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Her Excellency (musical)
''Her Excellency'' is a musical comedy composed by Manning Sherwin and Harold Purcell from a book by Archie Menzies and Max Kester. A couple of the songs were composed by Harry Parr-Davies. The story takes place entirely in the British Embassy in the fictional San Barcellos. After premiering at the Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow, the show transferred to London's West End enjoying a run of 252 performances between 22 June 1949 and 28 January 1950, initially at the London Hippodrome before switching to the Saville Theatre. It was written as a starring vehicle for Cicely Courtneidge and produced by her husband Jack Hulbert. The cast also included Patrick Barr, Austin Trevor, Thorley Walters, Billy Dainty and Tucker McGuire Anne Tucker McGuire (29 January 1913 in Winchester, Virginia, USA - 3 August 1988 in London, England) was an American-born actress who appeared largely in British films and television. She married actor Tom Macaulay. She appeared in the 1949 We ....Wearing, p. 44 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Kester
Max Kester Dodgson (11 December 1901 – 14 December 1991), known professionally as Max Kester, was a British scriptwriter and lyricist. Biography He was born in Leeds, the son of James Dodgson, an artist who drew cartoons for ''The Yorkshire Post'' under the pseudonym "Kester". Max Kester Dodgson started work on the ''Yorkshire Post'',"Obituary: Max Kester", ''The Times'', 4 January 1992 Retrieved 7 April 2021 and wrote and edited early radio programmes for the in Leeds in 1926, as Max Kester. He moved to London by the late 1920s, and worked for |
Cicely Courtneidge
Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge, (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West End by the age of 16, and was quickly promoted from minor to major roles in his Edwardian musical comedies. After the outbreak of the First World War, her father had a series of failures and temporarily withdrew from production. No other producers offered the young Courtneidge leading roles in musical comedies, and she turned instead to the music hall, learning her craft as a comedian. In 1916 she married the actor and dancer Jack Hulbert, with whom she formed a professional as well as a matrimonial partnership that lasted until his death 62 years later. They acted together on stage and screen, initially in a series of revues, with Hulbert frequently producing as well as performing. Courtneidge appeared in 12 British films in the 1930s, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1949 Musicals
Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. * January 11 – The first "networked" television broadcasts take place, as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air, connecting east coast and mid-west programming in the United States. * January 16 – Şemsettin Günaltay forms the new government of Turkey. It is the 18th government, last One-party state, single party government of the Republican People's Party. * January 17 – The first Volkswagen Beetle, VW Type 1 to arrive in the United States, a 1948 model, is brought to New York City, New York by Dutch businessman Ben Pon Sr., Ben Pon. Unable to interest dealers or importers in the Volkswagen, Pon sells the sample car to pay his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tucker McGuire
Anne Tucker McGuire (29 January 1913 in Winchester, Virginia, USA - 3 August 1988 in London, England) was an American-born actress who appeared largely in British films and television. She married actor Tom Macaulay. She appeared in the 1949 West End musical ''Her Excellency''. In 1952 she played ''Patrick Barr'' 's assistant and secretary in the seven-part British television series, 'Inspector Morley: Late of Scotland Yard', which also starred ''Dorothy Bramhall''; ''Arthur Howard''; ''Tod Slaughter''; and '' Johnny Briggs''. In 1958, she appeared as Margaret "Molly" Brown in the film '' A Night to Remember'', about the infamous ocean liner ''Titanic''. According to director Roy Ward Baker Roy Ward Baker (born Roy Horace Baker; 19 December 1916 – 5 October 2010) was an English film director. His best known film is ''A Night to Remember (1958 film), A Night to Remember'' (1958) which won a Golden Globe for Golden Globe Award for ..., McGuire was the only cast member who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Dainty
William Hooper Frank John Dainty (22 February 1927 – 19 November 1986) was a British comedian, dancer, physical comedian and pantomime and television star. Early life Dainty was born in Wolverhampton Street, Dudley, Worcestershire. His father kept a shop at the front of the family home. He made his stage debut as the only boy dancer in a troupe of girls. Later, his family moved to London, where he took tap-dancing lessons from the American-born hoofer Buddy Bradley. He then won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he trained as a comedian. From childhood he had the ambition to be a professional dancer, but he became well known for the funny walks which formed part of his well-loved comedy act. Career In 1942 at the age of 15, he made his stage debut in the pantomime ''Mother Goose'', starring Norman Evans and Patricia Burke, where he played the back end of a dancing pantomime donkey called "Asbestos". His next part was as a chorus boy in ''Strike a Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thorley Walters
Thorley Swinstead Walters (12 May 1913 – 6 July 1991) was an English character actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in ''Two-Way Stretch'' and '' Carlton-Browne of the FO''. Early life Walters was born in Teigngrace, Devon, the son of Prebendary Thomas Collins Walters of Silverton, Devon and his wife Mary née Swinstead. He was educated at Monkton Combe School, Somerset. Walters appeared in the West End in the 1942 naval play '' Escort'' by Patrick Hastings and the 1949 musical ''Her Excellency'' at the London Hippodrome. Career Films He featured in three of the St Trinian's films, starting as an army major in ''Blue Murder at St Trinian's''. He later appeared as Butters, assistant to Education Ministry senior civil servant Culpepper-Brown (Eric Barker) in ''The Pure Hell of St Trinian's'' and played the part of Culpepper-Brown in ''The Wildcats of St Trinian's''. From the 1960s onwards he also appeared in several Hammer horror films, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin Trevor
