Harry Relph (21 July 186710 February 1928), professionally known as Little Tich, was a English music hall comedian and dancer during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was best known for his acrobatic and comedic "Big-Boot Dance," which he performed in Europe and for which he wore boots with soles long. Aside from his music hall appearances, he was also a popular performer in Christmas pantomimes and appeared in them annually at theatres throughout the English provinces. He repeated this success in London, where he appeared in three pantomimes at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, between 1891 and 1893 alongside Dan Leno and Marie Lloyd.
Introduction
Little Tich
Little Tich | Introduction
Theatre Royal, Barnard's Music Hall, English music hall Rosherville Pleasure Gardens and Barnard's Music Hall in Chatham. Theatre Royal, public houses in Sevenoaks. Europe and United States
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Harry Relph, professionally known as Little Tich, was a English music hall comedian and dancer best known for acrobatic dance.
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Harry Relph (21 July 186710 February 1928), professionally known as Little Tich, was a English music hall comedian and dancer during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was best known for his acrobatic and comedic "Big-Boot Dance," which he performed in Europe and for which he wore boots with soles long. Aside from his music hall appearances, he was also a popular performer in Christmas pantomimes and appeared in them annually at theatres throughout the English provinces. He repeated this success in London, where he appeared in three pantomimes at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, between 1891 and 1893 alongside Dan Leno and Marie Lloyd.
Little Tich | Introduction
To earn money, he began busking to local theatre goers who were waiting in the outside queues. On the way home from his busking performances, he devised eccentric dances, much to the amusement of his onlooking neighbours. Little Tich made his stage debut as Harry Relph at the age of 12 in 1879. The venue—although unidentified—was described by his daughter Mary as being a "back-street, free-and-easy" where the acts were predominantly made up of amateurs and beginners. The audiences were often harsh and they would display their displeasure by throwing objects onto the stage.
Little Tich | Move to Gravesend and early performances
For the character's appearance he wore a ripped and dirty frock, a scrag wig and carried an old mop and bucket which he borrowed from home. The act required him to flip the mop up into the air and grab the handle before carrying on singing. During one evening's performance at the Alhambra Theatre, the trick went wrong and he received a blow to his head from the mop. Despite the pain, he continued with the piece and refused to seek medical treatment for the resulting bump and intense headache which followed.
Little Tich | Last years and death
A critic for "The Era" who witnessed him perform at the Marylebone thought that he was "a curious comic" and that "his antics, his sayings and his business generally [were] very amusing, and he will doubtless improve in his singing, which is weak at present, even for a Negro delineator". The commentator further noted that "he appear[ed] to be quite a young man at present; but his dancing is peculiarly funny, though his dress in one of his characters is vulgar and suggestive; this should be altered".
Little Tich | Early London engagements
"Lord Tom Noddy" was showcased in September 1896 and ran at the Garrick Theatre, London for two months. The production had minimal success in the capital but was received well in the provinces. The show provided Little Tich with the chance to promote himself as a serious actor and to separate himself from the reputation of simply being the "deformed dwarf from the music hall". The audience were described as being "very large" whose "bursts of laughter w[ere] frequent and loud". A reporter for the "Edinburgh Evening News" thought that Little Tich was "the life and soul of the sketch" whose singing was "fairly good while [his] dancing was smart", while the critic William Archer dismissed Little Tich as being the "Quasimodo of the music halls, whose talent lies in a grotesque combination of agility with deformity".
Little Tich | New theatrical ventures and international engagements
A reporter for "The Era" predicted "We shall probably hear a great deal more about Little Titch, as he seems to be one of the few that can invest the business of the Negro comedian with any humour." By Christmas 1884, Little Tich was a resident performer in four London music halls: the Middlesex Music Hall where he had an 8 pm billing, the Marylebone (at 9 pm), the Star Palace of Varieties in Bermondsey (at 10 pm), and Crowders Music Hall in Mile End (at 11 pm). Out of the four halls, he had the most success at the Marylebone and fulfilled a ten-week run.
Little Tich | Early London engagements
Instead, he travelled to South Shields, where he appeared briefly in a successful short play called "Giddy Ostend" before retreating to France. In 1898 he broke the Folies contract shortly before its expiry after being scouted by Joseph Oller, who hired him to perform at the Olympia Music Hall in Paris. Following the breach of contract, the Folies manager Édouard Marchand initiated legal action against the comedian, who settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. The theatrical manager C.B. Cochran who had seen the comedian perform during this period, described him as "a reincarnation of the dwarf court-jesters of the Middle Ages—the little English Don Antonio of Velasquez".
Little Tich | New theatrical ventures and international engagements
To survive, he would often return to busking outside music halls to the waiting audiences. In the early months of 1884, he secured an engagement at a rundown public house called The Dolphin in Kidderminster, where he was paid £2 a week. He also hired his first agent who, unbeknown to Little Tich, had advertised him as a "freak" and a "six-fingered novelty". The comedian was furious with the description and quickly dispensed with the agent's services. By the summer months, his engagements had become infrequent so he used the long periods of unemployment constructively. He learned how to read and write music and taught himself to play various musical instruments including the piano, fiddle and cello.
Little Tich | Early London engagements
The show featured a burlesque centrepiece which required Little Tich to dress as a ballerina and gave him the opportunity to perform two of his earliest songs, "Smiles" and "I Could Do, Could Do, Could Do with a Bit", both written for him by Walter Tilbury. In 1890 Little Tich continued to impress his London music hall audiences and appeared on the front covers of both the "Entr'acte" and the "Music Hall" magazines, with the latter being widely available in the majority of London music hall auditoriums. Towards the end of the year, Little Tich appeared at the opening of the Tivoli Music Hall, before returning to Manchester at Christmas to fulfil the second of his two pantomime engagements for Thomas Charles in "Little Bo-peep", in which he played Toddlekins.
Little Tich | Return to London and West End debut
Little Tich's act further developed during a tour of the United States between 1887 and 1889 where he established the Big-Boot Dance and impressed audiences with his ability to stand on the tips of the shoes and to lean at extraordinary angles. In the 1890s he developed the Serpentine Dance and had a major success with the Christmas pantomime "Babes in the Wood" in Manchester during the 1889–90 season. In 1891, he was recruited by the impresario Augustus Harris to appear in that year's spectacular Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Christmas pantomime "Humpty Dumpty". He starred in a further two productions at the theatre including "Little Bo Peep" (1892) and "Robinson Crusoe" (1893).
Little Tich | Introduction
The following year he reprised his role of Quasimodo and toured the provinces in "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" with Balmain's company.
