George Black (20 April 1890 – 4 March 1945)George Black at IMDb.
/ref> was a British theatrical impresario who controlled many entertainment venues during the 1930s and 1940s and was a pioneer of the motion picture business.

Biography

Early Years

Black was born on 20 April 1890, at 3 Court, 7 Sutton Street, in

Small Heath Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...

, Birmingham. He left school at the age of eleven to work for his father who had previously been a travelling showman and now worked in the film industry."George Black, Producer, Passes"
''The Evening Independent'', 6 March 1945. Aged twelve, he was looking after his father's Flea Circus.A short George Black biography on BBC Genome mentions Black looking after his father's Flea Circus:http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?adv=0&q=george+black&media=all&yf=1923&yt=2009&mf=1&mt=12&tf=00%3A00&tt=00%3A00#search Black served throughout the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a Private in the

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution ...

and rose to the rank of Lance-Corporal. After the war, Black helped his father establish the first permanent motion-picture theatres in the UK. Black was a grafter and learnt about the entertainment business from his father. One of Black's initial jobs in his father's cinema was to show films on a Paul's

Theatrograph R. W. Paul presented Britain's second film projector, and the first commercially produced 35mm projector, the Theatrograph, on 20 February 1896. It was first demonstrated at Finsbury Technical College. The use of Paul's Theatrograph in music hal ...

, which was the name of the first commercially produced 35mm film projector. Within a few years, Black had become proprietor of a circuit of theatres and music halls on the North East coast of Britain.

Managing Director of the London Palladium

In 1928, Black moved to London and took over the management of GTC (General Theatre Corporation), which ran a chain of theatres, cinemas and dance halls. He also took over the management of the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

, which was the flagship of the corporation. The

Hippodrome, London The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survi ...

in Leicester Square,

Brighton Hippodrome Brighton Hippodrome is an entertainment venue in the ancient centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It has been empty and out of use since 2007, when its use as a Bingo (Commonwealth), bingo hall ceased. From its const ...

and Blackpool Opera House were also under his control. When Black arrived as managing director of the

he'd previously owned a string of thirteen cinema theatres, which he'd sold for £300,000. Although the Palladium had recently fallen on hard times due to falling ticket sales (the theatre had lain dark during autumn of that year), Black's vision was to revive the Palladium as the number one variety theatre in the UK. On 3 September 1928, he re-opened the theatre with a superb variety bill that included Gracie Fields, Dick Henderson, Billy Bennett and Ivor Novello and a full supporting cast. Ticket sales skyrocketed and Argyll Street outside the Palladium's entrance became congested with a mass of unlucky patrons who'd been turned away at the box office. By headlining top-notch homegrown stars on the bill, Black secured continuous success through the remainder of the '20s and throughout the '30s. In defence of his entertainment policy Black was quoted as saying, Variety is an integral part of English life, the finest expression of the English character and as necessary to our social life as food and drink''.' From October 1928 until 1931, Black allowed live broadcasts over the radio to be transmitted from the

, which proved extremely popular with radio audiences. Black even looked abroad for acts, bringing many of the top American stars to the UK to perform at the Palladium including Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, Adelaide Hall, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller,

Vic Oliver Victor Oliver von Samek (8 July 1898 – 15 August 1964) was an Austrian-born British actor and radio comedian. Early life He was born in Vienna into a Jewish family, the son of Baron Viktor von Samek. He studied medicine at Vienna University but ...

and

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

. In 1937, Black brought

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

over to the UK direct from the Folies-Bergere in Paris to headline a British tour on the

Moss Empires Moss Empires was a company formed in Edinburgh in 1899, from the merger of the theatre companies owned by Sir Edward Moss, Richard Thornton and Sir Oswald Stoll. This created the largest chain of variety theatres and music halls in the United ...

circuit, which culminated on 27 June 1938 with her appearance at the

, her first engagement there. Film stars were also booked onto the bill including the juvenile actor Jackie Coogan (who'd appeared alongside Charlie Chaplin in the hit film ''

The Kid The Kid or The Kids may refer to: Fictional characters * The kid (''Blood Meridian''), a character in Cormac McCarthy's 1985 novel ''Blood Meridian'' * The Kid (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film series * The Kid (''The Stand'' ...

