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The Metropolitan Music Hall
The Metropolitan Theatre was a London music hall and theatre in Edgware Road, Paddington. Its origins were in an old inn on the site where entertainments became increasingly prominent by the early 19th century. A new theatre was built there in 1836, replaced in 1897 by a new building designed by the theatre architect Frank Matcham. The Metropolitan was a leading theatre for music hall and variety, but with the decline of the latter in the mid-20th century it struggled to survive, and was demolished in 1964 to make way for a road-widening scheme. Early years From the 16th century the village of Padynton, about a mile north-west along the road to Edgware from Tyburn had contained a well known inn, the White Lion, whose licence was believed to date back to 1524. It was rebuilt in 1836, when a hall or concert room was added to the premises. Performances there began to take the form later recognised as early music-hall; the rooms became known as Turnham's after the owner and l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgware Road
Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes several name changes along its length, including Maida Vale, Kilburn High Road, Shoot Up Hill and Cricklewood Broadway; but the road is, as a whole, known as the Edgware Road, as it is the road to Edgware. The road runs from central to suburban London, beginning at Marble Arch in the City of Westminster and heading north to Edgware in the London Borough of Barnet. It is used as the boundary for four London boroughs: Harrow and Brent to the west, and Barnet and Camden to the east. Route The road runs north-west from Marble Arch to Edgware on the outskirts of London. It crosses the Harrow Road and Marylebone Road, passing beneath the Marylebone flyover. The road passes through the areas of Maida Vale, Kilburn and Cricklewood. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ventriloquist
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ventriloquizing, and the ability to do so is commonly called in English the ability to "throw" one's voice. History Origins Originally, ventriloquism was a religious practice. The name comes from the Latin for 'to speak from the stomach: (belly) and (speak). The Greeks called this gastromancy ( grc-gre, εγγαστριμυθία). The noises produced by the stomach were thought to be the voices of the unliving, who took up residence in the stomach of the ventriloquist. The ventriloquist would then interpret the sounds, as they were thought to be able to speak to the dead, as well as foretell the future. One of the earliest recorded group of prophets to use this technique was the Pythia, the priestess at the temple of Apollo in Delphi, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominic Behan
Dominic Behan ( ; ga, Doiminic Ó Beacháin; 22 October 1928 – 3 August 1989) was an Irish songwriter, singer, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in Irish and English. He was also a socialist and an Irish republican. Born into the literary Behan family, he was one of the most influential Irish songwriters of the 20th century. Biography Early life Behan was born in inner-city Dublin into an educated working-class family. His father, Stephen Behan, fought for the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the Anglo-Irish War. Dominic was the brother of Brendan Behan. His mother, Kathleen, a collector of songs and stories, took the boys on literary tours of the city. Behan's maternal uncle, Peadar Kearney, wrote "A Soldier's Song", the song the Irish National Anthem was based on. Another brother, Brian was also a playwright and writer. At the age of thirteen, Dominic left school to follow in his father's footsteps in the housepainting business. The family house in wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marie Lloyd Jr
Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Trois-Rivières, New France * ''Marie'', Biblical reference to Holy Mary, mother of Jesus * Marie Curie, scientist Surname * Jean Gabriel Marie (other) * Peter Marié (1826–1903), American socialite from New York City, philanthropist, and collector of rare books and miniatures * Rose Marie (1923–2017), American actress and singer * Teena Marie (1956–2010), American singer, songwriter, and producer Places * Marie, Alpes-Maritimes, commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department, France * Lake Marie, Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, Winchester Bay, Oregon, U.S. * Marie, Arkansas, U.S. * Marie, West Virginia, U.S. Art, entertainment, and media Music * "Marie" (Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys song), 1969 * "Marie" (Johnny Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Danvers
