George Grossmith Jr. (11 May 1874 – 6 June 1935) was an English actor, theatre producer and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

, director, playwright and songwriter, best remembered for his work in and with

Edwardian musical comedies Edwardian musical comedy is a genre of British musical theatre that thrived from 1892 into the 1920s, extending beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions. It began to dominate the English musical stage, and even the American musical ...

. Grossmith was also an important innovator in bringing "cabaret" and "

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

s" to the London stage. Born in London, he took his first role on the musical stage at the age of 18 in ''

Haste to the Wedding ''Haste to the Wedding'' is a three-act comic opera with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by George Grossmith, based on Gilbert's 1873 play, ''The Wedding March''. The opera was the most ambitious piece of composition undertaken by Grossm ...

'' (1892), a West End collaboration between his famous songwriter and actor father and

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

. Grossmith soon became an audience favourite playing "dude" roles. Early appearances in musicals included George Edwardes's hit '' A Gaiety Girl'' in 1893, and '' Go-Bang'' and ''

The Shop Girl ''The Shop Girl'' was an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts (described by the author as a musical farce) written by Henry J. W. Dam, with lyrics by Dam and Adrian Ross and music by Ivan Caryll, and additional numbers by Lionel Monckton and Ro ...

'' in 1894. In 1895, Grossmith left the musical stage, instead appearing in straight comedies, but after a few years he returned to performing in musicals and

Victorian burlesque Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody in which a well-known oper ...

s. Early in the new century, he had a string of successes in musicals for Edwardes, including '' The Toreador'' (1901), '' The School Girl'' (1903), '' The Orchid'' (1903), ''

The Spring Chicken ''The Spring Chicken'' is an Edwardian musical comedy adapted by George Grossmith, Jr. from ''Coquin de Printemps'' (1897) by Jaime and Duval, with music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Adrian Ross, Percy Greenbank and Gros ...

'' (1905), '' The New Aladdin'' (1906), ''

The Girls of Gottenberg ''The Girls of Gottenberg'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by George Grossmith, Jr. and L. E. Berman, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Basil Hood, and music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton. P. G. Wodehouse's personal papers indicate ...

'' (1907), '' Our Miss Gibbs'' (1909), '' Peggy'' (1911), '' The Sunshine Girl'' (1912) and '' The Girl on the Film'' (1913). The lanky Grossmith was often comically paired with the diminutive

Edmund Payne Edmund James "Teddy" Payne (14 December 1863 – 15 July 1914), was an English actor, comedian and singer best known for creating comic roles in a series of extremely successful Edwardian musical comedies. He was often paired with the comic act ...

. At the same time, he developed a reputation as a co-writer of musicals and revues, usually adding jokes. Grossmith established himself as a major producer, together with Edward Laurillard, of such hits as '' Tonight's the Night'' (1914), '' Theodore & Co'' (1916) and ''

Yes, Uncle! ''Yes, Uncle!'' is a musical theatre, musical comedy with a book by Austen Hurgon and George Arthurs, music by Nat D. Ayer and lyrics by Clifford Grey. The story is based on the farce ''Le truc du Brésilien'' by Nicolas Nancey and Paul Armont, an ...

'' (1917). He wrote the long-running revue series that began with ''

The Bing Boys Are Here ''The Bing Boys Are Here'', styled "A Picture of London Life, in a Prologue and Six Panels," is the first of a series of revues which played at the Alhambra Theatre, London during the last two years of World War I. The series included ''The Bing B ...

'' (1916), scheduling these projects around his naval service in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He then produced ''

Eastward Ho ''Eastward Hoe'' or ''Eastward Ho!'' is an early Jacobean-era stage play written by George Chapman, Ben Jonson and John Marston. The play was first performed at the Blackfriars Theatre by a company of boy actors known as the Children of th ...

!'' (1919) and produced, co-wrote, directed and sometimes starred in, '' Kissing Time'' (1919), '' A Night Out'' (1920), '' Sally'' (1921), '' The Cabaret Girl'' (1922), '' The Beauty Prize'' (1923) and '' Primrose'' (1924), many of these featuring Leslie Henson. He also continued to appear in other producers' shows, including ''

The Naughty Princess ''The Naughty Princess'' is an opéra bouffe with music by Charles Cuvillier, book by J. Hastings Turner, and lyrics by Adrian Ross. The work, adapted from ''La reine joyeuse'' by Cuvillier and Andre Barde, depicts a princess with very modern idea ...

