John Robert Hale-Monro (1 May 1902 – 9 June 1959), known as Sonnie Hale, was an English actor, screenwriter, and director.

Early life

John Robert Hale-Monro was born in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

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 ...

, the son of Belle Reynolds and actor Robert Hale. His sister,

Binnie Hale Beatrice "Binnie" Mary Hale-Monro (22 May 1899 – 10 January 1984) was an English actress, singer and dancer. She was one of the most successful musical theatre stars in London in the 1920s and 1930s, able to sing leading roles in operetta a ...

, was also an actress. Hale was educated at

Beaumont College Beaumont College was between 1861 and 1967 a public school in Old Windsor in Berkshire. Founded and run by the Society of Jesus, it offered a Roman Catholic public school education in rural surroundings, while lying, like the neighbouring Eton ...

."Mr. Sonnie Hale." Times ondon, England10 June 1959: 14. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 August 2016.

Career

He worked chiefly in musical and

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

theatre, but also acted in several films with occasional screenwriting or directing credits. He first performed on stage at the London Pavilion in 1921 in the chorus of the revue ''Fun of the Fayre''. A major personal investment in a show to tour the country planned for late 1939 proved financially ruinous due to the outbreak of war and the subsequent closure of most theatres. His slight acquaintance

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

advised him against such an investment. His reply was reported to be the sardonic "War is good for business, don't you know!" Hale's play ''

The French Mistress ''The French Mistress'' is a comedy play by the British entertainer Sonnie Hale under the pen name Robert Munro about the arrival of a new young French teacher at a traditional public school. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre in June 1955. Fo ...

'' premiered at

Wimbledon Theatre The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on the Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Grade II listed Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J. B. Mulholland. Built on the site of a large hou ...

in 1955. It later enjoyed a long West End run, before being adapted into the film ''

A French Mistress ''A French Mistress'' is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Cecil Parker, James Robertson Justice, Agnès Laurent, Ian Bannen, Raymond Huntley, Irene Handl and Thorley Walters. It is based on a stage play, ''The F ...

''.

Personal life and death

He was married three times, to: * The actress

Evelyn Laye Evelyn Laye (née Elsie Evelyn Lay; 10 July 1900 – 17 February 1996) was an English actress who was active on the London light opera stage, and later in New York and Hollywood. Her first husband, actor Sonnie Hale, left her for Jessie M ...

(1926–1930). * The actress and dancer

Jessie Matthews Jessie Margaret Matthews (11 March 1907 – 19 August 1981) was an English actress, dancer and singer of the 1920s and 1930s, whose career continued into the post-war period. After a string of hit stage musicals and films in the mid-1930s, Ma ...

(1931–1944). * Mary Kelsey (1945–1957) He left his first marriage to Evelyn Laye for actress

, an action which led to a backlash among the British public and caused a

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

. By his second marriage he had one son (died at birth) and one adopted daughter (born 1935); by his third marriage he had one son, John Robert Hale-Monro (born 1946, died 2013) and a daughter. He also had a daughter

Joanna Monro Joanna Monro (born 1956) is a British actress and former television presenter who, in the 1980s, appeared on the BBC show ''That's Life!'' with Esther Rantzen. In 1974 she appeared in the ''Doctor Who'' story ''Planet of the Spiders'', followed by ...

(born 1956) from a subsequent relationship with the actress Frances Bennett. He died on 9 June 1959 in London from

myelofibrosis Primary myelofibrosis (PMF) is a rare bone marrow blood cancer. It is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a type of myeloproliferative neoplasm, a group of cancers in which there is growth of abnormal cells in the bone marrow. ...

, aged 57.

Selected theatre performances

* ''

Little Nellie Kelly ''Little Nellie Kelly'' is a 1940 American musical-comedy film based on the stage musical of the same title by George M. Cohan which was a hit on Broadway in 1922 and 1923. The film was written by Jack McGowan and directed by Norman Taurog. It ...

'' (London production) - 1923 (as Sidney Potter) * ''Mercenary Mary'' - 1925 (as Jerry Warner) * ''One Dam Thing After Another'' (

) - 1927 * ''

This Year of Grace ''This Year of Grace'' is a revue with a book, music, and lyrics by Noël Coward. It opened in London on 22 March 1928 at the London Pavilion and ran for nearly 10 months, directed by Frank Collins, with a cast featuring Sonnie Hale, Maisie Gay, ...