William Mikado Danvers (16 January 1886 – 20 March 1964) was an English comedian and variety show performer. Life and career He was born in Liverpool, the son of James Danvers (1855-1915), a well-known singer with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, and his wife Annie ( Dobbs). At the time of his birth, they were appearing in a touring show of Gilbert and Sullivan's ''The Mikado'', with James in the title role, and gave their son the operetta's name. Billy Danvers first appeared on the music hall stage at the age of four, with his father and Little Tich at Newcastle. He then formed a double act with Frank Bass, and made his first London appearance in 1911. Described as "a red-nosed comic of the old school", and billed as "Cheeky, Cheery and Chubby", he became a successful solo comedian in the 1920s and 1930s. He appeared in revues, variety shows, pantomimes (often as "Buttons"), and musical comedies, and performed in New York as well as throughout Britain. He also made ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ida Barr (singer)
Ida Barr (born Maud Barlow, 17 January 1882 – 17 December 1967) was an English music hall singer. Life and career Barr was born at Regent's Park Barracks, London on 17 January 1882. Her father, William Barlow, is believed to have been a soldier, although Maud described him as a retired civil servant on her marriage certificate. She made her stage debut in 1898 as a chorus girl at the Theatre Royal, Belfast. Initially calling herself ''Maud Laverne'', she first used the stage-name Ida Barr in 1908 at London's Bedford Theatre. Barr married comedian Samuel 'Gus' Harris (billed as "the only Yiddisher Scotsman in the Irish Fusiliers"), but the marriage failed within a few years, with Maud soon sailing to New York. Achieving some success in America, Barr returned to England a premier singer of ragtime songs, popularising in Britain the songs "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" (Ayer & Brown; 1910) and " Everybody's Doing It" (Berlin; 1911). She toured worldwide, earning good money, but was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Whelan
Albert Whelan (born Albert Waxman; 5 May 1875 – 19 February 1961) was an Australian popular singer and entertainer, who was prominent in English music halls during the first half of the 20th century. Biography The son of an immigrant Polish Jewish pawnbroker, Whelan was born in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1875 (as was his fellow music-hall performer Florrie Forde). He worked as an accountant and mechanic before moving with a friend in 1898 to the goldfields at Coolgardie, Western Australia, where the pair entertained the prospectors and miners by singing and dancing. After returning to Melbourne, he appeared on local variety bills. He emigrated to Britain in 1901, making his debut in a novelty dance act at the Empire, Leicester Square, and later appearing in the musical '' The Belle of New York''. He rapidly honed his act, and settled on a style which would vary little over his career. Immaculately dressed in bow-tie, hat, coat, scarf, tails, and gloves, he sang, danced and p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hetty King
Winifred Emms (4 April 1883 – 28 September 1972), best known by her stage name Hetty King, was an English entertainer who performed in the music halls as a male impersonator over some 70 years. Early life She was born in New Brighton, Cheshire, where her itinerant family were living temporarily; they were usually based in Manchester. Her father, William Emms (1856–1954), was a comedian and musician who performed as Billy King and ran Uncle Billy's Minstrels, a troupe who constantly travelled around the country with a portable theatre and caravans. As a child, she began appearing in her father's shows, imitating popular performers of the day. She adopted the name Hetty King when she first appeared on the stage of the Shoreditch Theatre, at the age of six. Career King started performing as a solo act in music halls in around 1902, doing impersonations of such stars as Gus Elen and Vesta Victoria. In her early career, she perfected an impression of the successful '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Farson
Daniel James Negley Farson (8 January 1927 – 27 November 1997) was a British writer and broadcaster, strongly identified with the early days of commercial television in the UK, when his sharp, investigative style contrasted with the BBC's more deferential culture. Farson was a prolific biographer and autobiographer, chronicling the bohemian life of Soho and his own experiences of running a music-hall pub on east London's Isle of Dogs. His memoirs were titled ''Never a Normal Man''. Early life Farson was born in Kensington, west London, the son of an American journalist, Negley Farson, and his British wife. His childhood was mostly divided between Britain and North America. He visited Germany with his father while Negley was reporting on the Nazi regime, and was patted on the head by Adolf Hitler, who described him as a "good Aryan boy". Farson briefly attended the British public school Wellington College (Berkshire), Wellington College, whose militaristic regime was not to hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