'' (1920) and '' No, No, Nanette'' (1925). Later, he performed in such pieces as '' Princess Charming'' (1926) and appeared in at least ten films for London Film Productions Ltd., among other films, in the 1930s. He produced '' The Land of Smiles'' and ''

Cavalcade A cavalcade is a procession or parade on horseback, or a mass distance ride by a company of riders. Sometimes the focus of a cavalcade is participation rather than display and the participants do not wear costumes or ride in formation. ...

'' (both in 1931), and in 1933, he played Touchstone in a production of ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

''.

Life and career

George Grossmith was born in Haverstock Hill, London, on 11 May 1874. He was the eldest son of the writer and

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

star

George Grossmith George Grossmith (9 December 1847 – 1 March 1912) was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas, nearly 100 musical ...

, and his mother was Emmeline Rosa, née Noyce. His grandfather was also named "George Grossmith", and even though he was the third George Grossmith, he was credited on stage as "George Grossmith Jnr". His brother was the actor Lawrence Grossmith. Grossmith studied at

University College School University College School, also known as UCS, is a private day school in Frognal, Hampstead, London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views. ...

in London, and in Paris, and his parents hoped that he would follow an army career, but that was not to be. In 1895, Grossmith married

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

and musical comedy actress Gertrude Elizabeth "Cissie" Rudge (1873–1951), whose stage name was Adelaide Astor, and who was one of five actress Rudge Sisters. Letty Lind was the most famous of these. Grossmith and his wife had three children, Ena Sylvia Victoria (1896–1944), who became a stage and film actress; George (1906–c.2000), who became a theatrical manager; and Rosa Mary (1907–1988; she married Col. Edward Harry George 1904–1957, and they had three sons, including John C. G. George).Gänzl, Kurt. "Grossmith, George (1874–1935)" in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press (2004
retrieved 21 Oct 2007
/ref> Grossmith was known for "speaking" songs and for his easy comic grace on stage.Obituary in ''The Times'', 7 June 1935; p. 9 He was tall and gangling, with a "face hardly less extraordinary than his curious legs and a humour as unctuous as his father's at his best."

Early career

Grossmith's first role in a musical was at the age of 18 in a small comic role in his father's collaboration with

, ''

''. He next appeared in several small comic roles, including in ''The Baroness'' (1892). Grossmith's breakthrough came in ''

Morocco Bound ''Morocco Bound'' is a farce, farcical Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by Arthur Branscombe, with music by F. Osmond Carr and lyrics by Adrian Ross. It opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London, on 13 April 1893, under the management of Fr ...

'' (1893), where he made the most of the small role of Sir Percy Pimpleton by adding ad-libbed sight and word gags, becoming an audience favourite and establishing his style of playing aristocratic "silly-ass" or "dude" roles.Berger, Leon. "Grossmith, George Jr.", ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'', Oxford University Press (2nd edition, 2001) This was followed by appearances in '' Go-Bang'' (1894 as Augustus Fitzpoop) and in George Edwardes's production of '' A Gaiety Girl'' (1893 as Major Barclay). He also played in ''Pick-me-up'' at the Trafalgar Square Theatre in 1894 with Jessie Bond and Letty Lind. Edwardes then hired Grossmith to create the part of Bertie Boyd in the hit musical ''

'' (1894). The 21-year-old actor wrote the lyrics to his character's hit song "Beautiful, bountiful Bertie", which he popularised in both London and New York. He eventually appeared in some 20 Edwardes shows, often interpolating his own songs into the shows. Grossmith left the musical stage for about three years, appearing in straight comedies, but he returned in 1898 to take over in the musical ''Little Miss Nobody'' and then as Mark Antony in the burlesque, ''Great Caesar'' (1899), which Grossmith had written with Paul Rubens. The piece was not successful, but he wrote another (also unsuccessful piece), ''The Gay Pretenders'' (1900), in which he included roles for both himself and his famous father, that played at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

with a cast also including John Coates, Frank Wyatt, Letty Lind and Richard Temple. Sunshinegirl1

Grossmith then returned to Edwardes's company as leading comedian, touring in ''Kitty Grey'', and then starred in the Gaiety Theatre's hit '' The Toreador'' (1901). Grossmith supplied some of his own lyrics ("Archie") but scored his biggest hit with Rubens's song "Everybody's Awfully Good to Me." He then played in '' The School Girl'' (1903) and subsequently toured America in the piece, but he mostly remained at the Gaiety for the next dozen years, starring in a number of hits and becoming one of the biggest stars of the

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

era. His roles in these hits included The Hon. Guy Scrymgeour in '' The Orchid'' (1903), Gustave Babori in ''

'' (1905), Genie of The Lamp in '' The New Aladdin'' (1906), Otto, the prince, in ''