''). Coogan proved so popular he was held over for an extra week. In 1928, Black took over the presentation of the Royal Variety Performance. That year it was staged on 1 March at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

in the presence of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

and Queen Mary. After a gap of one year, on 22 May 1930, Black presented the Royal Variety Performance at the

, again in the presence of King George V and Queen Mary. The show was broadcast live by BBC Radio. Black went on to present and compere at the Royal Variety Performance each year (excluding 1936) thereafter up to 1938 after which the performance was halted for the duration of the Second World War. Pantomime became a regular feature at the London Palladium for many years, and the Christmas pantomime ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'' was so popular with audiences that Black made it a fixture at the theatre every year from 1930 to 1938. In the early 1930s, Black, along with his assistant Charles Henry, decided to experiment with the content of the shows they produced at the Palladium. They came up with the novel idea of pairing together comedy double-acts. On 30 November 1931, Black organised ''Crazy Week'' at the Palladium, which brought together various comedy acts. It was under Black's watchful eye that this format was developed into the act that became known collectively as the Crazy Gang consisting of

Nervo and Knox Jimmy Nervo and Teddy Knox were part of the original Crazy Gang. They started their stage careers as an acrobatic dancing team. They used this ability in many of the earlier Crazy Gang shows. Among their many routines, a slow motion wrestling a ...

, Naughton and Gold and

Flanagan and Allen Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy double act most active during the 1930s and 1940s. Its members were Bud Flanagan (1896 – 1968, born Chaim Weintrop) and Chesney Allen (1894–1982). They were first paired in a Florrie Ford ...

. Black devised and produced the shows and revues that starred the Crazy Gang at the Palladium. Many theatre programmes of the 1930s had the words "Produced by George Black" on their cover. The Crazy Gang dominated the Palladium scene until the war years; then subsequently at the

Victoria Palace Theatre The Victoria Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, opposite Victoria Station. The structure is categorised as a Grade II* listed building. History Origins The theatre began life as a small conc ...

. The average season attendance at one of the Crazy Gang shows was between 500,000 and 600,000 paying customers. By 1937, Black had signed the Crazy Gang up for a film and stage contract worth £100,000. Black's 1937 production with the Crazy Gang titled ''London Rhapsody'' received plaudits from the press. It was considered to be one of the most spectacular shows ever produced at the Palladium. A contemporary critic noted, "''whereas Ivor Novello has put Drury Lane back on the map by altering the standard of production there to a point far removed from the theatre's traditions, George Black has achieved the same results at the Palladium by a different process. The London Palladium reviews have been going one better every time. London Rhapsody is the best yet.''" In 1938 Black co-wrote and staged another Crazy Gang show ''

These Foolish Things "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" is a standard with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz, writing under the pseudonym Holt Marvell, and music by Jack Strachey, both Englishmen. Harry Link, an American, sometimes appears as a co-writer; his input ...

'', which also featured the Sherman Fisher Girls. On 5 May 1940, Black presented ''A Grand Variety Gala'' from the London Palladium that was broadcast on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

Forces Programme in aid of the Variety Artists' Benevolent Fund. In August 1940, Black's musical revue ''Apple Sauce'' opened at the

Holborn Empire Weston's Music Hall was a music hall and theatre that opened on 16 November 1857 at 242-245 High Holborn in London, England. In 1906, the theatre became known as the Holborn Empire. History Early years The theatre was constructed on the site of ...

starring Max Miller and

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

. After the theatre was bombed in 1941, the show transferred to the London Palladium where it ran until November 1941. In her book ''The Time of My Life'', musical star Pat Kirkwood recounts her time appearing at the London Palladium in ''Top of the World'' during the air raids of 1940. She had just opened in the new show: "''We had raids every night and we never knew who would be on stage when they dropped. Tommy Trinder had a side-bet arranged, based on which of the comics would be on when one dropped. It was always Tommy! I had my turn too: one night in the middle of singing ‘Rhumboogie’ a bomb fell so near to the theatre that all the stalls heavy double-plated doors burst open and the whole auditorium shook. Everyone onstage carried on regardless and the audience never moved. This happened on the Saturday night of our first week at the Palladium.'' ''On Sunday morning I had a telephone call from Charles Henry, George Black's second in command, to inform me that the show was closing and that all theatres would be shut down until further notice. What we were not told was that on the Saturday night a landmine had landed on the roof of the Palladium and become lodged in the chimney. The bomb disposal men had defused it then carried it out through the stage door on Sunday morning!''" By late autumn of 1940 the German bombing

blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

was well under way and more producers and stars packed their trunks and headed out of London. Some moved to

Northern 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 ...