Little Tich | Return to London and West End debut
Born in Cudham, Kent, Little Tich began performing aged ten when he developed a dance and tin-whistle act which he showcased at public houses in Sevenoaks. In the early 1880s he formed a blackface act and gained popularity with performances at the nearby Rosherville Pleasure Gardens and Barnard's Music Hall in Chatham. He travelled to London and appeared at the Forester's Music Hall in 1884. Later that year, he adopted the stage name "Little Tich", which he based on his childhood nickname of "Tichborne", acquired through his portly stature and physical likeness to the suspected Tichborne Claimant Arthur Orton. The terms "titchy" or "titch" were later derived from "Little Tich" and are used to describe things that are small.
Little Tich | Introduction
Little Tich was educated at Knockholt, a three-mile walk from Cudham. From an early age, he displayed considerable academic ability and also excelled in art; by the time he was five, his drawings were being sold to patrons of the Blacksmith's Arms by his father. Little Tich became interested in the travelling performers whom his father often employed to entertain guests at the inn. He would mimic the dancers, singers and conjurors, causing much amusement to both his family and his patrons. So good were his impersonations that his siblings frequently took him to neighbouring public houses where they would get him to perform in exchange for money.
Little Tich | Family background and early life
At the start of the 1880s, Little Tich assumed the stage name "The Infant Mackney" and graduated to the world of open-air theatre. The following year, he joined a blackface troupe who performed regularly at the Rosherville Pleasure Gardens; the local historian J.R.S. Clifford described them as "a band of minstrel darkies of a superior type". Little Tich's transition from amateur to professional performer came when he appeared in a weekly spot at Barnard's Music Hall in Chatham. Lew Barnard, the hall's proprietor, offered him 35 shillings a week. Thrilled at the prospect of appearing in a proper music hall, Little Tich changed his name from The Infant Mackney to Young Tichborne, a nickname he had gained while living in Cudham years earlier.
Little Tich | Early London engagements
He enjoyed initial success at Barnard's, but audience numbers soon diminished and his pay was reduced to 15 shillings a week as a result. To supplement his income, he resumed his position in the barber's shop and took on a string of menial jobs that lasted six months. In 1881 Little Tich left home with his sister Agnes, who chaperoned her young brother around the music halls and variety clubs throughout England. By now, he had swapped the tin-whistle for a picco pipe which he used to accompany his clog dancing routine. He despised his early experiences of provincial touring as he was often forced to sleep in dosshouses with very little money or food.
Little Tich | Early London engagements
In the later months of 1889 Little Tich secured an engagement at the London Pavilion in Piccadilly Circus. This time, he found his English critics to be complimentary about his talent, but as their praise was largely about his success in America, he considered them hypocritical. News of his much-improved performances travelled throughout the country and he was visited by Thomas W. Charles, manager of Manchester's Prince's Theatre. Charles offered Little Tich a leading role in his forthcoming pantomime "Babes in the Wood". The 1889–90 production was a huge success for the comedian and his performance reportedly earned him "the heartiest applause of the evening".
Little Tich | Return to London and West End debut
Towards the end of 1910, he travelled to Scotland to complete a short engagement at the King's Theatre in Dundee. His performance was described by a theatre reviewer for the "Evening Telegraph" as being "downright genuine fun" and "very entertaining". The following year Little Tich recorded the first of a selection of his music hall songs on one-sided shellac discs used in the early acoustic recording process. Songs included "The Gas Inspector", "King Ki-Ki", "The Toreador" and "The Zoo Keeper" and were followed two years later by "The Waiter", "The Weather", "The Don of the Don Juans" and "A Risky Thing to Do".
Little Tich | Recording career and new family
He had also mastered a quick change into the novelty footwear which he could perform in minutes. One stage director became concerned that the pause was too long for the audience to wait, and he threw the boots onto the stage causing the star to run back out in front of the waiting audience to put the boots on in front of them. While he did this, the orchestra provided an accompaniment of "till ready" music. For the audience, this provided much hilarity and they assumed it was part of the act. The unintentional sketch was "an instant hit" and the comedian incorporated this into his future Big-Boot Dance routine.
Little Tich | American success
Little Tich returned to England in the later months of 1897, where he self-produced the second of his company's two shows, a musical comedy called "Billy". Despite the show enjoying a healthy provincial tour after opening in Newcastle, one reporter thought that "it ha[d] not very much to recommend it", but thought that Little Tich gave "some excellent fooling" and that it "[was] impossible not to laugh at some of the eccentricities". However, the farce failed to make it to the West End of London. Little Tich saw this as a snub and he refused to perform in the capital again.
Little Tich | New theatrical ventures and international engagements
It was around this period when Little Tich was inducted into the fledgling entertainers' fraternity, the Grand Order of Water Rats. In 1906, he would serve as "King Rat" for the order. In 1894, free from his contractual obligations at Drury Lane, he took a three-year break from the English music hall scene and travelled to France to fulfil a number of engagements; over the next ten years, he divided his time between there and England. In the early months of 1895, he moved from music hall to variety theatre, a transition which many of his contemporaries had already successfully achieved.
Little Tich | New theatrical ventures and international engagements
For the honeymoon, the family travelled to Bristol, where Little Tich appeared on stage with the French actress Mistinguett, who presented him with a tributary gold statue of him wearing big boots. At the end of that year, the family paid a working visit to Australia, where he toured the Sydney theatres for a fee of £300 a week; he received a lukewarm reception from audiences. The following March, Little Tich and his family returned to England. He made only one appearance on stage that year, in November, when he introduced a new song called "The Charlady at the House of Commons".
Little Tich | Last years and death
In April 1889 Little Tich briefly returned to London to star at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square where he was poorly received by audiences. As a result, the manager of the theatre reduced the comedian's wages to £6 a week. The experience left him bitter towards the English entertainment industry and he returned to America to appear in a new production for the Chicago State Opera. The production, "Bluebeard Junior", was not as successful as its predecessor, but toured for seven months. Despite his bad reviews back in England, Little Tich began to feel homesick and he was allowed to return home a few months short of his contract expiration.
Little Tich | American success
By now, Little Tich had become frustrated with his English audiences. With "Billy" failing to reach London and the unequal level of success in the English capital compared to France made him shun the English variety theatre scene altogether in the final years of the century. He returned to the less-popular music halls as a result, where he remained for the rest of his career.
Little Tich | New theatrical ventures and international engagements
He formed his own theatre company in mid-1895, and produced his first show called "Lord Tom Noddy", in which he also starred. He commissioned the dramatist George Dance to write the piece and made him a partner in the company. On 11 December 1896, Little Tich was invited to appear at the Folies Bergère in France, where he starred in a short piece as Miss Turpentine and performed the Big-Boot Dance. One journalist for the "Sunday Referee" claimed that "no artist since Loie Fuller, four years earlier, had scored such a success", and as a result, he signed a two-year contract at the Folies.
