Arthur Roberts (21 September 1852 – 27 February 1933) was an English comedian,

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

entertainer and actor. He was famous for portraying the

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 ...

dames and later for his comic characters and "gagging" in farces,

burlesques A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

and

musical comedies Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

. He is credited with coining the word "spoof".

Biography

Early life and career

Roberts was born in

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

, London,Baker, p. 49 the son of a

Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...

tailor who attended to Edward, Prince of Wales. His father's death when Roberts was 12 left the family in "a grim struggle for existence".Roberts, p. 4 Roberts walked three miles a day to work in a seed shop in Covent Garden. He joined a choral society and sang at the Crystal Palace. Roberts began performing professionally in 1871 after being persuaded to sing by an impresario from

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

who was

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

near Roberts' home in Bayswater. He performed "The Mad Butcher", which he was later paid £1 a week to sing on the beach at

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

. The following summer, Roberts moved to Great Yarmouth and regularly performed for tourists on a makeshift stage erected on the nearby pier. He later progressed to appearing in upmarket hotels at the seaside resort. In 1875, Roberts was engaged to appear at the New Star theatre in

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, a ...

. The following year he performed "If Only I Was Long Enough" at the

Oxford Music Hall Oxford Music Hall was a music hall located in Westminster, London at the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. It was established on the site of a former public house, the Boar and Castle, by Charles Morton, in 1861. In 1917 the music ...

, which he considered a major breakthrough in his career. In 1877 he toured the London music hall circuit and culminated each round of touring with an appearance at Evans's supper room, where he developed a reputation for performing risqué songs. In 1879, one of his "saucy" songs caused Evans's to lose its licence for a year.

Theatre successes and later years

In the legitimate theatre, he starred as Dr. Syntax in the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...

''Mother Goose'' (1880); as Mrs. Crusoe in ''Robinson Crusoe'' (1881 and 1886); in ''Sindbad the Sailor'' (1882; a show he repeated in 1906); in

H. B. Farnie Henry Brougham Farnie (8 April 1836 – 21 September 1889), often called H. B. Farnie, was a British librettist and adapter of French operettas and an author. Some of his English-language versions of operettas became record-setting hits on the ...

's ''

Nell Gwynne Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...

'' (1884); in Farnie's ''The Grand Mogul'' (1884 with

Florence St. John Margaret Florence Greig (8 March 1855 – 30 January 1912), known by her stage name Florence St. John, was an English singer and actress of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras famous for her roles in operetta, musical burlesque, music hall ...

Fred Leslie Frederick George Hobson, known as Fred Leslie (1 April 1855 – 7 December 1892), was an English actor, singer, comedian and dramatist. Beginning his career in operetta, Leslie became best known for starring in, and writing (under the pseudon ...

and

Frank Wyatt Frank Wyatt (7 November 1852 – 5 October 1926) was an English actor, singer, theatre manager and playwright. After beginning his career as an illustrator and painter, in 1877 Wyatt began a stage career in comedy, Victorian burlesque, pantomim ...

); Joe Tarradiddle in the English adaptation of Offenbach's '' La Vie parisienne''; Stanley the explorer in the 1891 Gaiety Theatre

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

of ''Joan of Arc'' by

Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

and J. L. Shine, popularising the song "I went to find Emin"; in the early

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

'' In Town'' (1892); Captain Arthur Coddington in the Gaiety burlesque of ''Don Juan'' (1893, by

Meyer Lutz Wilhelm Meyer Lutz (19 May 1829 – 31 January 1903) was a German-born British composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and burlesques of well-known works. Emigrating to the UK at the age of 19, Lutz started as ...

A. C. Torr Frederick George Hobson, known as Fred Leslie (1 April 1855 – 7 December 1892), was an English actor, singer, comedian and dramatist. Beginning his career in operetta, Leslie became best known for starring in, and writing (under the pseudon ...

and Ross); ''Claude Du Val'' (1894), the title character in ''

Gentleman Joe ''Gentleman Joe, The Hansom Cabbie'' is a farcical musical comedy with music by Walter Slaughter and a libretto by Basil Hood. The original production of the musical opened at the Prince of Wales's Theatre on 2 March 1895 and ran for a very su ...

'' (1895); ''Black-Eyed See-Usan''; and ''Dandy Dan the Lifeguardsman'' (1898), among others. Roberts had success in the 1890s with the hit song "

Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow Wow "Daddy Wouldn’t Buy Me a Bow Wow" is a song written in 1892 by prolific English songwriter Joseph Tabrar. It was written for, and first performed in 1892 by, Vesta Victoria at the South London Palace, holding a kitten. The same year it was re ...

". Roberts originated the word "spoof" which was popularised by a card game that he invented called ''Spoof'', which involved trickery and nonsense. The first recorded reference to the game is in 1884. Soon the word took on the general meaning of "nonsense, trickery," first recorded in 1889. The verb spoof is first recorded in 1889 as well, in the sense "to deceive." These senses are now less widely used than the noun meaning of "a light parody or satirical imitation," first recorded in 1958, and the verb sense "to satirize gently," first recorded in 1927. In 1907, Roberts was a leader in the ' Music Hall War', striking for better working conditions, which led to the founding of the Variety Artist's Federation. At the end of his career, Roberts played in variety shows.Information about Roberts's career
/ref> Later in his career Roberts starred as Charioteer in ''

Phi-Phi ''Phi-Phi'' is an opérette légère in three acts with music by Henri Christiné and a French libretto by Albert Willemetz and Fabien Solar. The piece was one which founded the new style of French comédie musicale, the first to really use the la ...

'' (1922). In 1926, he popularised the song "Topsey-Turvey", which he also used as the basis for a short 1927 film made in the

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...

sound-on-film process, directed by

Bertram Phillips Bertram Phillips was a British film director of the silent era. In 1927–29, he directed several short films in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, including ''Arthur Roberts (comedian), Arthur Roberts Sings "Topsey-Turvey"'' (April 192 ...

. In 1927, Roberts wrote an autobiography called ''Fifty Years of Spoof''. He died in London at the age of 80 and is buried in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

cemetery, London.

Notes and references

;Notes ;References

Sources

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External links

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Drawing of Roberts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Arthur English male stage actors English male singers English humorists Music hall performers 1852 births 1933 deaths