, ( Blackpool especially), for the duration of the war.

Jack Hylton Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton; 2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario. Hylton rose to prominence during the British dance band era, being referred as the "British King of Jazz" ...

and George Black were just two impresarios who ran their showbiz empires from Blackpool. The Tower Company who owned

Blackpool Tower Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in ...

and its ballroom benefited greatly from this arrangement as their premises were used for shows in rehearsal and for the launch of national tours. Black was president of the VAA (Variety Artists Association) and during the war staged several shows that financially benefited American, British and Allied charities; one such show being

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

's ''

This Is The Army ''This Is the Army'' is a 1943 American wartime musical comedy film produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz, adapted from a wartime stage musical with the same name, designed to boost morale in the U.S. duri ...

''.''Billboard'' newspaper, 13 November 1943, page 4 (retrieved 12 February 2015):https://books.google.com/books?id=bgwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT3&lpg=PT3&dq=george+black+producer+hippodrome+london&source=bl&ots=SJ3tZ2XjqW&sig=nppsDQqK9zjz4IBKnP_NGm-IC24&hl=en&sa=X&ei=q47cVP2hJcTwaKHwgIgP&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=george%20black%20producer%20hippodrome%20london&f=false On 7 July 1944, Black's forthcoming production ''Happy and Glorious'', set to open at the London Palladium starring Tommy Trinder, Zoe Gail and

Elisabeth Welch Elisabeth Margaret Welch (February 27, 1904July 15, 2003) was an American singer, actress, and entertainer, whose career spanned seven decades. Her best-known songs were " Stormy Weather", " Love for Sale" and "Far Away in Shanty Town". She was ...

, was previewed at

the Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

as part of Sir

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the The Proms, Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introd ...

's Jubilee Season of Promenade Concerts and broadcast over the radio on the BBC Home Service.

Managing Director of Moss Empires

Black oversaw the merging of GTC with

variety circuit in 1932. He was then in charge of the new company Moss Empires Group and was in control of a chain of 53 theatres all over the UK. In 1938, he became the joint managing director of

. As manager of the

and controlling boss of

, Black became one of London's most powerful producers. When the chairman Colonel J. J. Gillespie of

died in January 1942, Mr. R. H. Gillespie became chairman and George Black was promoted to sole managing director.

Family

George Black Sr. was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

in 1857. By 1861 the family had moved to live in nearby Sunderland.''The Changing Face of the Bonnersfield & Sheepfolds areas of Monkwearmouth'' – article: (retrieved 9 February 2015):http://www.searlecanada.org/sunderland/sunderland027.html Black Sr. worked for many years at the Comedy Theatre in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

(later named the Gaiety Theatre) and at Theatre Royal,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

. In time, he bought a huge waxworks exhibition, which he toured the UK with. In May 1906, Black Sr. opened the Monkwearmouth Picture Hall in Bonnersfield, Sunderland, in a building that had formerly been St Stephen's Presbyterian Chapel. The building had ceased to be a church since 1903. It was in this building he would store and sometimes exhibit his waxworks exhibition when it wasn't on tour. Black Sr. along with his three sons (Gerorge, Alfred and Edward) ran the cinema as the British Animated Picture Company and claimed it was the first permanent cinema north of

. There is evidence to suggest that moving pictures were put on as early as 1904, as an added attraction to the waxworks.George Black Sr. biography:http://www.sclews.me.uk/black.htm The paying customers sat in the old chapel pews in front of a white sheet, which was used as the screen and was tied to the lectern. Black Sr. employed his three sons to work at the cinema: his son George operated the hand-cranked

kinematograph Cinematograph or kinematograph is an early term for several types of motion picture film mechanisms. The name was used for movie cameras as well as film projectors, or for complete systems that also provided means to print films (such as the Cin ...