Little Tich | New theatrical ventures and international engagements
By 1878 Little Tich's parents were unable to financially provide for him further and he sought full-time employment as a lather boy in a barber's shop in Gravesend. One evening, together with a friend whose brother was appearing in a talent contest, he visited a music hall for the first time and quickly became "hooked" on the idea of being able to perform. Thanks largely to his local celebrity status of being a "freak", he was welcomed into the many public houses which catered for soldiers, sailors, merchant seamen and day-trippers from London. By 1878, Little Tich had saved enough money to buy himself a tin whistle which he used to "amuse [him]self by playing all the jolly and sentimental pantomime songs of the day".
Little Tich | Move to Gravesend and early performances
By the early months of 1890, Augustus Harris, the influential manager of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, had travelled to Manchester to look for new talent for his theatre's forthcoming 1890–91 pantomime. Impressed with what he saw, he offered the comedian a theatrical residency at Drury Lane but he was forced to withdraw it as Little Tich was contracted to Charles for a further year; Harris instead signed Little Tich for a two-year contract starting the following season. The deal required Little Tich to star in two pantomimes for a wage of £36 a week. Following on from his success in "Babes in the Wood" which culminated in April 1890, the theatre manager Rollo Balmain cast him as Quasimodo in a production of "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth.
Little Tich | Return to London and West End debut
In 1900 Little Tich appeared in the French capital's Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre where he performed the Big-Boot Dance, which was recorded on film by the French director Clément-Maurice. Years later, the film-maker Jacques Tati called the piece "a foundation for everything that has been realised in comedy on the screen". In 1902, Little Tich starred in a special, one-off revue with Marie Lloyd at the Tivoli theatre called "The Revue", which was staged to celebrate the coronation of Edward VII. The following year, Little Tich's performance at the Oxford Music Hall was described as being "... a very droll turn" by a reporter for "The Cornishman" newspaper, who also called his Big-Boot Dance "wonderful".
Little Tich | Marriage troubles
In 1907 Little Tich travelled to South Africa, where he appeared in a successful, nine-week engagement for a fee of £500 a week. Soon after, he returned to England to take part in the Music Hall War, which saw the Variety Artistes' Federation fight for more freedom and better working conditions on behalf of music hall performers. In 1909 he received a serious leg injury while on stage at the Belfast Hippodrome during a performance of the Serpentine Dance. A doctor in the audience diagnosed a dislocated knee, which forced the comedian to take seven weeks' recuperation. Little Tich's performance was described by a reporter for the "Evening Telegraph and Post" as being "up to date" and declared the Serpentine Dance was "next to the Big-Boot Dance in popularity".
Little Tich | Marriage troubles
The year 1891 signalled a new era in the career of Little Tich. The Drury Lane pantomimes were known for their extravagance and splendour and featured lavish sets and big budgets. The first of the Drury Lane pantomimes in which Little Tich appeared was "Humpty Dumpty" in 1891 which also starred Drury Lane regulars Marie Lloyd, Dan Leno and Herbert Campbell. As well as the title role, Little Tich also played the minor part of the Yellow Dwarf in the harlequinade. It was during the latter characterisation that he revived his Big-Boot Dance, which was a hit with audiences. The following Christmas, he equalled this success with his second pantomime "Little Bo-Peep" in which he played the part of "Hop of my Thumb".
Little Tich | Life at Drury Lane
Another money-saving plan was to stop renting properties in London and secure a mortgage on a small house instead. To avoid speculation about his affair with Winifred, he decided to remain at Bedford Court Mansions, and bought a newly built house in Shirehall Park, Hendon, North-West London in September 1925 for Winifred and Mary to move into. Soon after, he embarked on a successful tour of Europe which culminated at Christmas the same year. He returned to London and took part in a Christmas benefit at the London Coliseum, where he performed the Big-Boot Dance. The performance was by then proving too strenuous for the 58-year-old comedian, and he decided to retire it that year.
Little Tich | Last years and death
The American impresario Tony Pastor came to England in 1886 and signed Little Tich for a tour of the United States. Pastor had seen the comedian perform at a small music hall called Gatti's-in-the-Road near to Westminster Bridge and was recruiting for his Gaiety Theatre Company. Little Tich left for America in the early months of 1887 and assumed his first role for Pastor in a burlesque version of "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame", playing the lead character for a fee of £10 a week. Later, during a successful run in a parody of Louis Bertin's opera "La Esmeralda", he impressed audiences with his "Big-Boot Dance", and Pastor engaged his new star for a further two seasons in the mock-opera which had a total run of nine months.
Little Tich | American success
He also mastered dancing in big boots. In November 1884 he changed his stage name for the third time to Little Tich, which derived from Tichborne, and "Tich" or "Tichy" became a common term meaning small. His reasoning for the name change was to capitalise on the release of the Tichborne claimant fraudster Arthur Orton who was then touring the British Isles in the hope of reopening the case. The change of name also coincided with the signing of a new agent who was known in London for being "one of the brightest and youngest in [show]business". The agent, Edward Colley (1859–1889), was equally thrilled with the acquisition of a new star and secured him a double engagement at the Marylebone Music Hall where he appeared as "Little Titch, The Most Curious Comique in Creation" and immediately after at the Forester's Music Hall, where he was billed as "Little Titch, the Funny Little Nigger".
Little Tich | Early London engagements
To show his appreciation for the record profits and huge audience attendances, Pastor presented Little Tich with a gold medal and a rare white Bohemian Shepherd dog which the comedian called Cheri. Little Tich's success under Pastor brought him to the attention of the Chicago State Opera Company, who secured him on a two-year contract for a fee of $150 a week. Before the contract commenced, he was allowed to travel back to England where he honoured a pantomime commitment by appearing in "Dick Whittington" at the Theatre Royal in Brighton. In the piece he took the billing of "Tiny Titch" and played the Emperor Muley.
Little Tich | American success
He was told by a producer that the American audiences would find the black face and English accent too much of a contrast and opined "a deaf mute with one eye could see you aint a coon". Little Tich initially became worried at the prospect of appearing on stage without make-up, but found that the audience approved of the change. As the months progressed, the tour matured and news of his performances travelled across America. To compensate for the loss of his blackface act, Little Tich perfected his Big-Boot Dance instead and swapped from boots which he found more suitable for his size.
Little Tich | American success
In 1851 he moved to Cudham, bought the Blacksmith's Arms and an adjoining farm, and started a new family with Mary Moorefield, a nurse-maid governess from Dublin. Little Tich was born with an extra digit on each hand, webbed from the little finger to the centre joint. He also experienced stunted growth. He reached in height by the age of ten, but grew no taller. His physical differences from other children caused him to become socially withdrawn and lonely. Nevertheless, his disabilities earned him fame and were an asset to his parents' business. Patrons would travel from neighbouring counties to witness his peculiarities, and the youngster revelled in the attention, dancing comically on his father's saloon bar to curious guests.
