Jack Pleasants (born Squire Pleasants; 27 August 1874 – 2 January 1924) was an English

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 ...

comedian and singer.

Life and career

Jack Pleasants was born in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England in 1874. After entering a talent contest in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, he had his first music hall appearances there. He made his London debut in 1901, but was not an immediate success and returned to provincial theatres for several years, gradually increasing his popularity in the

north of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

. In 1907, he appeared with

George Mozart George Mozart (1864–1947) was a British music hall comedian. He began his career at the age of nine playing side-drums at the Theatre Royal, Great Yarmouth and completed more than 70 years as a music-hall entertainer, his last appearance being ...

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 ...

. From then his status as one of the top Northern dialect comedians grew. Billed as “The Bashful Limit”, he typically played the part of a "bashful fool", whose ostensible lack of experience with women could turn out to reveal hidden purpose. He wore make-up, a black

frock coat A frock coat is a formal men's coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods (1830s–1910s). It is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at th ...

, trousers, and a

bowler hat The bowler hat, also known as a billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849. It has traditionally been worn ...

, and sported a large marguerite flower. He popularised the songs “I’m Twenty-One Today” and “I’m Shy, Mary Ellen, I’m Shy”, which remain the songs for which he is best remembered.

Death

Jack Pleasants died in 1924 aged forty-nine. He died of a perforated appendix after an evening

performance of ''

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brother ...

'' at the Prince's Theatre, Bradford. One source suggests that Pleasants dropped dead on stage, and that he had been only "subbing" for

Arthur Lucan Arthur Lucan (born Arthur Towle; 16 September 1885 – 17 May 1954) was an English actor who performed the drag act Old Mother Riley on stage, radio and screen, with a series of comedy films from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Early life ...

and

Kitty McShane Kathleen "Kitty" McShane (19 May 1897 – 24 March 1964) was an Irish actress, best known as the wife and acting partner of Arthur Lucan, with whom she appeared in a series of ''Old Mother Riley'' stage shows and films from the 1930s to the ...

Old Mother Riley Old Mother Riley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as part of a British music hall act. Old Mother Riley (full comedy name: Daphne Bluebell Snowdrop Riley) is an I ...

fame. The pantomime began to seem

jinx A jinx (also jynx), in popular superstition and folklore, is a curse or the attribute of attracting bad or negative luck. The word ''"jynx"'' meaning the bird wryneck and sometimes a charm or spell has been in use in English since the seventeent ...

ed. The 7 February 1924 edition of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' carried the following report:

" Francis Laidler's pantomime at Prince's Theatre, Bradford is having a particularly unhappy time. First, the principal comedian, Jack Pleasants, died shortly after the production opened, and now the principal girl, Winifred O'Connor, has been nearly burned to death. She was shampooing her hair with spirit mixture assisted by her mother when the stuff caught fire, setting the room ablaze. The screams of the two women brought their landlord to the room, and he flung a carpet over them. Winifred O'Connor was so seriously burned that it will be some time before she can return to work."

Pleasants's widow, Jessie, lived in London and died just after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Trivia

Both Will Fyffe and Sandy Powell began their careers by doing impressions of Jack Pleasants and other music hall performers.

References

External links

Text collection of Jack Pleasants' song lyricsJack Pleasants: ''I'm Shy, Mary Ellen, I'm Shy''Jack Pleasants: ''I'm 21 Today''Jack Pleasants: ''I Shall Sulk''Jack Pleasants: ''I Said Hooray''Jack Pleasants: ''I'm Longing To Go Back''Jack Pleasants: ''John, You're in the Way''Jack Pleasants: ''Where Do Flies Go in the Winter Time?''Jack Pleasants: ''Watching The Trains Come In''Jack Pleasants: ''Ding Dong''Jack Pleasants: ''I'm Learning a Song for Christmas''Jack Pleasants's Discography
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pleasants, Jack 1874 births 1924 deaths Music hall performers English male comedians Comedians from Yorkshire Musicians who died on stage