, Alfred ran the box-office and Edward wrote the prologues for the silent films. The first film shown was a newsreel called ''The Launching of the Mauretania,'' (which was released on 20 September 1906). As early as 1907, Black Sr. anticipated the

Cinematograph Act 1909 The Cinematograph Act 1909 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (9 Edw. VII c. 30). It was the first primary legislation in the UK which specifically regulated the film industry. It unintentionally provided the legal basis for film ...

, (which came into operation on 1 January 1910), and separated the projector from the audience. They also ran 'twice nightly' shows. The Black family made a considerable amount of money when in 1914 Black Sr. purchased the local areas screening rights to show the film Tillie's Punctured Romance starring Charlie Chaplin, Marie Dressler and Mabel Normand. In 1909, Black Sr. opened the New Picture Palace in Gateshead. He also became sole proprietor of the Palace Theatre,

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

, the Blyth Theatre Royal and the Borough Theatre in

North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

and the lessee of the Picture Hall,

and the Tivoli, Laygate Circus in South Shields. Black Sr. was known amongst the community to be a charitable man and distributed food and shoes among the poor children of Sunderland. After George Black Sr.'s death in 1910, the Black brothers controlled a chain of twelve cinemas. In 1916, their original cinema (the Monkwearmouth Picture Hall in Bonnersfield, Sunderland) was renamed the Bridge Cinema. George Black claimed that he and his father experimented with the idea of 'talkies' before 'talkies' arrived: We collected a couple of old women and old men who saw the film through once, chose what parts they wanted to play, stood behind the screen on the first night of its performance and made up the dialogue as they went along''.' When George Black (b.1891) broke his ties with the local entertainment scene by moving to London in 1928, his brothers Alfred and Edward continued with the family business and opened their most luxurious cinema, the Regal in 1932. In 1936, Edward gave up his interest in the family business and turned his hand to film producing and worked for Gainsborough Films,

Gaumont British The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of the Gaumont Film Company of France. Film production Gaumont-British was founded in 18 ...

London Films London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included ''The Private Life o ...

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

and the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distrib ...

. Eventually, many of the Blacks' cinemas, including the later-built Regal Cinemas and Essoldo Cinemas, were sold to other companies. George Black died in London in 1945. Acknowledging the service he'd given to the entertainment industry, on 12 April 1945, the BBC aired the radio programme ''George Black Memories''. After his death his two sons George Jr. and Alfred took over the family's flourishing entertainment empire. George Black (b. 1891) had two sons, Alfred (b. 1913 d. 2002) and George Jr. (b. 1911 d. 1970) who both entered show business and followed in their father's footsteps as successful producers and impresarios. Together they founded Black Brothers TV Ltd. It was George Jr. who gave

Nicholas Parsons Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show '' Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' ...

his first big break in television. In 1956, Independent Television began. George Jr. and Alfred were keen to muscle in on this new medium and decided to produce a new series together based upon their father's wartime show ''Strike A New Note'' and stated in their press handout, ‘''to discover the new and unknown stars of Independent Television''’. The first show was transmitted in January 1956 and the comedian Arthur Haynes appeared on it.

appeared on the third show. The show received a bit of a panning so after the sixth show, George Jr. said to Parsons, "''I'm getting rid of everybody but I'm going to keep Arthur Haynes and you. I think the two of you should do sketches together''". George Jr. changed the title of the show to ''Get Happy'' and the show continued for another eighteen weeks until George Jr. thought he'd exhausted it all. George Jr. and Alfred also produced several West End musicals together including the 1954 production ''Wedding in Paris'' at the

London Hippodrome The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few su ...

. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, Captain George Black Jr. along with Colonel Basil Brown and Major Bill Alexander formed the organisation Stars in Battledress (SIB) that entertained the troops. Alfred Black married the actress and leading West End musical star Roma Beaumont (b. 1913 d. 2001). Roma starred in several hit musicals including ''

The Dancing Years ''The Dancing Years'' is a musical with book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall. The story takes place in Vienna, from 1911 until 1938. It follows the life of a penniless Jewish composer and his love for two women of di ...