Little Tich | Family background and early life
In June 1888, at the Chicago Opera House, Little Tich starred in "The Crystal Slipper", a burlesque loosely based on "Cinderella"; the production was a hit for the comedian and completed a run of over ten months. "The Era" described him as "the quaint little Negro comedian" and called his American engagement "brilliantly successful". During "The Crystal Slipper", Little Tich met the English dancer Laurie Brooks, whom he married in Cook County, Illinois on 20 January 1889. That year marked the end of Little Tich's "blacking up" routine, which he had performed in between his commitments for the Chicago State Opera Company.
Little Tich | American success
In the early months of 1891, Little Tich completed a successful tour of Germany. Two years later he developed the character Miss Turpentine for his self-choreographed sketch "The Serpentine Dance", which he performed over the next three years in Hamburg, Geneva, Rotterdam, Brussels, Nice, Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Budapest; the tour also enabled him to become fluent in French, German, Italian and Spanish. He portrayed Miss Turpentine as an eccentric ballerina who wore an ill-fitting tutu. The dance was a comic variation of the well-known skirt dance belonging to Loie Fuller, which had been popular in France years earlier. Another successful characterisation was that of an eccentric Spanish dancer, which Little Tich devised while touring Europe, and like "The Serpentine Dance", relied heavily on acrobatic choreography and comic miming rather than eccentric singing and joke reciting.
Little Tich | New theatrical ventures and international engagements
In 1915 Little Tich cut short his engagement at the Golders Green Hippodrome to take up a better offer in Paris. As a result, the proprietors of the Hippodrome sued for breach of contract and he had to pay them £103 in compensation. That year he recorded "The Tallyman", "The Gamekeeper", "The Skylark" and "The Pirate" onto disc before heading to the northern English provinces to prepare for that year's Christmas pantomime at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool. It was there that he met Winifred Latimer (1892–1973), a singer and actress who had had some success on the London stage under Seymour Hicks a few years previously.
Little Tich | Recording career and new family
Richard Relph sold the Blacksmith's Arms and the adjoining farm in 1875 and moved his family to Gravesend. The socially withdrawn Little Tich was forced to adapt to much busier surroundings; day-trippers, holidaymakers and fishermen often frequented the streets and occupied the plethora of public houses which adorned the port and neighbouring roads. He resumed his education, this time at Christ Church School, where he spent the next three years. In 1878 the headmaster deemed him too educationally advanced for the school, and Richard Relph was advised to secure for his young son a watchmaking apprenticeship instead; Relph ignored the advice.
Little Tich | Move to Gravesend and early performances
As well as Leno, Lloyd and Campbell, Harris recruited the singers Ada Blanche and Cecilia Loftus as principal boy and girl respectively. Harris was thrilled with Little Tich and signed him for the 1893–94 pantomime "Robinson Crusoe" in which he played Man Friday. The "Derby Daily Telegraph" called the comedian "one of the most amusing pantomime dames of all time". Despite a budget of £30,000, "Robinson Crusoe" failed to equal the success of the previous two shows, which caused Harris to rethink his cast. Unaware of Harris's plans, Little Tich approached him with a view of a pay rise; the proposition angered the manager and not only was his request refused, but he was also ruled out of any future production.
Little Tich | Life at Drury Lane
In 1910, Little Tich became the adoptive father of Rodolphe Knoepper, an orphan born in 1899 to the brother of the Russian acrobat Harry Alaska. Alaska had previously worked for Little Tich as his dresser and after his death, Knoepper moved into the Relph residence in France and started his education there. After a few months of living with Little Tich, he was moved to London to stay with Julia. In later years Little Tich's daughter Mary said that her father treated Knoepper as more of a son than Paul, who became estranged from the family by the 1920s. While in Paris in 1910, Little Tich was made an officer of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French Ministry of Public Instruction for his services to the stage.
Little Tich | Recording career and new family
Tich and Winifred were both starring in the Christmas pantomime "Sinbad the Sailor", in which Little Tich played the title role and Winifred supported him as the principal boy. The two grew close and against her parents wishes, they began a relationship, shortly before the pantomime closed in the early months of 1916. "Sinbad the Sailor" was a big success and Winifred was widely praised for her performance, which she attributed to the guidance she received from Little Tich.
Little Tich | Recording career and new family
Little Tich also found that she had used his money to buy a house in Golders Green as a future investment for Paul's daughter Constance, and that his wife had participated in a secret scam to blackmail the comedian out of large quantities of cash. Despite the revelations, Little Tich mourned deeply for his wife and spoke fondly of her for the rest of his life. On 10 April 1926, Little Tich married Winifred at Caxton Hall, Westminster, with little publicity. Later that evening, he appeared at the Camberwell Palace in a short but popular engagement, while his new wife returned home to Hendon.
Little Tich | Last years and death
The couple never publicly announced their separation, and he continued to provide financial support for his wife and fund her extravagant lifestyle for the next twenty years. Years later, Paul Relph admitted "Father and Julia never loved one another. Poor, poor father. His life was one long misery through her." Over the next four years, Little Tich continued to perform in both England and France and earned £10,000 a year. In 1905 he appeared in the second of a further three films for the French film industry called "Le Raid Paris–Monte Carlo en deux heures", directed by Georges Méliès. This was followed by "Little Tich" in 1907, and "Little Tich, the Tec" two years later.
Little Tich | Marriage troubles
Little Tich was born Harry Relph in Cudham, Kent (now in the London Borough of Bromley). He was the last of eight children born to Richard Relph (1790–1881), a farmer and publican, and his wife Mary, "née" Moorefield (1835–1893). The Relph family were close and lived in relative affluence. Richard Relph was a committed family man and was known in the village for his sharp business acumen. His early wealth, which was attributed to a series of successful horse-trading deals, enabled him to purchase his first public house, the Rising Sun in Fawkham. In 1818 he married Sarah Ashenden and they had eight children; she died in 1845.
Little Tich | Family background and early life
In September 1894, Little Tich and Laurie established the family home in the rue Lafayette, Paris. During 1897, while Little Tich was away on a tour of England, Germany and Austria, Laurie eloped to Berlin with the French actor François Marty, leaving her husband responsible for their young son Paul. Unable to care for Paul, Little Tich sent him to England to live with relatives. That year, Little Tich met the dancer Julia Recio during an engagement at the Olympia Music Hall in Paris and the two began a relationship. They moved to a flat in the boulevard Poissonnière, Paris, where they lived together, though keeping this a secret until after Laurie Relph's death in 1901.
Little Tich | Marriage troubles
In 1985, Little returned to Broadway to appear as Midge in Herb Gardner's Tony Award-winning play "I'm Not Rappaport", reuniting with "Dear John" star Judd Hirsch in New York and later on tour. The Broadway cast also featured Jace Alexander and Mercedes Ruehl. In 1989, he had a role in "Fletch Lives", the sequel to "Fletch" (1985). The same year, he appeared in the "Dear John" episode "Stand by Your Man", for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, defeating Robert Picardo, Jack Gilford, Leslie Nielsen, and Sammy Davis Jr.
