th and mid-19th ce ...

. During his lengthy career in pantomime he showed great versatility, having played everything from

clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

to pantaloon to the

pantomime dame A pantomime dame is a traditional role in British pantomime. It is part of the theatrical tradition of '' travesti'' portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. Dame characters are often played either in an extremely camp style, or el ...

. Groves appeared in this genre almost annually, with performers including

George Mozart George Mozart (born David John Gillings; 15 February 1864 – 10 December 1947) was a British music hall comedian, actor and singer, with a career lasting over 70 years. Biography He was born in Great Yarmouth, and began his career at the age of ...

Paul Cinquevalli Paul Cinquevalli (30 June 1859 – 14 July 1918) was a German music hall entertainer whose speciality juggling act made him popular in the English music halls during the 19th and early 20th century. Cinquevalli first appeared in England in 1885 ...

and

Vesta Tilley Matilda Alice Powles, Lady de Frece (13May 186416September 1952) was an English music hall performer. She adopted the stage name Vesta Tilley and became one of the best-known male impersonators of her era. Her career lasted from 1869 until 19 ...

. In 1889 he was engaged by George Conquest to play Dame at The Surrey Theatre. In 1900 Groves became the first spoken-word comedian hired by the Fred Karno Company (which was previously associated with silent,

slapstick comedy Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

to evade the theatre's

censors Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

) originating the role of Sgt. Lightning in the company's first full-length musical-comedy ''Her Majesty’s Guests''. He reprised this performance for a brief period the following year, with the production renamed ''His Majesty’s Guests'' to reflect the death of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and the accession of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

. According to Fred Karno, Walter Groves devised the “funny walk” that

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

incorporated into his

Little Tramp : ''See The Tramp for the character played by Charlie Chaplin''. ''Little Tramp'' is a musical with a book by David Pomeranz and Steven David Horwich and music and lyrics by David Pomeranz. Based on the life of comedian Charles Chaplin and na ...

film persona, which then became world famous. Said Karno: ''"Charlie's peculiar walk is not original. It started with one of my comedians, a clever fellow named Walter Groves. Fred Kitchen then elaborated this walk and when Chaplin stepped into Kitchen's shoes and took his part over he also secured the legacy of the flat footed walk"''. In 2020 a radio documentary aired by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

, presented by Groves's great-granddaughter, explored this claim. Groves also wrote, produced and starred in his own

comedy sketches Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

under the banner of the Walter Groves Company, which toured the British music hall circuit intermittently from 1887 up until his death in 1906. These works include ''Poor Pink'', ''Artful Jim'' and ''Poole's Fantasie''. Early February 1906, Groves died in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

while on a recuperative holiday in an attempt to fight the lung condition that killed him. Almost immediately after his death, his work was subject to

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

. His widow filed lawsuits to protect his work, and was obliged to buy advertising space in such industry newspapers as ''The Era'' and ''The Stage'' to announce his original works were fully protected under copyright law. He married the actress Lizzie Aney and fathered two children. His descendants include the actress Lily Groves (daughter), the actor Donald Groves (grandson) and the writer Fiona Gruber (great-granddaughter).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groves, Walter Groves family 1856 births 1906 deaths 19th-century British comedians Pantomime dames British mimes British music hall performers Male actors from Manchester 19th-century British male actors British male comedians Comedians from Manchester