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Sanford And Lyons
George "Sanford" Bradbury (1869—1950) and George "Lyons" Jennings (1872—1911), known as Sanford and Lyons, were popular English music hall comedians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were best known for their simultaneous dance and comedy routines, gaining popularity throughout the provinces and in London's variety theatres, where they enjoyed great success at the Oxford Music Hall and at the Tivoli Theatre of Varieties. The pair also performed for George V, King George V and Mary of Teck, Queen Mary (then Prince of Wales, the Prince and Princess of Wales) at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Among their audiences was a young Charlie Chaplin, who shares reminisces of Sanford and Lyons in his travel writings ''A Comedian Sees the World'', first published in 1932. At the conclusion of their career ''The Music Hall and Theatre Review'' commended Sanford and Lyons for creating "a style that was extensively copied". Biography George Sanford was born George Henry Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or 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. The term originated in ancient Greece: in Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing '' agon'' or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking countries, especially during the Christmas and New Year season. Modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing. It employs gender-crossing actors and combines topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale.Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline. "Pantomime", ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature'', Jack Zipes (ed.), Oxford University Press (2006), Pantomime is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is encouraged and expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers. Pantomime has a long theatrical history in Western culture dating back to the era of classical theatre. It developed partly from the 16th century c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC General Forces Programme
The BBC General Forces Programme was a national radio station operating from 27 February 1944 until 31 December 1946. History Development Upon the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, the BBC closed both existing National and Regional radio programmes, combining the two to form a single channel known as the Home Service. The former transmitters of the National Programme continued to broadcast the Home Service until 1940, when the lack of choice and lighter programming for people serving in the British Armed Forces was noted. At that point, some frequencies were given to a new entertainment network, the Forces Programme. The BBC Forces Programme was replaced when the influx of American soldiers, used to a different style of entertainment programming, had to be catered for in the run up to ' D-Day'. This replacement service was named the ''General Forces Programme'', and was also broadcast on shortwave on the frequencies of the Overseas Service. Programming The B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeannie Bradbury
Jeannie Bradbury (born Jessie Lorenza Jean Bradbury; 30 October 1917 – 15 June 1967), sometimes referred to as Jean Bradbury, was a British big band singer, best known for her appearances on BBC radio during the later years of World War II and into the 1950s, and for her association with the Welsh clarinetist and band leader Harry Parry, whom she married in 1945. Biography Jeannie was born in Wandsworth, London, the daughter of Music Hall performer George Bradbury (known by the stage name George Sanford of the comedy team Sanford and Lyons) and his second wife Lorenza MacLennan. Bradbury's first recorded broadcast for the BBC was in a General Forces Programme called ''I'll Play To You'' on Tuesday 9 August 1944, alongside Stéphane Grappelly and Robin Richmond, but got a break on the BBC feature ''Songs From The Shows'' while deputizing for Anne Ziegler. The musician Harry Parry, who was present for the broadcast, thought her to be a potential vocalist for his sextet. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variety Artistes' Federation
The Variety Artistes' Federation (VAF) was a trade union representing variety performers in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded on 18 February 1906, after discussions between the show business social club and charity the Grand Order of Water Rats (GOWR); the Music Hall Artists Railway Association, which negotiated concessions on rail fares for travelling performers; and the Terriers, another club for variety performers. It was formed in response to grievances by performers that some managers expected them to perform matinées, as well as two evening performances six days a week, without any additional payment, and that some performers were having to make long journeys without notice because of changes to schedules.Roger Wilmut, ''Kindly Leave the Stage: The Story of Variety 1919-1960'', Methuen, 1985, , p.49 Within weeks the union had 4,000 members. It launched a weekly newspaper, ''The Performer'', and in early 1907 staged its first industrial action, which becam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 and benevolent works (primarily within the performing industries). Origin In 1889, two British music hall performers, Joe Elvin and Jack Lotto, owned a trotting pony called "Magpie". As the pony was a regular race winner, its owners decided that they would use the profits to help performers who were less fortunate than themselves.Charlie Chester, ''The Grand Order of Water Rats: A Legend of Laughter'' – W.H. Allen, London (1984) pg 12 One day, as Elvin was driving the pony back to its stables in the pouring rain, a passing bus driver called out, "Wot yer got there, mate?" "Our trotting pony!" replied Elvin. Observing the bedraggled, soaked condition of the pony, the driver shouted back, "Trotting pony? Looks more like a bleedin' water r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Palladium
The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 and 1969 ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' was held at the venue, which was produced for the ITV network. The show included a performance by The Beatles on 13 October 1963. One national paper's headlines in the following days coined the term "Beatlemania" to describe the increasingly hysterical interest in the band. While the theatre has a resident show, it is also able to host one-off performances, such as concerts, TV specials and Christmas pantomimes. It has hosted the Royal Variety Performance 43 times, most recently in 2019. In March 2020, the venue closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on the theatre industry, but reopened over four months later on 1 August 2020. Architecture Walter Gibbons, an early moving-pictures m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variety Show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a Master of Ceremonies, compère (master of ceremonies) or Television presenter, host. The variety format made its way from the Victorian era stage in Britain and America to radio and then television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from the late 1940s into the 1980s. While still widespread in some parts of the world, such as in the United Kingdom with the ''Royal Variety Performance'', and South Korea with ''Running Man (South Korean TV series), Running Man'', the proliferation of multichannel television and evolving viewer tastes have affected the popularity of variety shows in the United States. Despite this, their influence has still had a major effect on late night television whose la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexandra Of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King-Emperor Edward VII. Alexandra's family had been relatively obscure until 1852, when her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was chosen with the consent of the major European powers to succeed his second cousin Frederick VII as king of Denmark. At the age of sixteen Alexandra was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the son and heir apparent of Queen Victoria. The couple married eighteen months later in 1863, the year in which her father became king of Denmark as Christian IX and her brother was appointed king of Greece as George I. Alexandra was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title, and became generally popular; her style of dress ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 with much success and settled in London, appearing in various circuses, music halls and pantomimes. In 1912, he became one of the first acts to appear in music hall's first Royal Command Performance. He is perhaps best known for being one of the first "gentleman jugglers", a description given to a male performer who juggles with everyday objects such as bottles, plates, glasses and umbrellas. Biography Cinquevalli was born either Paul Kestner or Emil Otto Paul Braun in Lissa in the Prussian Province of Posen (now Poland). His parents moved to Berlin when he was two years old. His began his career in the circus when he was 12 having been spotted in a school gymnastics display. Cinquevalli publicized himself widely, leading to differing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 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. 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 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 I Love Is Up in the Gallery", " My Old Man (Said Follow the Van)" and " Oh Mr Porter What Shall I Do". She received both criticism and praise for her use of innuendo and double entendre during her performances, but enjoyed a long and prosperous career, during which she was affectionately called the "Queen of the Music Hall". Born in London, she was showcased by her father at the Eagle Tavern in Hoxton. In 1884, she made her professional début as Bella Delmere; she changed her stage name to Marie Lloyd the following year. In 1885, she had success with her song "The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery", and she frequently topped the bill at prestigious theatres in London's West End. In 1891, she was recruited by the impresario Augustus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