Cleavon Little | Later career
Once back, he and his wife set up home at 182 Kennington Road, Lambeth; Laurie later gave birth to the couple's son Paul on 7 November 1889.
Little Tich | American success
They also performed in Bertram Mills Circus at Olympia London in the 1955/6 Christmas season, where the programme names them as Sacha and Gilbert. They also performed in the United States, notably on the television shows The Ed Sullivan Show in 1959 and The Hollywood Palace in 1964.
Les Mathurins (acrobatic act) | Introduction
These experiences prepared Little Tich for his future career. As a result of what he saw, he, like his father, became a strict teetotaller in later years, and showed a deep loathing for boisterous and intoxicated people. Little Tich revelled in his local celebrity status; however, the older he got the more self-conscious he became and wrongly interpreted the audience's laughter as being aimed more at his disabilities rather than his comical performances.
Little Tich | Family background and early life
On the morning of 7 January 1926, Julia Relph died of a cerebral haemorrhage in the flat which Little Tich had rented for her. Despite their estrangement, the comedian was distraught at her death and spent two nights at the apartment with her corpse. A few days later, he moved in with Winifred where he arranged his wife's funeral, staying in the spare bedroom as a "house guest". He made frequent visits back to Bedford Court Mansions to organise Julia's paperwork and discovered that his wife had been having an affair with his friend Emile Footgers and that she was ten years older than she had led her husband to believe.
Little Tich | Last years and death
It is unlikely that he was paid for any of these performances. He frequently appeared at the "Saturday Night Pops" in the Town Hall organised by P. A. Howell; some other notable contributors being Ada Crossley, Armes Beaumont, Bert Holder and organist Dr. Harold Davies, later director of the Elder Conservatorium. His repertoire consisted mostly of "drawing room ballads" such as "Never More" (Mattei) and "Queen of the Earth", "Bedouin Love Song" and "Good Night" (Pinsuti), and patriotic songs, which constituted the popular music of the period, more than the classical and operatic canon. He was often called on to contribute to concerts farewelling visiting artists such as R.
Richard Nitschke | History
Tommy Trafford (30 December 1927 – 20 March 1993) was a Lancashire comedian and a noted pantomime dame. He lived his early life in Blacko, near Nelson, where he performed in church productions alongside Jimmy Clitheroe, "The Clitheroe Kid", with whom he went to school. Tommy owned a traditional Blackpool guest house, as did many performers, which gave him the experience to run a country hotel and restaurant for Jimmy during a temporary 'retirement' from Showbiz. Of the many routines and characters that Tommy portrayed, his best known routine was a homage to Norman Evans’ ‘Over the Garden Wall’ sketch as the larger-than-life Fanny Fairbottom.
Tommy Trafford | Introduction
Yorkshire Regiment Wounded 1917 Toured South Africa 1924 Has appeared in The Man Who Came Back Caesar's Wife "The Bat" "The Green Goddess" Hamlet The Squeaker In recent years has played Blenkinsop in The Doctors Dilemma joined Old Vic co at New Theatre in 1944 played wide range of parts: Clarence, Telyegin, Pistol, Worcester, Gloucester, Sublet, Dangle, Grumio. Sir Oliver Surface, Creon in Jean Anouilh's "Antigone" Played also in continental, Australian and New York seasons with Old Vic co. and at the Comédie-Française in Peer Gynt and "Richard III" in Fading Mansion 1949 Reedbeck in Venus Observed St James's Theatre 1950 The General in Ardele at The Vaudeville Theatre 1951 The Duke of Applecross in The Mortimer Touch 1952 The Dean in The Bad Samaritan 1953 Mortmain in I Capture the Castle 1954 Abbe Martignon in The Little Glass Clock 1955 Old Ekdal in The Wild Duck 1955 Peter Sorin in The Seagull 1956 Billy Rice in "The Entertainer" 1957 at Royal Court Theatre and in New York 1958 Films include I Believe in you 1952 Titfield Thunderbolt 1952 Davy 1957 Lived at 18 Argyll Mansions Kings Road, Chelsea SW3 Clubs the Garrick Club and the Green Room Club
George Relph | "Who's Who"
He was billed as "The famous Little Comedian". As a pantomime performer he specialised in "Idle Jack" and pantomime dames. On 23 July 1917, whilst onstage at the Argyle Theatre in Birkenhead, he collapsed. He died two weeks later at the age of 38. He is buried in Brompton Cemetery in London, on the east side of the main central path, not far from the main north entrance.
Tom Foy | Introduction
In October and November 1949 he appeared at the Palmer House Night Club, Chicago; in June 1951 he appeared at The Wedgwood Room, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York, and between 22 December 1951 and 29 February 1952 he returned to the London Palladium for 109 performances in "Humpty Dumpty". In September 1952 he travelled to the Federation of Malaya to entertain British troops in a series of concert parties, before returning to the UK to appear in the "Royal Variety Performance" in November. He finished the year in South Africa, as Honourable Idle Jack in "Dick Whittington", which finished in January 1953; he considered the pantomime to be "so tatty and unrehearsed it was pathetic".
Terry-Thomas | Early post-war work: 1946–1955
A well-known ventriloquist of the period, Joseph Askins, who performed at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London in the 1790s advertised his act as "curious ad libitum Dialogues between himself and his invisible familiar, Little Tommy". However, other performers were beginning to incorporate dolls or puppets into their performance, notably the Irishman James Burne who "... carries in his pocket, an ill-shaped doll, with a broad face, which he exhibits ... as giving utterance to his own childish jargon," and Thomas Garbutt. The entertainment came of age during the era of the music hall in the United Kingdom and vaudeville in the United States.
Ventriloquism | Emergence as entertainment
He has performed in several popular events, including:
Sean Tizzle | Notable performances
...he was the complete performer... as a pianist (he performed for the most part sitting at a piano)... as a raconteur... as a mimic, facial expression, timing—he had it all. A short, dapper figure, he turned his lack of inches to positive advantage, and audiences took to him everywhere." Grossmith toured in the summer of 1871 with Mr and Mrs Howard Paul and occasionally afterwards. He and Mrs Paul would also appear together in "The Sorcerer" in 1877. Also in 1871, at the Polytechnic, he performed three more sketches, "The Puddleton Penny Readings", "Theatricals at Thespis Lodge" and "The Silver Wedding" (including what would be one of his most popular songs, "I am so Volatile", with words by his father).
George Grossmith | Early performing career
Tichenor appeared as Strawtop, a pantomime scarecrow, and also performed many puppet characters. When "Birthday House" ended in 1967, Tichenor returned home to Nashville.
