John Leonard Burkitt Dalby (April 22, 1929 – July 13, 2017) was an English singer, pianist and composer. Dalby was hailed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for his witty and sophisticated cabaret performances. As an accomplished entertainer, he was described by one New York Theatre critic as a combination of "

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Flanders and Swann Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo. Lyricist, actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922–1975) and composer and pianist Donald Swann (1923–1994) collaborated in writing and performing comic songs. They first worked together in a scho ...

with a touch of Quentin Crisp". He wrote and performed in numerous musicals and revues. In the West End, he succeeded Dudley Moore, in '' Beyond the Fringe'', appeared in his own revue ''One in the Eye'' and appeared with Tom Conti, in ''An Italian Straw Hat''. He worked with many notable performers, such as

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

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Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

, David Niven,

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (194 ...

and Evelyn Laye. Dalby taught singing at the Actor's Richmond Company, which he formed into an admirable performing group and during his 70s he was Musical Director, arranger and helped compile programmes for the company "Muse & Music" which performed anthologies of poetry, prose and song at The Jermyn Street Theatre as well as various other venues for charities. His one-man show ''Colley Cibber - The Man Who Rewrote Shakespeare'' has been performed at the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

, the

Jermyn Street Theatre Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on Jermyn Street, in London's West End. It is an off-west end studio theatre. History Jermyn Street Theatre opened in August 1994. It was formerly the changing rooms for staff at a Spaghetti ...

and internationally. He presented a centenary tribute to Evelyn Laye, ''A Glass of Champagne'', at the Jermyn Street Theatre in 2000. Dalby died on 13 July 2017 at the age of 88.JOHN LEONARD BURKITT DALBY
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Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalby, John 1929 births 2017 deaths Place of birth missing English cabaret composers English cabaret pianists English male singers English male pianists