'' (revue) - 1928 * '' Wake Up and Dream'' (revue) - 1929 * ''

Ever Green Ever may refer to: * Ever (artist), creator of street art, from Buenos Aires, Argentina * Ever, Kentucky * -ever, an English suffix added to interrogative words in forms like ''wherever'' * KT Tech EVER, a South Korean mobile phone manufacturer o ...

'' - 1930 (as Tommy Thompson) * ''Hold My Hand'' - 1931 (as Pop Curry) * ''Come Out to Play'' (revue) - 1940 * '' Maid of the Mountains'' - 1942 (as Tonio) * ''One, Two, Three'' (revue) - 1947 * ''The Perfect Woman'' - 1948 (as Freddie Cavendish) * ''Rainbow Square'' - 1951 (as Peppi) * '' Lady Be Good'' - 1955 * ''

'' - 1959 (as John Crawley)

Filmography

Actor

* '' Happy Ever After'' (1932) * ''

Tell Me Tonight ''Tell Me Tonight'' or ''Be Mine Tonight'' is a 1932 British musical comedy film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Jan Kiepura, Sonnie Hale and Magda Schneider. It was shot in Berlin at the Babelsberg Studios as part of a co-production bet ...

'' (1932) * ''

Early to Bed Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

'' (1933) * '' Friday the Thirteenth'' (1933) * ''

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

'' (1934) * '' Wild Boy'' (1934) * ''

Are You a Mason? Are You a Mason? is a farce in 3 acts by Leo Ditrichstein, who in turn adapted it from a German play, ''Die Logenbrüder'' (''The Freemason''), by Curt Kraatz and Carl Laufs. The play was performed at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1901.''The Prince ...

'' (1934) * '' My Song for You'' (1934) * ''

Mon coeur t'appelle ''My Heart Is Calling You'' (French: ''Mon coeur t'appelle'') is the 1934 French version of a German musical film directed by Carmine Gallone and Serge Véber, written by Ernst Marischka, produced by Arnold Pressburger. The film stars Jan Kiepura ...

'' (1934) * ''

My Heart is Calling "My Heart Is Calling" is a song recorded by the American recording artist Whitney Houston for the 1996 film ''The Preacher's Wife''. It was released on June 10, 1997, as the third and final single by Arista Records from the accompanying soundtrac ...

'' (1935) * '' Marry the Girl'' (1935) * ''

First a Girl ''First a Girl'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Jessie Matthews. ''First a Girl'' was adapted from the 1933 German film ''Viktor und Viktoria'' written and directed by Reinhold Schünzel. It was remade as th ...

'' (1935) * ''

It's Love Again ''It's Love Again'' is a 1936 British musical film directed by Victor Saville and starring Jessie Matthews, Robert Young and Sonnie Hale. In the film, a chorus girl masquerades as a big game hunter to try to boost her showbiz career. The fi ...

'' (1936) * ''

The Gaunt Stranger ''The Gaunt Stranger'' (released as ''The Phantom Strikes'' in the US) is a 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Walter Forde. It stars Sonnie Hale, Wilfrid Lawson and Alexander Knox. Plot A notorious killer, long believed to have d ...

'' (1938) * ''

Let's Be Famous ''Let's Be Famous'' is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Jimmy O'Dea, Betty Driver and Sonnie Hale. It was made by Associated Talking Pictures, with shooting beginning in November 1938.Wood p. 98 The film's art dir ...

'' (1939) * '' Fiddlers Three'' (1944) * '' London Town'' (1946)

Director

* '' Head Over Heels'' (1937) * ''

Gangway Broadly speaking, a gangway is a passageway through which to enter or leave. Gangway may refer specifically refer to: Passageways * Gangway (nautical), a passage between the quarterdeck and the forecastle of a ship, and by extension, a passage th ...

'' (1937) * ''

Sailing Along ''Sailing Along'' is a 1938 British musical comedy film directed by Sonnie Hale and starring Jessie Matthews, Barry MacKay, Jack Whiting, Roland Young, Frank Pettingell, Noel Madison and Alastair Sim. It includes many staged song and dance ro ...

'' (1938)

References

* "Oxford Companion to Popular Music" by Peter Grimmond - Publisher OUP 1991 - * "Who Was Who in the Theatre: 1912–1976", Vol. 2 D–H - Publisher Pitman London -

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Sonnie 1902 births 1959 deaths English male film actors English film directors English male screenwriters English male stage actors 20th-century English male actors Male actors from London People educated at Beaumont College Royal Army Service Corps officers 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English male writers