Tom Tichenor | New York
He performed at Reading reciting a comic piece in "The Star Struck Sailor" and the song 'Barney Brannigan'. He also returned to Wisbech to perform at what is now the Angles Theatre in 1829. From Wisbech he was to perform at the George and Star Inn, Whittlesey on 1st September and then Peterborough, Thorney, March, Long Sutton and Holbeach. In December 1829 he appeared at Norwich for three nights and at Holkham Hall before going to Aylsham. In 1830 he performed in Beverley, Bridlington, York, Scarborough, Knareborough, Richmond, Pontefract and at Leeds in December. In April 1831 he performed "Peter Proteus!" At the Royal Pavilion Theatre.
Master Herbert | Introduction
By the 1940s, Eddie had created a comedy mime act and was traveling the world in variety theater alongside some very famous stars such as Edith Piaf, Maurice Chevalier and Josephine Baker. His career took off during the 40s and 50s and he performed with the Folies Bergère, Paris, in the Berlin Wintergarten theatre, the Hippodrome, London and the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.
Eddie Vitch | Introduction
By 1920, relations between Little Tich and Winifred's parents had improved and they welcomed him into the family. Despite renting a new, six-room flat in Marylebone for his daughter and mistress, the comedian was now finding it increasingly difficult to support Winifred, Mary and Julia on his earnings as the years of generosity had drastically depleted his savings. His annual income in 1921 and 1922 had topped £9,750 but had dropped to £3,743 by 1923. In 1925 he earned £6,300 but this fell the following year to just £2,100. Worried by the drastic reduction in pay, he reduced Julia's payments, which angered her family.
Little Tich | Last years and death
He is especially remembered for his role in "Tivoli", in which he was cast as an old vaudeville trouper. At the age of seventy-five, Haythorne reprised his tap dancing–roller skating–skipping routine from the 1940s. For his performances in this role he received the 2001 Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer.
Harry Haythorne | Later years
His first play to be performed, "Friends", was put on at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin in 1917. Subsequently, he had several plays performed in London. He was better known for his revues than for his "straight" plays, however. These included: "Spread It Abroad", "The Two Bouquets", "Nine Sharp", "Little Revue", "Diversion" and "Light and Shade". He is credited with discovering Joyce Grenfell, whose first stage appearance was in "Light and Shade". In 1938, he joined the management of the Little Theatre in London, and his revues were performed there. His songs included "I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales".
Herbert Farjeon | Career
Edouin played with Thompson for six seasons in burlesques, many of them by H. B. Farnie, of "Bluebeard, The Princess of Trébizonde! St. George and the Dragon! The Forty Thieves, Lurline, Robin Hood, Mephisto and the Fourscore", and others. He earned particular praise in "Robinson Crusoe", for his acrobatics and clowning as Friday, and in "Bluebeard", for his portrayal of Chinaman Washee-Washee. He returned to England with Thompson in 1874 and repeated the latter role in London that year. Edouin continued to perform with the troupe both in London and on tour in Britain for three seasons. In 1877, Edouin returned with Thompson to New York.
Willie Edouin | Early years
from my grandfather... uh, Chaim Pearlgut, who was very very big in the, um, Yiddish, uh, theater, back in New York. He was in the, the very... the sardonically irreverent..."Dybbuk Shmybbuk, I Said 'More Ham... and that revue I believe was 1914, and that revue was what made him famous. Incidentally, the song 'Bubbe Made a Kishke' came from that revue."
Dybbuk | Film
He performed twice at a private royal smoking concert held at the Queen's Hall before its official opening in 1893. He performed his own 2nd Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra on 17 April 1907, and repeated it with the New Symphony Orchestra under Landon Ronald on 27 January 1910.
Tivadar Nachéz | Introduction
He had his greatest success in the international hit "Florodora" (1899 in London and 1900 in New York), after which he appeared in "The Silver Slipper" (1901), before taking his own company to tour South Africa. He returned to London, appearing in more musicals, such as "The Girl from Kays" (1902), "Sergeant Brue", "The Little Michus" (1905), "The Blue Moon" and "The Little Cherub". In 1906, Edouin toured in Britain and then returned to the United States in 1907, playing in vaudeville. By this time, however, he was losing his mental acuteness and decided to return to London. Although a very successful comedian, Edouin did not fare well as a manager and left a small estate.
Willie Edouin | Later years
He was bred by the celebrated "Kit Crazy", who rode "flying Pegasus" the great Match round the "Hop-Garden" and who is universally allowed to be a SMART Fellow, and a tolerable "Psalmodist". "Abimilech" is "half Brothers" to "Saul", which beat "Sampson" on Friday 19th of February, tho' the Odds "in the upper half of the Scaffold" were "Three and a Half to One". "Abimilech" has been a long while in Training under little "Arnold", a Man of "sound-Knowledge", who tho' of a diminutive Size, hath such amazing "Strength" in his "Composition", that, when he "gets with his Airs", he will seize on any Man alive, and "take him by the Ears"." "Abimelech" was performed once at the Theatre Royal on 18 March 1768 and once, after Smart's death, at Covent Garden on 25 March 1772.
Abimelech (oratorio) | Background
Returning to England he was a successful "lion comique" at the music halls and a good pantomime comedian, particularly in the provinces. He again visited Australia in 1885, and for some years toured Australia with a vaudeville company with much success. About 1893 he bought the Garrick theatre, Sydney and renamed it the "Tivoli"; he built up the Tivoli circuit, taking control of the Opera House, Melbourne, and was also lessee of theatres in other state capital cities. Every year he visited England, and during the next 18 years he engaged for the Australian variety stage great artists like Harry Houdini, Marie Lloyd, Peggy Pryde, Paul Cinquevalli, Little Tich, Madame Ada Baker, and many others of great talent which he paid well.
Harry Rickards | Theatrical career
In 1909 he was again touring in "Little Hans Andersen". Later, he seems to have been relegated to the chorus in various productions. He was credited as an "attendant" in "The Golden Doom" at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 1912, and in 1914 was touring in a George Edwardes production, "The Marriage Market". On his death in Lambeth in 1917 "Variety" stated that he had been "recently playing at Daly's", but it is not recorded in what capacity.
Rudolph Lewis (singer) | Last years
Lee was born on 11 August 1916 in Glasgow, Scotland. He started his singing career as tenor in the school choir. Leaving school at 14, he became a tailor's apprentice, but soon left to join an all-purpose act, which sang, danced and performed acrobatics all around one of the main variety circuits of Britain. Lee's acrobatic days lasted for only one evening on account of a nose injury. He was back in Glasgow, tailoring shirts and in his spare time playing drums for his own semi-professional dance-band. Wishing to return to the stage full-time he joined the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, where he received a good grounding in straight acting.
