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Anthony Crespigny Claude Vivian, 5th Baron Vivian (4 March 1906 – 24 June 1991) was a British
impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...
-
restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...
from the
Vivian family Vivian may refer to: *Vivian (name), a given name and also a surname Places * Vivian, Louisiana, U.S. * Vivian, South Dakota, U.S. * Vivian, West Virginia, U.S. * Vivian Island, Nunavut, Canada * Ballantrae, Ontario, a hamlet in Stouffville, On ...
who came to public notice in 1954 when he was shot in the abdomen by
Mavis Wheeler Mavis Wheeler (née Mabel Winifred Mary Wright, also known as Mavis Cole, 1908 – 14 October 1970) was an English artist's model, the mistress of painter Augustus John, and the wife of prankster Horace de Vere Cole and archaeologist Sir Mort ...
(née Mabel Winifred Mary Wright, 1908–1970), the former wife of
Horace de Vere Cole William Horace de Vere Cole (5 May 1881 – 25 February 1936) was an eccentric prankster born in Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland. His most famous prank was the ''Dreadnought'' hoax where he and several others in blackface, pretending to b ...
and of Sir
Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, CH Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire, CIE Military Cross, MC Territorial Decoration, TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeolo ...
, and a former mistress of
Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...
.


Early life

Anthony Crespigny Claude Vivian, 5th Baron Vivian was born on 4 March 1906. He was the son of George Crespigny Brabazon Vivian, 4th Baron Vivian and Barbara Fanning, a former Gaiety Girl. He was educated at Eton.


Career

Vivian worked as a farm labourer in Canada and a publicity manager in San Francisco. He returned to London and became a theatrical and dance band agent. At the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he enlisted in the
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
, but was invalided out in 1940, and succeeded to his title. He became a partner of the impresario
C.B. Cochran Sir Charles Blake Cochran (25 September 1872 31 January 1951), professionally known as C. B. Cochran or Charles B. Cochran, was an English impresario, known for popularising the genre of revue, hitherto unfamiliar, in Britain. Apart from revue, ...
. Their first production was the musical '' Bless the Bride'', which ran for two-and-a-half years, but two other joint ventures failed. In 1952, he was the producer with John Clements of ''
The Happy Marriage ''The Happy Marriage'' is a 1952 comedy play written by the British actor John Clements. Inspired by Jean Bernard-Luc's French play '' Le Complexe de Philémon'', it premiered at the Grand Theatre in Leeds. It then transferred to the Duke of Yor ...
'' at the
Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...
, London. He later had a career in catering. He was a member of the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
from 28 December 1940 until his death on 24 June 1991. He made 90 speeches there; his first recorded speech was on 13 March 1967 and his last on 4 April 1984.


Marriage and children

Lord Vivian married Victoria Ruth Mary Rosamund Oliphant on 8 March 1930. They had three children: *
Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People Given name * Cho Hŏn (1544–1592), Joseon militia leader * Ho Hon (1885–1951), North Korean politician Surname * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French fo ...
Sally Anne Marie Gabrielle Vivian (born 22 September 1930) * Nicholas Crespigny Laurance Vivian, 6th Baron Vivian (11 December 1935 – 28 February 2004) * Hon Victor Anthony Ralph Brabazon Vivian (26 March 1940 - 19 July 2013)


Mavis Wheeler

Vivian commanded tabloid headlines in 1954, when his lover, Mavis Wheeler, the former wife of both Sir
Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, CH Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire, CIE Military Cross, MC Territorial Decoration, TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeolo ...
and
Horace de Vere Cole William Horace de Vere Cole (5 May 1881 – 25 February 1936) was an eccentric prankster born in Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland. His most famous prank was the ''Dreadnought'' hoax where he and several others in blackface, pretending to b ...
, and the mistress of
Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...
, was jailed for six months for shooting him in the abdomen. At Wheeler's trial, the prosecuting counsel said that her love for Lord Vivian was overpowering and that she was jealous of any attention he showed to other women. This love, the prosecution claimed, had led her to shoot him, on 30 July 1954, at a range of three inches, with intent to
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
him at her country cottage at
Potterne Potterne is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. The village is south of Devizes and lies on the A360 which links Devizes to Salisbury. The civil parish includes the hamlet of Potterne Wick. History There is evide ...
, Wiltshire. Giving evidence from his hospital bed in
Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...
, Lord Vivian said he was shot while climbing in a window, having lost the key. He said: "I cannot believe now Mrs. Wheeler wanted to kill me. I was always devoted to her and I still am." He and Wheeler lived together in Chelsea, he said, “happily – except she was often jealous even of certain of his men friends”. Wheeler was found not guilty of attempted murder and shooting with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. She served a six-month prison sentence at Holloway Gaol for unlawful and malicious wounding. On 2 February 1955, she was released from jail and was photographed by the press strolling with Lord Vivian. According to English socialite Nicky Haslam, Wheeler and Lord Vivian got back together after she was released from prison, and "they lived together happily ever after".


References

Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College 1906 births 1991 deaths British shooting survivors
Anthony Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the '' Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descenda ...
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