'', '' Perchance to Dream'' and in ''Cinderella'' at the

in 1948. Alfred and Roma's daughter is the actress Susan Beaumont who appeared in many films throughout the 1950s. Roma Beumont's cousin was the dancer/singer Roma King (b. 1934 d. 2013) who appeared in several West End musicals including ''

Love from Judy ''Love from Judy'' is a musical with music by Hugh Martin, lyrics by Martin and Jack Gray, and a book by Eric Maschwitz and Jean Webster. It is based on Webster's novel and play '' Daddy-Long-Legs''. The original production opened in Coventry ...

'' (1952–54), ''Lilac Time'' and ''Summer Song'' (1954). In January 1959, George Jr. and Alfred (with the film producer Sidney Box) founded the independent TV Station

Tyne Tees Television ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from studios at a converte ...

that served North East England. The English writer, composer, musician and comedian

Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinto ...

's wife, the writer Laura Beaumont, is related to Roma Beaumont. On 6 May 1975, BBC Radio 2 broadcast an episode of the radio series ''The Impresarios'', devoted to the work of George Black. Narrated by Michael Craig, the series documented the stories of the men who created the world of entertainment. During this episode, George's son Alfred states: "''The

was a dead duck, they'd tried everything there – circuses, films, plays. It was going through a terribly bad patch and they said to my Dad, 'That's yours, what are you going to do with it?' Dad said, 'I'll make it the number one Variety theatre of the world.''" The programme contains interviews with Tommy Trinder, Roma Beaumont, Alfred Black, Pauline Black and Alec Shanks.

Credits

Crazy Gang shows

*''Crazy Week'' –

– opened 30 November 1931 *''Crazy Week'' (second edition) –

– opened 21 December 1931 *''We Go Crazy'' –

– opened 6 June 1932 *''Loose Nuts'' –

– opened 1932 *''Gingerella'' –

– opened during the summer of 1932 *''The Third Crazy Month'' –

– opened November 1932 *''The Fourth Crazy Month'' –

– opened 6 March 1933 *''New Edition of the 5th Crazy Month'' –

– opened 9 October 1933 *''March Hares'' –

*''Crazy Show'' (sixth edition) –

– opened 21 May 1934 *''Crazy Show'' (seventh edition) –

– opened 22 October 1934 *''Life Begins at Oxford Circus'' – (first edition) –

– January 1935 *''Life Begins at Oxford Circus'' (second edition) –

– opened 20 May 1935 *''Round About Regent Street'' –

– opened 26 August 1935 *''All Alight at Oxford Circus'' –

– opened 11 March 1936 *''O-Kay For Sound'' –

– opened 14 September 1936 *''London Rhapsody'' –

– opened 11 October 1937 *''

'' –

– opened 3 October 1938 *''The Little Dog Laughed'' –

– 13 September 1939 *''Top of the World'' –

– 4 September 1940

Other Palladium shows

*''Peter Pan'' – Christmas pantomime produced annually from 1930 -1939 *''London Symphony'' (1938) – with costumes designed by

Erté Romain de Tirtoff (23 November 1892 – 21 April 1990) was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté, from the French pronunciation of his initials (, EHR TEH). He was a 20th-century artist and designer in an a ...

*''Gangway (1942)'' – a musical revue (ran from 17 December 1941 to 24 October 1942) *''Best Bib and Tucker'' (1942) – a musical revue *''

'' (1943) – an

show with flu G.I. cast *''Happy and Glorious'' (1944) – a musical fanfare

London shows

*'' The Fleet's Lit Up'' (1938) –

*''George Black's Intimate Rag: Black Velvet'' (1939) –

*'' Black Velvet'' (1938/39) (starring Roma Beaumont) –

*''Haw Haw! – George Black's Laughter Show'' (1939–1940) –

(formerly known as

Weston's Music Hall Weston's Music Hall was a music hall and theatre that opened on 16 November 1857 at 242-245 High Holborn in London, England. In 1906, the theatre became known as the Holborn Empire. History Early years The theatre was constructed on the site of ...