Benny Lee | Early life
C. Burnand's "Private Enquiry" (1891) at the Strand Theatre; Lyngstrand in Ibsen's "The Lady from the Sea" (1891) at Terry's Theatre; Josiah Higgins in "Morocco Bound" (1893); Sir Wormwood Scrubs in Howard Talbot's comic opera "Wapping Old Stairs" (1894); as Lord Lavender in "The Lady Slavey" (1894); Detective in "A Melodrama" at the Trafalgar Theatre (1894); in an American tour of "A Little Ray of Sunshine" (1899) which played at Chickering Hall in Boston and Wallack's Theatre in New York among other venues; William Piddock in "22A, Curzon Street" at the Garrick Theatre (1898): Pomponius in "A Greek Slave" at the Herald Square Theatre in New York (1899); in "Little Nell and the Marchioness" at the Herald Square Theatre (1900); Lord Framlingham in "Lady Madcap" at the Prince of Wales Theatre (1904); Mr Tobin in "Noah's Ark" at the Waldorf Theatre (1906); and the Duke of Tysmoke in "Nelly Neil" at the Aldwych Theatre (1907).
Herbert Sparling | Introduction
After these performances he became well-known performer in music halls in the capital. One of his most popular songs was "I'm the Ghost of John James Christopher Benjamin Binns". Randall's first provincial tour came in 1886, and he made his pantomime debut the same year at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham as "Will Atkins" in "Robinson Crusoe". He became a popular pantomime dame at the Grand Theatre, Islington, where he appeared in shows including "Old Mother Hubbard" and "Dick Whittington"; he played there for ten consecutive years from 1891.
Harry Randall (actor) | Early life
Other shows featuring Lethbridge were "Mynheer Jan" (1887), in which she danced a "vigorous" saltarello, "Carina" (1888), "La Prima Donna" (1889), "Robert Macaire" (1891), "Joan of Arc" (1891), "Cinder-Ellen" (1892), "Little Christopher Columbus" (1894), and "Baron Golosh" (1895). She toured in Australia and North America in the 1890s.
Alice Lethbridge | Career
Thomas Leamore (24 August 1866 – 6 September 1939) was an English popular variety comedian, dancer and singer. He debuted at the Rodney Music Hall in 1880 and quickly grew into a successful stage performer, singing comically and dancing eccentrically with clogs. In December 1905 he portrayed Ali Baba in the pantomime of "The Forty Thieves" at the Marlborough Theatre, an experience he did not enjoy and never repeated. His best known song was "Percy from Pimlico" which he composed and wrote himself. He was featured singing this song in the 1968 documentary "A Little of What You Fancy". Tony Barker of "Music Hall Records" referred to him as "second only to Dan Leno".
Tom Leamore | Introduction
For about ten years (with the exception of 1873, when they were touring abroad) they were regulars in the annual Christmas pantomime at Drury Lane, including "Humpty Dumpty" (1868); "Beauty and the Beast! or, Harlequin and Old Mother Bunch" (1869); "The Dragon of Wantley; or, Harlequin or Old Mother Shipton" (1870); the Jester in "Tom Thumb: or, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" (1871); Geoffrey Nimble Legs in "Children in the Wood" (1872); Karzac in "Aladdin or Harlequin and the Wonderful Lamp" (1874) in which he never spoke but was "thoroughly efficient" in all he did; "Dick Whittington" (1875); "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" (1876); "The White Cat" (1877); Kobold in "Cinderella" (1878) in which he was "remarkable for his activity.
Fawdon Vokes | Theatrical career
With the Vokes Family he performed at music halls and at pantomimes both for British and American theatre-goers. They made their début on Christmas night in 1861 at Howard's Operetta House in Edinburgh and made their London début at the Alhambra Theatre in 1862 when they were billed as 'The Five Little Vokes'. They appeared at the Lyceum Theatre in London on 26 December 26 1868 in Edward Litt Laman Blanchard's pantomime "Humpty Dumpty". Early in their career, at the Lyceum Theatre in London, they danced in W. S. Gilbert's pantomime "Harlequin Cock Robin and Jenny Wren". With the Vokes Family he first appeared as Wiggins in the popular "The Belles of the Kitchen" on 27 February 1869 at the Standard Theatre in London.
Fawdon Vokes | The Vokes Family
He began his theatre career by diverting the audience with a few tricks between plays, but by 1834 he was providing the whole programme at Wolverhampton's Assembly Rooms. These were on the first floor of the , built 1829 in Queen Street. The performance was in three parts. In Part I he demonstrated the Chest of Archimedes and the Column of Rosbach. These were entertaining pieces of mechanical apparatus previously shown at the Cabinet of curiosities in Paris. This was followed by numerous illusions, including A Game at Whist, Time Flies, The Wax Candles Enchanted, Elephant of Knowledge, Vulcan's Forge, Miraculous Printing, Flying Watch, Magic Bottle, Apples of Beelzebub, Magic Eggs and Loyal Metamorphose.
Ching Lau Lauro | His act
He performed as Briefwit in "The Weathercock" at Chelmsford theatre on 23rd August 1833. In December he appeared at Huntingdon and received much applause. A return visit was made to Wisbech during the Mart before moving to neighbouring towns.
Master Herbert | Introduction
He started performing when he was eight when he went into a little theater in Burbank, California. He mistakenly had an audition for “The Seven Year Itch (play)” as he was the only kid in the theatre, he won the role of Little Ricky. His first music group was a short-lived glam rock band formed for The Limelight, consisting of Tracii Guns, Johnny B. Frank from Kingdom Come and Rikki Rockett (of Poison) on drums, and then Briggs as the backup singer. He then became a go-go dancer at the Limelight. In the 80’s, Briggs moved to New York City and started working at the Cat Club.
Pat Briggs | Career
For about ten years (with the exception of 1873, when they were touring abroad) they were regulars in the annual Christmas pantomime at Drury Lane, including "Humpty Dumpty" (1868); "Beauty and the Beast! or, Harlequin and Old Mother Bunch" (1869); "The Dragon of Wantley; or, Harlequin or Old Mother Shipton" (1870); King Arthur in "Tom Thumb: or, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" (1871); Sir Rowland in "Children in the Wood" (1872); Abanazar in "Aladdin or Harlequin and the Wonderful Lamp" (1874); "Dick Whittington" (1875); "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" (1876); "The White Cat" (1877); Baron Pumpernickel in "Cinderella" (1878) in which he was required to talk and sing, with less success than his dancing.
Fred Vokes | Theatrical career
William Alfred Merchant (31 July 1919 – 26 May 2001), was an English dwarf clown who performed under the name of "Little Billy" Merchant. Born in a workhouse in Barton Hill, Bristol, Merchant was abandoned by his parents as a young child and brought up in an orphanage in Bristol. As an adult, he was only tall. Merchant was fascinated by his local variety theatre, the Bristol Empire, where a chance encounter in 1937 resulted in his recruitment into John Lester's troupe of midgets. He subsequently joined Joe Boganny's band of acrobatic dwarves, with whom he appeared in many of the leading variety venues of the time.