'' (1907), Hughie in '' Our Miss Gibbs'' (1909), Auberon Blowand in '' Peggy'' (1911) and Lord Bicester in '' The Sunshine Girl'' (1912). He often performed together with diminutive comic

. From 1904, he was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. Grossmith co-wrote the successful ''

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.A Waltz Dream''. Grossmith was given writing credits for some of the Gaiety pieces, usually adaptations from French comedies (like ''The Spring Chicken'') or collaborations with other writers (such as ''The Girls of Gottenberg''), but he wrote the libretto to ''Peggy'' on his own. His contributions in collaborative pieces were primarily to add in jokes. He adapted '' The Dollar Princess'' (1909) for America (but not London) and also co-wrote some of London's earliest "revues", including the ''Rogues and Vagabonds'', ''Venus'', ''Oh! Indeed'', Empire Theatre's ''Hullo ... London!'' (1910), ''Everybody's Doing It'', ''Kill That Fly!'', ''Eight-pence a Mile'', and ''Not Likely''. In addition to his writing and performing, he sometimes directed these musicals and revues.

Peak producing years

In 1913, Grossmith starred in '' The Girl on the Film'' first in London and then in New York, where he joined with Edward Laurillard, who had earlier produced his musical ''The Love Birds'', to produce plays and musicals. Grossmith established himself as a major producer with Laurillard, bringing ''Potash and Perlmutter'', by Montague Glass, to London in 1914 for a long run at the Queen's Theatre. They then produced the successful '' Tonight's the Night'', based on the farce ''Pink Dominoes'', first at the Shubert Theatre in New York in 1914 and then moved it to the

Gaiety Theatre, London The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand, London, Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre, London, Lyc ...

in 1915. Grossmith played The Hon. Dudley Mitten. Back at the Gaiety Theatre, Grossmith wrote, produced and starred in the hit '' Theodore & Co'' (1916), based on a French comedy. Edwardes had died in 1915, however, and Grossmith was dissatisfied with the offer of the new management under Alfred Butt and Robert Evett, the executor of Edwardes's estate, and so he left the Gaiety and produced three successes, ''Mr Manhattan'', '' Arlette'' (1917), and ''

'' (1917) elsewhere. His ''Oh! Joy (the British adaptation of Oh, Boy!, 1917)'' was also successful. He also wrote the tremendously successful revue series, ''

'' (1916), ''The Bing Girls are There'' (1917) and ''The Bing Boys on Broadway'' (1918). Grossmith fitted his work on all these productions around his naval service in

. Grossmith and Laurillard built their own theatre, the

Winter Garden A winter garden is a kind of garden maintained in wintertime. History The origin of the winter garden dates back to the 17th to 19th centuries where European nobility constructed large conservatories that housed tropical and subtropical pla ...

, on the site of an old

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

. They opened the theatre in 1919 with Grossmith and Leslie Henson starring in '' Kissing Time'' (1919, with a star-studded cast, a book by

P.G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

and

Guy Bolton Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical theatre, musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. B ...

and music by

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later N ...

), followed by '' A Night Out'' (1920). Grossmith and Laurillard also became managers of the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in 1920 (they had produced ''The Only Girl'' there in 1916 and ''Tilly of Bloomsbury'' there in 1919). But expanding their operation caused Grossmith and Laurillard to end their partnership, with Grossmith retaining control of the Winter Garden. Grossmith partnered with Edwardes's former associate, J. A. E. Malone, to produce a series of mostly adaptations of imported shows at the Winter Garden from 1921 to 1926: '' Sally'' (1921), '' The Cabaret Girl'' (1922, with book by Wodehouse and music by

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

), '' The Beauty Prize'' (1923, with Wodehouse and Kern), a revival of '' Tonight's the Night'' (1923), '' Primrose'' (1924, with music by

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

), ''Tell Me More'' (1925, with words by Thompson and music by George Gershwin) and ''Kid Boots'' (1926 with music by Harry Tierney), many of them featuring Leslie Henson. Grossmith co-wrote some of the Winter Garden pieces, directed many of his own productions and starred in several, notably as Otis in ''Sally''. Several of the later productions lost money, and Grossmith and Malone ended the partnership. Grossmith also co-produced Oscar Asche's conception of ''

!'' (1919), ''Baby Bunting'' (both in 1919) and ''Faust on Toast'' (1921) at other theatres during this period. At the same time, in the early 1920s, while appearing less frequently in his own Winter Garden shows, he continued to appear in other shows, including ''

