Sir Brian Kenneth "Napper" Dean Paul, 6th Baronet Paul of Rodborough (1904–1972) was a member of the "

Bright Young Things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a group of Bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in London during the Roaring Twenties. The name was given to them by the tabloid press. They threw flamboyant fancy dress part ...

" social scene, together with his sister Brenda Dean Paul.

Biography

Brian Kenneth Dean Paul, known as "Napier" or "Napper", was born in 1904, the son of Sir Aubrey Edward Henry Dean Paul, 5th Baronet, and Irene Regina "

Poldowski Poldowski was the professional pseudonym of a Belgian-born British composer and pianist born Régine Wieniawski (16 May 187928 January 1932), daughter of the Polish violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski. Some of her early works were publishe ...

" Wieniawski. He got his nickname from his habit of falling asleep in doorways due to a serious drug addiction; like his younger sister, the socialite and sometime actress Brenda Dean Paul, he was an alcoholic and

opiate An opiate is an alkaloid substance derived from opium (or poppy straw). It differs from the similar term ''opioid'' in that the latter is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain ( ...

user. In 1930 Napper Dean Paul took over the grill-room of a restaurant in

Burlington Gardens Burlington Gardens is a street in central London, on land that was once part of the Burlington Estate. Location The street is immediately to the north of the Royal Academy of Arts and joins Old Bond Street and New Bond Street in the west and ...

, which he named "The Breakfast-Room". He specialized in a supper-breakfast menu of Anglo-American dishes, with dancing and a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

. Dean Paul also published a volume of poems, called ''Patchwork''. In 1931 he was involved in a scandal that was to lead his sister to prison.

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

described Napper Dean Paul as a "young man of effeminate habits and manners, who does not appear to follow any occupation". In the late 1930s he was friends with

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

. Together with his sister Brenda, he frequented the

Gargoyle Club The Gargoyle Club was a private club on the upper floors of 69 Dean Street, Soho, London, at the corner with Meard Street. It was founded on 16 January 1925 by the aristocratic socialite David Tennant (aristocrat), David Tennant, son of the Ba ...

, owned by

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

, Brenda's lover and brother of Stephen Tennant. He was also a friend of Anna Wickham, whom he knew from frequenting the Kleifeldts' tavern. Dean Paul was gay, and Ken Leech recalled meeting him at the Golden Lion, a well-known gay pub in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

. Nevertheless, in 1937, he married the pianist

Muriel Lillie Muriel may refer to: Places *Muriel de Zapardiel, a municipality in the province of Valladolid, Spain *Muriel, Zimbabwe, a settlement *Muriel Lake, British Columbia, Canada *Muriel Lake (Alberta), Canada *Muriel Peak, a summit in California Peopl ...

, widow of

Arthur Weigall Arthur Edward Pearse Brome Weigall (1880 – 3 January 1934) was an England, English Egyptologist, stage designer, journalist and author whose works span the whole range from histories of Ancient Egypt through historical biographies, guide-book ...

and sister of

Beatrice Lillie Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1989) was a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedy performer. She began to perform as a child with her mother and sister. She made her West End debut in 1914 and soon gain ...

. He was also a

cross-dresser Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

, and supported himself with petty crimes, even if in the early 1930s he tried a career as interior designer. In 1941 he went to work for Kensington ARP, thanks to the recommendation of

Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley George Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley ( ; 24 April 1919 – 13 March 1990), styled Earl of Rocksavage from 1923 until 1968, was a British peer who served as Lord Great Chamberlain of England between 1968 and 1990. Life and ...

, a friend and head of the association. In the 1950s he was friends with the painter

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. His early career as a painter was inf ...

, who took his portrait in 1954. Following his father's death in 1961, Dean Paul inherited the family title and was listed in police records as Sir Brian Kenneth Dean Paul. He died in 1972, and the Paul baronetcy became extinct.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean Paul, Brian Kenneth 1904 births 1972 deaths 20th-century English poets

306 __NOTOC__ Year 306 ( CCCVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1059 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...

English people of Polish-Jewish descent English socialites British gay writers Male-to-female cross-dressers 20th-century English LGBTQ people