William Alfred Merchant | Introduction
He later became a popular principal comedian in pantomime, revue and summer show. During the Second World War, he continued to perform in pantomime. At every performance of the 1943 pantomime, "Cinderella," Neville Kennard, who played Buttons, appealed for anything smokeable for the troops. He also presented his own summer shows, and wrote a number of successful concert party sketches including: The tale of a tail; At your service; Babies in the park; and probably the most performed *It's Up To You Sir. In the "It's Up To You Sir" sketch the audience were invited to make suggestions as to how the sketch should proceed.
Neville Kennard | Career
Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? ("Hamlet", V.i) It is suggested that Shakespeare may have intended his audience to connect Yorick with the Elizabethan comedian Richard Tarlton, a celebrated performer of the pre-Shakespearian stage, who had died a decade or so before "Hamlet" was first performed.
Yorick | Introduction
On 18 and 20 February 1835 he was booked to give "his wonderful performance" at the Theatre Royal, Derby, and described as "the Pacanini ("sic") of all professors in rhabdomancy, ventriloquism, imitations etc. On Thursday 19 February 1835 he was expected at Repton, and on 21 February at the school room, Belper. This is possibly at the Strutt's Mansion, Green Hall. Three performances at the theatre, Stamford on 18th, 20th and 22nd were to follow his appearance on 16th at Peterborough. He was booked, probably for an outdoor show, at Cambridge University in the first week of May 1836. On 19 November 1836 he gave the last of several shows at the Hoop Assembly Rooms at Peterborough, after which he was to fulfil "many engagements at Bedford, Huntingdon etc." He appeared at the Adelphi Theatre, Dublin, on 28 December 1837.
Ching Lau Lauro | Appearances
He did not add the hyphen until 1947, and later explained that it was "not for snob reasons but to tie the two names together. They didn't mean much apart; together they made a trade name": the hyphen was also "to match the gap in his front teeth". By now, he was developing a unique sense of style both on and off stage. In order to avoid staining his fingers with smoke, he used a cigarette holder and later purchased "the most irresistible holder in Dunhill's. It was slightly outré because it was made of lacquered, black whangee ... with a gold band twisting neatly round it".
Terry-Thomas | Early performances: 1933–1939
In September 2014 he appeared in the play Lippy at the Irish Arts Centre in New York City, after the play was well received at the Dublin Arts Festival. In 2008 he toured with comedian Lee Evans in his stand up comedy show Big. In 2016 he played Marvin Acme in a two-month run of Who Framed Roger Rabbit at The Troxy in East London. For the role he also performed some magic tricks.
Allin Kempthorne | Theatre
In the 1966 Stratford season, his Hamlet was revived and he also played Sir Andrew Aguecheek in "Twelfth Night". Finally at the Aldwych in January 1970, he played Julian in "Tiny Alice".
David Warner (actor) | Theatre
Ronald Macdonald Hutchison (4 July 1872 - 14 February 1940), professionally known as Harry Tate, was an English comedian who performed both in the music halls and in films. Tate worked for Henry Tate & Sons, Sugar Refiners before going on the stage, and took his stage name from them.
Harry Tate | Introduction
Other famous musical acts to have performed there include John Coltrane, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Alex Paterson and Buddy Holly,
Mirth, Marvel and Maud | History
Both "The Times" and "The Observer" remarked that Asche had a difficult role but carried it off. He travelled to America to repeat the role on Broadway in 1902. Back in London, he joined Herbert Beerbohm Tree's theatre company in 1902, and in 1903 he played Benedick in "Much Ado About Nothing" opposite the Beatrice of Ellen Terry. Other parts were Bolingbroke in "Richard II", Christopher Sly and Petruchio in "The Taming of the Shrew", Bottom in "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and Angelo in "Measure for Measure".
Oscar Asche | Early stage career
Thomas Hager Tichenor (February 10, 1923 — November 18, 1992) was an American puppeteer, most noted for creating the original puppets for the Broadway musical "Carnival!".
Tom Tichenor | Introduction
A Bit of a Test is a farce by Ben Travers. It was the last, and least successful, of the series of twelve Aldwych farces that ran in uninterrupted succession at the Aldwych Theatre in London from 1923 to 1933. The play depicts the efforts of the England cricket captain to keep his star batsman out of trouble during an Ashes series in Australia. The piece opened on 30 January 1933 and ran until 3 June, a total of 142 performances.
A Bit of a Test | Introduction
Irving Sayles (1872 – 8 February 1914) was an African-American vaudeville entertainer. He spent much of his life in Australia as a popular minstrel show performer, touring the Tivoli circuit. He performed coon songs and employed a self-deprecating humor involving comic interpretations of plantation slavery that reinforced negative racial stereotypes.
Irving Sayles | Introduction
Walter Latter Cornford (25 December 1900 – 6 February 1964) was an English cricketer. He was a wicket-keeper who played in 4 Tests in New Zealand in 1930 and played county cricket for Sussex County Cricket Club. His nickname of Tich alluded to his height of barely five feet. His county career stretched from 1921 until the outbreak of the Second World War, but he made one further appearance in an emergency at the age of 46 in 1947.
Tich Cornford | Introduction
In the 1960s he also appeared on a children's programme "Tich and Quackers" with Tich, a small boy, and his pet duck Quackers. He also created the puppet character "Ali Cat" for the HTV series "Magic Circle" (1977). He was also the presenter for two years of the BBC show "Ice Show". In 1985 he was a special guest for Bob Hope's birthday show at London's Lyric Theatre. In 1986 he presented a show on Channel 4 on ventriloquism, called "A Gottle of Geer".
Ray Alan | Career
Terry Thomas, a grand discovery". Within three weeks of starting his run, Terry-Thomas was invited to appear at the Royal Command Performance on 4 November 1946 at the London Palladium. "Piccadilly Hayride" ran for 778 performances and ended on 17 January 1948. The show was seen by over a million people and earned £350,000 at the box office. In conjunction with "Piccadilly Hayride", Terry-Thomas undertook a number of other additional one-off appearances in cabaret and private functions. He also appeared in editions of "Variety Bandbox" and "Workers' Playtime" on BBC Radio. His ever-evolving act consisted of imitations, including that of his friend, the musician Leslie Hutchinson (known as "Hutch"); sketches, including "Technical Hitch"; urbane monologues, and "languid shaggy dog stories".
Terry-Thomas | Early post-war work: 1946–1955
Nor was born to Elizabeth and Joseph Garibaldi Kiddie in Widnes, Lancashire 1897. Joseph (or 'J. Gar', b. 1864) was a locally successful music hall artiste, writer, comedian, pantomime producer and promoter in the early years of the century. He had his own comic sketch company by 1907 when J. Gar Kiddie & Co. appeared at the Grand Theatre, Hanley with their "funny absurdity" 'The House of Tinn' which starred Kiddie himself. Another early triumph was his version of the "Little Bo-Peep" pantomime - featuring Walter Wade as the Baron - that he created and promoted. In 1904 he had taken his "merry burlesque", 'A Little Coquette' to the New Gaiety Theatre at Leith.
Nor Kiddie | Life and career