Joseph O'Gorman (24 May 1863–1 August 1937) was an Irish-born comedian. He formed a popular and innovative

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act, often highlighting differences in their characters' ...

in British

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 ...

s with Joe Tennyson, Tennyson and O'Gorman, in the 1880s and 1890s, before becoming a solo performer. He was also an organiser of theatrical artistes, and was the father of Joe and Dave O'Gorman, "The O'Gorman Brothers".

Life and career

He was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, developed skills as a dancer and singer, and came to England in 1879. He formed a duo with Horace Wheatley, "Joe O'Gorman", ''Music Hall Guild''
Retrieved 1 February 2021 and then, from 1881, with Joseph Tennyson (born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, 12 July 1861–5 September 1926). As Tennyson and O'Gorman, they became one of the leading

acts in Britain, developing the idea of cross-talking. Earlier minstrel acts had used the idea of "Mr Interlocutor" bantering with the other performers, but Tennyson and O'Gorman had both performers at centre stage, Tennyson as the comic and O'Gorman as the foil. They wore

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or ...

s and

frock coat A frock coat is a formal wear, formal men's coat (clothing), coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian era, Victorian and Edwardian era, Edwardian periods (1830s–1910s). ...

s and were often billed as "The Two Irish Gentlemen", countering the racist idea that the Irish were all roughly-dressed and ignorant. As well as performing comic sketches, they sang and danced as a duo, and were also known as "The

Patter Patter is a prepared and practiced speech that is designed to produce a desired response from its audience. Examples of occupations with a patter include the auctioneer, salesperson, dance caller, magician, and comedian. The term may have been a ...

Propagators". Their most successful song, "The Wild Man of Poplar (A Very Pop'lar Ditty)", was a

cumulative tale In a cumulative tale, sometimes also called a chain tale, action or dialogue repeats and builds up in some way as the tale progresses. With only the sparest of plots, these tales often depend upon repetition and rhythm for their effect, and can r ...

starting with "The Wild Man of Poplar has just come to town" and continuing through ten permutations ("the wife of the Wild Man.....", "the child of the wife of the Wild Man...", etc.). Tennyson and O'Gorman peaked in popularity in the early 1890s.Raymond Mander and Joe Mitchenson, ''British Music Hall: A story in pictures'', Studio Vista, 1965, p.112 They toured extensively, including several visits to the United States, Canada and Australia, before ending their partnership in 1901. Tennyson later performed in a double act with William Wallis, and from 1915 worked as a solo act."Death of Joe Tennyson", ''The Stage'', 9 September 1926 O'Gorman became a solo performer, and was also actively involved in the organisation of music hall performers. He was a founder member of the charitable organization, the

Grand Order of Water Rats The Grand Order of Water Rats is a British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation based in London. Founded in 1889 by the music hall comedians Joe Elvin and Jack Lotto, the order is known for its high-profile membership an ...

. He was elected King Rat in both 1898 and 1901, and was later Chief Booker of the Water Rats. With the growth of the music hall and theatre circuit in Britain, and the need to protect performers against undue exploitation by theatre agents and owners, O'Gorman was involved, with Wal Pink and others, in establishing the

Variety Artistes' Federation The Variety Artistes' Federation (VAF) was a trade union representing variety performers in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded on 18 February 1906, after discussions between the show business social club and charity the Grand Orde ...

, becoming the first chairman of the

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. He led the performers in the

Music Hall Strike of 1907 The Music Hall Strike of 1907 was a theatrical dispute which took place between music hall employees, stage artistes and London theatre proprietors. The catalyst for the strikes were the employees' lack of pay, the scrapping of perks, and an inc ...

, which resulted in important legal victories, but this in turn led to him finding work hard to get as agents and theatre owners turned against him. The O'Gorman Brothers, ''ogormanbros.co.uk''
Retrieved 1 February 2021 O'Gorman was also involved, with

Joe Elvin Joe Elvin (born Joseph Peter Keegan; 29 November 1862 – 3 March 1935) was an English comedian and music hall entertainer and a Founder of the Grand Order of Water Rats, a show business charity. With other leading performers he took part in the M ...

, in setting up

Brinsworth House Brinsworth House is a residential and nursing retirement home for theatre and entertainment professionals on Staines Road, Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The house is owned and run by the Royal Variety Cha ...

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

, a care home for retired entertainers which opened in 1911. In 1914, he teamed up again with Wal Pink and

Harry Tate Ronald Macdonald Hutchison (4 July 1872 – 14 February 1940), professionally known as Harry Tate, was an English comedian, who performed in the music halls, in variety shows, and in films. Career Born in Lambeth, the son of a Scottish tea m ...

to form TOP Productions. Their first

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 ...

, ''Irish and Proud of it'', was based around O'Gorman's performances as a comedian, dancer and singer. The show was a success, and was followed by others with a similar approach, ''As Irish as Ever'' and ''Shamrock Time''. O'Gorman later retired as a performer, but made a comeback in 1933 with a Veterans' Variety Company. He was married four times. He married Maggie Coleman in 1887; their two sons, Joe and David, later became a leading comic duo in

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

s as well as radio and films, peaking in popularity between the 1920s and 1940s. Joe and Maggie divorced in 1897; he alleged her misconduct with three named men, while she countered with claims of cruelty and misconduct. Joe then remarried, to Jessie Grace ( Prosser), a slack wire performer known as "The Beautiful Jessica"; she died in 1908. His third marriage, to Irma Berenyi, again ended in divorce, in 1912. In 1923, he married Lily Rose Stone, who outlived him. Joe O'Gorman died in

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People *Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom * Barnes, London, England ** Barnes railway station **Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes High Stree ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in 1937, aged 74, and was buried in

Putney Vale Cemetery Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium in southwest London is located in Putney Vale, surrounded by Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park. It is located within of parkland. The cemetery was opened in 1891 and the crematorium in 193 ...

. In 2014, the Music Hall Guild restored his grave."The final resting place of the famous music hall comedian Joe O'Gorman (1863 - 1937) has been restored", ''Music Hall Guild''
. Retrieved 1 February 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OGorman, Joe 1863 births 1937 deaths Irish male comedians Irish male dancers Irish music hall performers Irish comedy musicians 19th-century Irish male singers 20th-century Irish male singers Comedians from Dublin (city) 1880s in Irish comedy 1890s in Irish comedy 1900s in Irish comedy 1910s in Irish comedy