'' (1920), the title role in a revival of '' The Gay Lord Quex'' (1923) and as Billy Early in the original British production of '' No, No, Nanette'' (1925). Around this time, Grossmith also worked as a programme adviser to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, particular involved in comedy programming. He also negotiated on behalf of the BBC with theatre managers over their boycott on songs from plays, when provincial theatre managers had threatened to cancel tour contracts if excerpts from the new plays had already been broadcast by the BBC. Goodoldgaietyhis00holluoft 183

In their joint memoir '' Bring on the Girls!'',

and

relate a story about Grossmith holding auditions for ''Primrose''. The young model-dancer-actress Sylvia Hawkes auditioned:

Later years and legacy

After 1926, Grossmith stopped producing, but he continued to perform, playing King Christian in Albert Szirmai's '' Princess Charming'' (1926) for producer Robert Courtneidge in New York, and Britain in ''The Five o'Clock Girl'' and ''Lady Mary'' (1928). In New York in 1930, and later in London (where it flopped), he starred in Ralph Benatzky's ''My Sister and I'' (aka ''Meet My Sister''). He also appeared in at least ten films for

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 Li ...

in the 1930s. During a brief sojourn in Hollywood, he appeared in several films produced at the Fox Studios, including '' Women Everywhere'' (1930), for which he also supplied the story, and '' Are You There?'' (1930). In 1931–32, Grossmith was appointed managing director of the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

, producing '' The Land of Smiles'' and ''

'', but he resigned in 1932 to devote himself to cinema. In the 1930s, Grossmith appeared in (and wrote the screenplay, in two cases, for) a number of films. In 1933, he played Touchstone in a production of ''

'' in the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park. Also in 1933, he wrote a memoir called ''G. G.'' The following year, he played Horner in ''

The Country Wife ''The Country Wife'' is a Restoration comedy written by William Wycherley and first performed in 1675. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial fo ...

'' at the Ambassadors Theatre. According to musical theatre writer Andrew Lamb, Grossmith :played a particular part in introducing American songs and American musical shows into the British musical theatre. It was George Grossmith Jr., who danced the cakewalk in ''The Toreador'' in 1901, who as lyricist and performer gave

an entree into the London theater in 1906, and who introduced "They Didn't Believe Me" to London in ''To-Night's the Night''... (1915). It was he who co-authored those Empire and Alhambra revues that introduced

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

song to London and he, too, who, as coproducer, gave Kern his first joint composer billing in London with ''Theodore & Co.'' in 1916, presented ''Oh, Joy!'' in 1919, and commissioned ''The Cabaret Girl'' and ''The Beauty Prize'' from Kern and ''Primrose'' from Gershwin. And, finally, it was he who made one of his last appearances in that London production of ''No, No, Nanette'' that preceded the New York opening. The Wodehouse scholar Norman Murphy believes that Grossmith was the inspiration for

Bertie Wooster Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intellige ...

. Grossmith died in a London nursing home at the age of 61. He never received his promised knighthood.

Filmography

;As an actor *''A Gaiety Duet'' (1909) .... Honourable Hugh *''The Argentine Tango and Other Dances'' (1913) *'' Women Everywhere'' (1930) .... Aristide Brown *'' Those Three French Girls'' (1930) .... Earl of Ippleton *'' Are You There?'' (1930) .... Duke of St. Pancras (aka ''Exit Laughing'' (USA)) *'' Service for Ladies'' (1932) .... Mr. Westlake (aka ''Reserved for Ladies'' (USA)) *'' Wedding Rehearsal'' (1932) .... Earl of Stokeshire *'' The Man with the Hispano'' (1933) (as Georges Grossmith) .... Lord Oswill (aka ''The Man in the Hispano-Suiza'' (USA)) *'' L'Épervier'' (1933) .... Erik Drakton (aka ''Amoureux, Les'' (France)) *'' The Girl from Maxim's'' (1933) .... The general *'' The Lady of Lebanon'' (1934) .... Le colonel Hobson *''Princess Charming'' (1934) .... King of Aufland ;As composer *''Women Everywhere'' (1930) (lyrics: "All the Family") ;As screenwriter *'' Women Everywhere'' (1930) (story) *''Wedding Rehearsal'' (1932) (story)

Notes

References

*Gänzl, Kurt. ''The British Musical Theatre'' (Macmillan Press, 1986) *Gänzl, Kurt. ''The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre'' (2nd ed., 2001, Schirmer) * *

External links

Biography of Grossmith
* *

* from '' To-Night's the Night'' (1914)
Plays by George Grossmith
at Great War Theatre {{DEFAULTSORT:Grossmith Jr, George English male singers English male film actors English theatre managers and producers Actor-managers 1874 births 1935 deaths Actors from the London Borough of Camden 20th-century English male actors English male dramatists and playwrights English Freemasons People educated at University College School