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Tom Woottwell
Tom Woottwell (born Thomas Hare Burgess; 25 March 1864–13 February 1941) was an English music hall comedian, dancer and monologuist, popular around the turn of the twentieth century. Biography He was born in Highbury, London, the son of a builder. He took to the stage as a member of a double act, and later as one of a successful troupe, the Girards, performing an act of " legmania" - a craze in the 1870s and 80s described as "a cross between eccentric dancing, acrobatics and gymnastics, all performed at a frenzied speed." Alwyn Turner, "Halloween hits: Wait a Minute", ''The Lion and Unicorn'', 30 October 2018 Retrieved 26 December 2022 After the troupe leader, Julian Girard, was injured, in 1882 Woottwell started worki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Highbury
Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situated by what is now the east side of Hornsey Road near the junction with Seven Sisters Road. After the manor decayed, a new manor house was built in 1271 (see below) to the south-east; to differentiate it from the original manor and because it was on a hill, it was called Highbury, from which the area takes its name. The site for Highbury Manor was possibly used by a Roman garrison as a summer camp. During the construction of a new Highbury House in 1781, tiles were found that could have been Roman or Norman; however, these have been lost. Highbury Manor Ownership of Highbury eventually passed to Alicia de Barrow, who in 1271 gave it to the Priory of St John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights Hospitallers in England. The wealthy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Williams (music Hall Performer)
William Holt Williams (born Richard Isaac Banks; 3 March 1878 – 13 March 1915) was an Australian-born British vaudeville and music hall singer and entertainer. His best known song was "When Father Papered the Parlour". Biography Born in Melbourne, the son of Richard Banks, an Irish-born draper, Williams worked in a racing stable and as a golf instructor before joining a small touring variety company in 1895. Back in Melbourne he was heard by the entertainer Tom Woottwell, and met Harry Rickards, who gave him a letter of introduction to contacts in England. He arrived in England in late 1899, and made his London debut the following March, as Will Williams. He started appearing in a velvet suit, usually blue in colour, which distinguished him from other performers and led to his description as "The Man in the Velvet Suit". He became a popular entertainer in the music halls singing what were known as chorus-songs. His best-known songs included "Let's All Go Mad", "John, Joh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Male Comedians
English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national identity, an identity and common culture ** English language in England, a variant of the English language spoken in England * English languages (other) * English studies, the study of English language and literature * ''English'', an Amish term for non-Amish, regardless of ethnicity Individuals * English (surname), a list of notable people with the surname ''English'' * People with the given name ** English McConnell (1882–1928), Irish footballer ** English Fisher (1928–2011), American boxing coach ** English Gardner (b. 1992), American track and field sprinter Places United States * English, Indiana, a town * English, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * English, Brazoria County, Texas, an unincorporated community * Engli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1941 Deaths
Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Euthanasia Centre in Germany, in the first phase of mass killings under the Action T4 program here. * January 1 – Thailand's Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram decrees January 1 as the official start of the Thai solar calendar new year (thus the previous year that began April 1 had only 9 months). * January 3 – A decree (''Normalschrifterlass'') promulgated in Germany by Martin Bormann, on behalf of Adolf Hitler, requires replacement of blackletter typefaces by Antiqua. * January 4 – The short subject ''Elmer's Pet Rabbit'' is released, marking the second appearance of Bugs Bunny, and also the first to have his name on a title card. * January 5 – WWII: Battle of Bardia in Libya: Australian and British troops de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1864 Births
Events January–March * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song " Beautiful Dreamer" is published in March. * January 16 – Denmark rejects an Austrian-Prussian ultimatum to repeal the Danish Constitution, which says that Schleswig-Holstein is part of Denmark. * January 21 – New Zealand Wars: The Tauranga campaign begins. * February – John Wisden publishes '' The Cricketer's Almanack for the year 1864'' in England; it will go on to become the major annual cricket reference publication. * February 1 – Danish-Prussian War (Second Schleswig War): 57,000 Austrian and Prussian troops cross the Eider River into Denmark. * February 15 – Heineken brewery founded in Netherlands. * February 17 – American Civil War: The tiny Confederate hand-propelled submarine ''H. L. Hunl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milton, Portsmouth
