Billy Merson
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Billy Merson (born William Henry Thompson; 29 March 1879 – 25 June 1947)Richard Anthony Baker, ''British Music Hall: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2014, , pp.227-228 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 ...
performer, comedian and songwriter.


Biography

He was born in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
. He began his career while working in a lace-making factory. He performed in the evenings in a duo with Bernard Whiteman, at first as "Whiteman and Thompson - Irish Comedians and Trapeze Performers", and later as "Snakella and Travella". With Whiteman, he toured Ireland and 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 ...
, and appeared 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. In 1904, they changed their name to "Keith and Merson". Merson was initially an acrobat and clown, and first played in London in 1905 under the character name "Ping-Pong".Raymond Mander and Joe Mitchenson, ''British Music Hall: A story in pictures'', Studio Vista, 1965, p.158 It took some time until he could make a living from his stage work. "For five or six years on the stage, I survived on a salary hardly enough to keep body and soul together", he said. The partnership with Whiteman ended in 1908. Under the name Billy Merson, he made his solo West End debut in 1909, and thereafter featured in a range of
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 ...
s, pantomimes, and other
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), ...
engagements. He wrote songs and sold some of his compositions to other performers, including
Wilkie Bard Wilkie Bard (born William August Smith) (19 March 1874 – 5 May 1944) was a popular British vaudeville and music hall entertainer and recording artist at the beginning of the 20th century. He is best known for his songs "I Want to Sing in Opera" ...
and Harry Ford, before finding success with a song that he performed himself 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 ...
, "
The Spaniard That Blighted My Life "The Spaniard That Blighted My Life" is a comic song which was composed and first performed by English music-hall performer Billy Merson. It starts It was performed by Al Jolson in his show ''The Honeymoon Express'' and he recorded it for Victor ...
", sung in a pseudo-operatic style. The song also became one of
Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...
's first hits, in 1913, and a hit again when Jolson re-recorded it with
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
in 1947. Merson took Jolson to court over performing the song without authorisation; he lost on a
technicality The term legal technicality is a casual or colloquial phrase referring to a technical aspect of law. The phrase is not a term of art in the law; it has no exact meaning, nor does it have a legal definition. It implies that strict adherence to the ...
, and the costs of the legal action left him
bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...
. Other songs that Merson wrote include "The Photo of the Girl I Left Behind", and "Desdemonia". With fellow music hall performer
Charles Austin Charles Allen Austin (born December 19, 1967) is an American athlete who won the gold medal in the men's high jump at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He was inducted into the United States Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2012. Currently, Ch ...
, he set up Homeland Films, and made several silent
short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s, including ''Billy's Spanish Love Spasm'' (1915), directed by W. P. Kellino. He also appeared in three films made in the DeForest
Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...
sound-on-film process, ''Billy Merson Sings Desdemona'', ''Billy Merson Sings Scotland's Whiskey'' (a satire on Sir
Harry Lauder Sir Henry Lauder (; 4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950)Russell, Dave"Lauder, Sir Henry (1870–1950)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011, accessed 27 April 2014 was a S ...
), and ''Billy Merson in a Russian Opera'' (all 1926-1927). As a comedian he was often paired with George Formby Senior. He performed in revues, including ''Hullo America'' in 1918 with
Elsie Janis Elsie Janis (born Elsie Bierbower, March 16, 1889 – February 26, 1956) was an American actress of stage and screen, singer, songwriter, screenwriter and radio announcer. Entertaining the troops during World War I immortalized her as "Forces ...
and also featuring the London debut of
Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...
, who later wrote of Merson that he "was not only very funny, but he was fast on his feet as well and had a good baritone voice... This man had everything." He also appeared in ''
Whirled into Happiness ''Whirled into Happiness'' is a musical comedy with music by Robert Stolz, and book and lyrics by Harry Graham, adapted from Stolz's ''Der Tanz ins Glück'', with a libretto by Robert Bodanzky and . The work, billed as a "musical farce", was pr ...
'' (1922), the
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
''
Rose-Marie ''Rose-Marie'' is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a Fren ...
'' in 1925, musical comedy, and plays. He was briefly chairman of the music hall at the
Players Theatre The Players' Theatre was a London theatre which opened at 43 King Street, Covent Garden, on 18 October 1936. The club originally mounted period-style musical comedies, introducing Victorian-style music hall in December 1937. The threat of Worl ...
in London. In the 1930s he reverted to his old music hall act, dressed in eccentric costume and singing. He died in Nottingham in 1947, aged 68.


Selected filmography

* '' The Show Goes On'' (1937) * '' Riding High'' (1937)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merson, Billy English male songwriters People from Nottingham 1879 births 1947 deaths