, London *''Apple Sauce'' (1940) – opened at the

on 27 August 1940. After the theatre was bombed the show transferred to the

and ran from 5 March 1941 to 29 November 1941 *''Get a Load of This'' (1941) –

''Over The Footlights'' – London Musicals:http://www.overthefootlights.co.uk/London%20Musicals%201940-1944.pub.pdf The production transferred to London's

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

in November 1942 *''The Lisbon Story'' (1943) –

*''Strike a New Note'' (1943) –

, London *''Jenny Jones'' (1944) –

*''Strike it Again'' (1945) –

, London

Other shows

*''Simple Simon'' (1934) – Christmas Pantomime at

Glasgow Empire Theatre Glasgow Empire Theatre, known as the Glasgow Palace Empire until the early 1900s, was a major theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, which opened in 1897 on the site of the Gaiety Theatre at 31–35 Sauchiehall Street. It was one of the leading theatre ...

*''Josser's Detective Agency'' (1935) – A musical revue starring Ernest Lotinga (regional tour) *''Jack and the Beanstalk'' (1935) – Christmas Pantomime at the Palace Theatre, Manchester''Around the Pantos'', BBC regional radio show broadcast on 20 December 1935:http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/80/20?q=george+black&order=asc#search *''Mother Goose'' (1935) – Christmas Pantomime at the

Liverpool Empire Theatre The Liverpool Empire Theatre is a theatre on the corner of Lime Street in Liverpool, England. The playhouse, which opened in 1925, is the second one to be built on the site. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in the United Kingdom and can ...

*''Cinderella'' (1935) – Christmas Pantomime at The Empire Theatre, Newcastle *''Red Riding Hood'' (1935) – Christmas Pantomime at the Theatre Royal, Leeds *''Mother Goose'' (1935) – Christmas Pantomime at The

Prince's Theatre, Manchester The Prince's Theatre in Oxford Street, Manchester, England, was built at a cost of £20,000 in 1864. Under the artistic and managerial leadership of Charles Calvert, "Manchester's most celebrated actor-manager", it soon became a great popular suc ...

*''Twinkle'' (1936) – A holiday summer show *''Will C. Pepper's' White Coons'' (1936) – A Concert Party show *''Radio Pie'' (1936) – Radio Show *''Cinderella'' (1936) – Christmas Pantomime at Edinburgh's Empire Theatre * ''Holiday Fare'' (1937) – Variety show at Boscombe Hippodrome, Bournemouth *''The Gang Show'' (1938) – The cast included 150

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

and district at the Empire Theatre, Newcastle *''All The Best'' (1938) – Blackpool Opera House *''The Silent Melody'' (1938) – A Musical Play starring

Bebe Daniels Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such ...

and

Ben Lyon Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine ...

*''George Black presents Debroy Somers and his Band'' (1940) – Radio show compered by George Black featuring Debroy Somers *''George Black presents a Grand Variety Gala'' (1940) – Radio show *''It's That Man Again'' (1940) – Palace Theatre, Manchester *''Hullabaloo'' (Summer 1941) – Blackpool Opera House *''Black Vanities'' (1941) –

from 11 April 1941 before transferring to the

from 24 April 1941 to 17 January 1942 *''Black and Blue'' (1941) – Blackpool Opera House *''Black Vanities'' (1942) – Blackpool Opera House * ''Youth Must Have Its Swing'' (1943) – Regional tour *''If It's Laughter You're After'' (1944) –

Birmingham Hippodrome The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including vi ...

''Billboard'' newspaper, 19 August 1944, article, page 21 'English provinces get London premieres(retrieved February 2015):https://books.google.com/books?id=tAwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT21&lpg=PT21&dq=george+black+producer+hippodrome+london&source=bl&ots=XPC8dt3pk1&sig=_ije9ILl96RxNktUjLw9hy1WYvY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5pvcVIndKYeXaurJgrAE&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBzgU#v=onepage&q=george%20black%20producer%20hippodrome%20london&f=false

Filmography

* Just My Luck (1933) – assistant director * '' The Penny Pool'' (1937) – Director * '' Calling All Crooks'' (1938) – Director

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, George 1890 births 1945 deaths English theatre managers and producers English theatre directors People from Birmingham, West Midlands 20th-century English businesspeople British Army personnel of World War I Royal Northumberland Fusiliers soldiers Military personnel from Warwickshire