Lauri de Frece (3 March 1880 – 25 August 1921) was an English actor and singer who appeared in musical theatre and in films of the silent era. His original name was Maurice de Frece. He was the younger brother of

Walter de Frece Sir Abraham Walter de Frece (7 October 1870 – 7 January 1935) was a British theatre impresario, and later Conservative Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1920 to 1931. His wife was the celebrated male impersonato ...

and the husband of

Fay Compton Virginia Lilian Emmeline Compton-Mackenzie, (; 18 September 1894 – 12 December 1978), known professionally as Fay Compton, was an English actress. She appeared in several films, and made many broadcasts, but was best known for her stage per ...

. He was sometimes been confused with a cousin called Lawrence Abraham de Frece, who was born in 1881 and died later the same year.

Life

Born in Liverpool, Lauri de Frece was one of four sons of Harry de Frece, of the Gaiety Music Hall, Liverpool, a prosperous theatrical manager and agent from a Jewish theatrical family. The four sons were well educated at the

Liverpool Institute High School for Boys The Liverpool Institute High School for Boys was an all-boys grammar school in the English port city of Liverpool. The school had its origins in 1825 but occupied different premises while the money was found to build a dedicated building on ...

, in the hope of keeping them out of the theatre. However, Frece's brother Jack became the manager of the Alhambra Wooden Theatre, Liverpool, his brother Isaac managed the Theatre Royal, Liverpool, and in 1890 his brother Walter gave up an apprenticeship with a Merseyside architect to marry

Vesta Tilley Matilda Alice Powles, Lady de Frece (13May 186416September 1952) was an English music hall performer. She adopted the stage name Vesta Tilley and became one of the best-known male impersonators of her era. Her career lasted from 1869 until 19 ...

, taking a job in the office of Warner's Theatrical Agency, and going on to become a leading theatrical impresario. At the Liverpool Institute, de Frece was a contemporary of Albert Coates. In 1910, de Frece appeared as Blatz in the musical ''

The Balkan Princess ''The Balkan Princess'' is a musical theater, musical in three acts by Frederick Lonsdale and Frank Curzon, with lyrics by Paul Rubens (composer), Paul Rubens and Arthur Wimperis, and music by Paul Rubens (composer), Paul Rubens. It opened at Lond ...

''. In 1912, he sang the part of Brissard in an Edinburgh production of

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life a ...

's operetta ''

The Count of Luxembourg ''The Count of Luxembourg'' is an operetta in two acts with English lyrics and libretto by Basil Hood and Adrian Ross, music by Franz Lehár, based on Lehár's three-act German operetta ''Der Graf von Luxemburg'' which had premiered in Vienna in ...

'', when he was one of the five principals, together with

Daisy Burrell Daisy Burrell (born Daisy Isobel Eaglesfield Ratton; 16 June 1892 – 10 June 1982) was a British stage actress and Edwardian musical comedy performer who also appeared as a leading lady in silent films and in pantomime. In 1951 she appeared i ...

, Phyllis le Grand,

Eric Thorne Frederick Thomas Thorne (1862 – 26 November 1922), stage name Eric Thorne, was an English singer and actor in musical theatre and comic opera. His professional career began in 1884 with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company where he worked for ...

, and

Robert Michaelis Robert Armand René Michaelis (22 December 1878 – 29 August 1965) was a French-born actor and singer who worked in musical theatre, mainly in England, but he also made appearances on Broadway. By 1901, Michaelis and his parents had settled in ...

, collectively described by the ''Musical News'' as "all consummate artists in their own style". In 1914, after the death of the producer H. G. Pelissier, de Frece married his young widow, Fay Compton, with whom he later starred in '' The Labour Leader'' (1917).

Death

He died in August 1921, aged 41, from undisclosed causes, in

Trouville-sur-Mer Trouville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Trouville on Sea''), commonly referred to as Trouville, is a city of 4,603 inhabitants in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Trouville-sur-Mer borders Deauville across the R ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. In February 1922 his widow remarried, to

Leon Quartermaine Leon Quartermaine (24 September 1876 – 25 June 1967) was a British actor whose stage career, in Britain and the United States, extended from the early 1900s to the 1950s. He was born in Richmond, London, and educated at the Whitgift School i ...

. Trewin, J. C.br>"Compton, Fay ( Virginia Lilian Emmeline Compton-Mackenzie; 1894–1978), actress"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 12 February 2019. In his ''Idols of the "Halls"'',

Henry Chance Newton Henry Chance Newton (13 March 1854 – 2 January 1931) was a British author and theatre critic for '' The Referee'' magazine. Newton had written about the stage since 1875 when he joined the staff of ''Hood's Comic Annual.'' He wrote using the ps ...

(1854–1931) recalled that "I knew many de Freces, both of the Liverpudlian, and of the London brand; for example, that wonderful old couple, Isaac and Maurice de Frece, Walter's brother Jack, a big variety agent, also that late fine comedian, poor Lauri de Frece, who was the second husband of that brilliant young actress, Fay Compton."

Musical theatre

*''

'' (1910) as Blatz *''

'' (1912) as Brissard *'' To-Night's the Night'' (1914) as HenryLauri de Frece
at broadwayworld.com, accessed 26 March 2019 *''

The Happy Day ''The Happy Day'' is a musical comedy in two acts by Seymour Hicks, with music by Sidney Jones and Paul Rubens, and lyrics by Adrian Ross and Rubens. It was produced by George Edwardes's company (by the estate's executor, Robert Evett) and was ...

'' (1916) as Walter *''

The Maid of the Mountains ''The Maid of the Mountains'', called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or "Edwardian" musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W. Tate, lyrics by Harry Graham and ...

'' as Tonio

Films

:''Incomplete list'' *'' The Labour Leader'' (1917) *''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in t ...

'' (1918) *'' All the Sad World Needs'' (1918)

Notes

External links

*
Lauri de Frece
at National Portrait Gallery, London
Lauri de Frece
at discogs.com {{DEFAULTSORT:De Frece, Lauri 1880 births 1921 deaths English male film actors English male stage actors English male silent film actors English male musical theatre actors People educated at Liverpool Institute High School for Boys Male actors from Liverpool 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English singers 20th-century British male singers