Milton is a residential area of the English city of Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, on the south eastern side of Portsea Island. Milton is bordered on the eastern coast of Portsea Island by Langstone Harbour, with Eastney to the south-east, Southsea to the south-west, Baffins to the north and Fratton to the north-west. The name 'Milton' has Saxon origins, originally ''Middletūn'' meaning "middle settlement", as it was located midway between the larger Saxon village of Froddington (now Fratton) and Eastney. In the post-1066 Norman era, Milton was known as Middleton. It is likely that Middleton's name has been verbally contracted by local dialects to "Milton" over centuries. Milton was originally a small village on Portsea Island, surrounded by arable and garden farmland. In 1904, Portsmouth's boundaries were expanded to cover all of Portsea Island, with Milton becoming part of Portsmouth. Politically, Milton is represented as Milton Ward in Portsmouth City Council. Milton Ward ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruce Bairnsfather
Captain Charles Bruce Bairnsfather (9 July 188729 September 1959) was a prominent British humour, humorist and cartoonist. His best-known cartoon character is Old Bill (comics), Old Bill. Bill and his pals Bert and Alf featured in Bairnsfather's weekly "Fragments from France" cartoons published weekly in ''The Bystander'' magazine during the First World War. Early life Bairnsfather was born at Murree, British India (now Pakistan) to Major Thomas Henry Bairnsfather (1859–1944), of the Indian Staff Corps, and (Amelia) Jane Eliza, daughter of Edward Every-Clayton and granddaughter of Henry Every, 9th Every baronets, Baronet. His parents were second cousins, both being great-grandchildren of Edward Every, 8th Baronet. He spent his early life in India, but was brought to England in 1895 to be educated at the United Services College, Westward Ho!, then at Stratford-upon-Avon. Initially intending a military career, he failed entrance exams to Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Sandhurs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Bill (cartoon Character)
Old Bill is a fictional character created in 1914–15 by cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfather. Old Bill was depicted as an elderly, pipe-smoking British "tommy" with a walrus moustache. The character achieved a great deal of popularity during World War I where it was considered a major morale booster for the British troops. Old Bill and his younger troopmate little Alphie were private infantrymen in the British Expeditionary Force. Many claims have been put forth as being the model for "Old Bill" but the most likely appears to be Thomas Henry Rafferty, a lance corporal from Birmingham in Bairnsfather's regiment, the Royal Warwickshires, who was killed in the same action that invalided Bairnsfather in April 1915. Rafferty was featured in the ''Weekly Dispatch'' in 1917, referred to as "Old Bill," along with a photograph taken by Bairnsfather. Adaptations In 1917, a successful musical based on the character, ''The Better 'Ole'', opened in London at the Oxford Music Hall, where it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Better 'Ole
''The Better 'Ole'', also called ''The Romance of Old Bill'', is an Edwardian musical comedy with a book by Bruce Bairnsfather and Arthur Elliot, music by Herman Darewski, and lyrics by Percival Knight and James Heard, based on the cartoon character Old Bill (cartoon character), Old Bill, an infantryman, drawn by Bairnsfather. In the musical, Old Bill intercepts a spy's plan to destroy a bridge, trapping a French regiment after they cross it. Bill saves them by blowing up the bridge before they pass; his actions are misunderstood, however, and he is arrested for disobeying orders and holding an enemy document. After Victoire explains the situation, Bill is released and given a medal. The original London production in 1917 was a hit, running for over 800 performances, starring Arthur Bourchier as Old Bill. The piece also had success on tour and on Broadway theatre, Broadway the following year and spawned two film adaptations and a sequel. Productions London and original tour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or born within earshot of Bow Bells, although it most commonly refers to the broad variety of English native to London. Estuary English is an intermediate accent between Cockney and Received Pronunciation, also widely spoken in and around London, as well as in wider southeastern England. In multicultural areas of London, the Cockney dialect is, to an extent, being replaced by Multicultural London English—a new form of speech with significant Cockney influence. Words and phrases Etymology of Cockney The earliest recorded use of the term is 1362 in passus VI of William Langland's ''Piers Plowman'', where it is used to mean "a small, misshapen egg", from Middle English ''coken'' + ''ey'' ("a cock's egg"). Concurrently, the mythical land of l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Principal Boy
In pantomime, a principal boy role is the young male protagonist of the play, traditionally played by a young actress in boy's clothes. The earliest example is Miss Ellington who in 1852 appeared in ''The Good Woman in the Wood'' by James Planché to the consternation of a reviewer. She was followed by other music hall and burlesque entertainers, such as Harriet Vernon described as "a magnificent creature, who was willing to show her ample figure as generously as the conventional tights and trunks of the day allowed" and thus setting the standard of good legs on display and nominally male costume which emphasized her figure. The tradition grew out of laws restricting the use of child actors in London theatre, and the responsibility carried by such lead roles. A Breeches role was also a rare opportunity for an early 20th-century actress to wear a costume revealing the legs covered only in tights, potentially increasing the size of the audience. The practice of having a female pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