Claude Austin Trevor Schilsky (7 October 1897 – 22 January 1978) was an Irish actor who had a long career in film and television. He played the parson in John Galsworthy's ''Escape'' at the world premiere in London's West End in 1926 and was the only member of the cast to transfer to New York City for the Broadway production a year later. He was the first actor to play Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot on screen in three British films during the early 1930s: ''Alibi'' (1931), '' Black Coffee'' (1931) and ''Lord Edgware Dies'' (1934). He subsequently turned up in a character part in a later Poirot adaptation ''The Alphabet Murders'' in 1965. He stated that he only got the Poirot role because he could speak with a French accent. During the 1960s he worked largely in television, appearing in series such as ''The First Churchills'' in which he played Lord Halifax. He appeared in an episode of the legal drama ''The Main Chance''. He died in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Barr
Patrick David Barr (13 February 1908 – 29 August 1985) was an English actor. In his career spanning over half a century, he appeared in about 144 films and television series. Biography Born in Akola, British India in 1908, Barr was educated at Radley College and Trinity College, Oxford, where he rowed in the 1929 Boat Race and achieved a Blue. He went from stage to screen with ''The Merry Men of Sherwood'' (1932). He spent the 1930s playing various beneficent authority figures and "reliable friend" types. As a conscientious objector during the Second World War, Barr helped people in the Blitz in London's East End before serving with the Friends' Ambulance Unit in Africa. There he met his wife Anne "Jean" Williams, marrying her after ten days; it would have been sooner, but they needed permission from London. In 1946, he picked up where he had left off, and in the early 1950s he began working in British television, attaining a popularity greater than he had while playing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Hulbert
John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, he was the elder and more successful son of Henry Harper Hulbert, a physician,Register of Marriages Solemnized at St Paul’s Church, Hampsteadp. 94(Marriage of J. N. Hulbert and Cecily Courtneidge on 14 February 1916, at ancestry.co.uk, accessed 7 May 2020 being the brother of the actor Claude Hulbert. He was educated at Westminster School and Caius College, Cambridge and appeared in many shows and revues, mainly with the Cambridge Footlights. He was one of the earliest famous alumni of the comedy club. After Cambridge, he earned recognition and fame performing in musicals and light comedies.D. Pepys-Whiteley‘Hulbert, John Norman (Jack) (1892–1978)’ rev., ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saville Theatre
ODEON Covent Garden is a four-screen cinema in the heart of London's West End. Formerly known as The Saville Theatre, a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the London Borough of Camden. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s. In 1970 it became the two cinemas ABC1 Shaftesbury Avenue and ABC2 Shaftesbury Avenue, which in 2001 were converted to the four-screen cinema Odeon Covent Garden. History Theatre years The theatre was designed by the architect Sir Thomas Bennett, in consultation with Bertie Crewe, and opened on 8 October 1931, with a play with music by H.F. Maltby, ''For The Love Of Mike''.Saville Theatre history at Arthur Lloyd accessed 28 Aug 2008 The theatre benefited from a capacity of 1,426 on three levels and a stage that was wide, with a depth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manning Sherwin
Manning Sherwin (January 4, 1902 – July 26, 1974) was an American composer. Born in Philadelphia, Sherwin attended Columbia University before embarking upon a long career in musical theatre and films. His most enduring composition is the music for "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square", lyrics by Eric Maschwitz, written for ''New Faces'' in 1940. Another wartime success, published in 1939, was " Who's Taking You Home Tonight?", with lyrics by Tommie Connor. He settled in Britain in 1938, and contributed to George Posford's ''Magyar Melody''. His musical ''Sitting Pretty'', whose main hit was the duet "I'll Take a Little Time", was pulled early due to the outbreak of war, and he countered with ''Get A Load of This'' which achieved 698 West End performances (1941-3), ''Something in the Air'' (1943-4) (336 performances, plus 163 more in 1944-5), and '' Under the Counter'' (665 perfs in 1945-7). During the war he worked for British cinema, providing the music for hit wartime come ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Hippodrome
The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survivors. ''Hippodrome'' is an archaic word referring to places that host horse races and other forms of equestrian entertainment. History Hippodrome The London Hippodrome was opened in 1900. It was designed by Frank Matcham for Moss Empires chaired by Edward Moss and built for £250,000 as a hippodrome for circus and variety performances. The venue gave its first show on 15 January 1900, a music hall revue entitled "Giddy Ostend" with Little Tich. The conductor was Georges Jacobi. Entry to the venue was through a bar, dressed as a ship's saloon. The performance space featured both a proscenium stage and an arena that sank into a 230 ft, 100,000 gallon water tank (about 400 tons, when full) for aquatic spectacles. The tank featured eigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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