George Lacy (27 January 1904 – 11 January 1989) was a British entertainer and actor, best known for his groundbreaking performances as a

pantomime dame A pantomime dame is a traditional role in British pantomime. It is part of the theatrical tradition of ''travesti'' portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. Dame characters are often played either in an extremely camp style, or else ...

, particularly "

Mother Goose The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howeve ...

Biography

Born in

Newington, London Newington is a district of South London, just south of the River Thames, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It was an ancient parish and the site of the early administration of the county of Surrey. It was the location of the County ...

, he made his first stage appearance as a

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

aged 14, and soon started appearing in

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 ...

s. He first appeared as a pantomime dame aged 19, and featured as Mother Goose in a show in Leeds in 1929. He made the role his own, and introduced the tradition of the Dame changing her costume throughout the show, each change becoming increasingly flamboyant. He designed and made his costumes himself – for one show performing in a costume designed as a billiard table, complete with balls and cues – and wrote many of his scripts and songs.Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts'', Robson Books, 1998, , p.100 As well as performing in pantomimes for over 60 years, Lacy also starred in other travelling

musical theatre 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 ...

shows around the country, and in variety programmes in which he would sometimes interpose his increasingly well-known Dame persona. "Mother Goose, Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool", ''V & A Museums''
Retrieved 12 December 2020 Part of his success was due to his ability to deliver "working class gags with a posh accent". "George Lacy (1904 - 1989)", ''BBC''
Retrieved 12 December 2020 He took the lead role in the 1934 Lupino Lane comedy film ''

My Old Duchess ''My Old Duchess'' is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Lupino Lane and starring George Lacy, Betty Ann Davies and Dennis Hoey. The film was made at Elstree Studios. It was based on an original sketch by Fred Karno. The screenplay concerns a ...

'' (also known as ''Oh! What a Duchess''), in which he "was able to remain convincingly feminine with just the right degree of eccentricity to be funny, but not grotesque." Review of ''Oh! What a Duchess'', ''TheLostLaugh.com''
Retrieved 12 December 2020 Widely regarded as "the finest Dame of his generation",
Retrieved 12 December 2020 he continued to perform each year in pantomimes until his final shows, aged 80, at Southsea in 1984. He died in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, north Wales, in 1989, aged 84.

References

External links

*
''The Art Of The Pantomime Dame: George Lacy''
1982 short film {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacy, George 1904 births 1989 deaths English male comedians 20th-century English male actors Pantomime dames