Albert Whelan (5 May 1875 – 19 February 1961) was an Australian popular singer and entertainer, who was prominent in the English music hall during the first half of the 20th century.[1]
Albert Whelan
Like his contemporary and fellow music-hall artist Florrie Forde, Whelan was born in Melbourne, in 1875.[2] Early in his career, Whelan moved to Western Australia, where he found fame as a singer and dancer, entertaining the miners working the gold fields. At the turn of the 20th century, he emigrated to Britain, making his debut in a novelty dance act at the Empire, Leicester Square. He rapidly honed his act, and settled on a style which would vary little over his career, although his ability to update the content of his act ensured his career was both long and successful, lasting well into his eighties.[3] Whelan was acknowledged as one of the first entertainers to have a signature tune, appearing on-stage (and exiting at the end of his act) whistling Robert Vollstedt's waltz from Die Lustige Brüder (The Jolly Brothers). Immaculately dressed in bow-tie and tails, he sang, danced and played the piano. He was an excellent mimic, and adapted easily to changing vocal styles.[4]
His recording career spanned the first half of the 20th century, from The Whistling Bowery Boy in 1905 to his final recordings made in 1960.[5] He also had minor roles in a number of British films of the 1930s and 1940s.[6] His son was the pianist Gordon Whelan.[7]
Whelan was a member of the exclusive entertainers' fraternity, the Grand Order of Water Rats and served as "King Rat" for one year in 1948.[1]
albert, whelan, 1875, february, 1961, australian, popular, singer, entertainer, prominent, english, music, hall, during, first, half, 20th, century, like, contemporary, fellow, music, hall, artist, florrie, forde, whelan, born, melbourne, 1875, early, career, . Albert Whelan 5 May 1875 19 February 1961 was an Australian popular singer and entertainer who was prominent in the English music hall during the first half of the 20th century 1 Albert Whelan Like his contemporary and fellow music hall artist Florrie Forde Whelan was born in Melbourne in 1875 2 Early in his career Whelan moved to Western Australia where he found fame as a singer and dancer entertaining the miners working the gold fields At the turn of the 20th century he emigrated to Britain making his debut in a novelty dance act at the Empire Leicester Square He rapidly honed his act and settled on a style which would vary little over his career although his ability to update the content of his act ensured his career was both long and successful lasting well into his eighties 3 Whelan was acknowledged as one of the first entertainers to have a signature tune appearing on stage and exiting at the end of his act whistling Robert Vollstedt s waltz from Die Lustige Bruder The Jolly Brothers Immaculately dressed in bow tie and tails he sang danced and played the piano He was an excellent mimic and adapted easily to changing vocal styles 4 His recording career spanned the first half of the 20th century from The Whistling Bowery Boy in 1905 to his final recordings made in 1960 5 He also had minor roles in a number of British films of the 1930s and 1940s 6 His son was the pianist Gordon Whelan 7 Whelan was a member of the exclusive entertainers fraternity the Grand Order of Water Rats and served as King Rat for one year in 1948 1 He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1957 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre citation needed Selected filmography EditAn Intimate Interlude 1928 short film made in the sound on film Phonofilm process Matinee Idol 1933 Stars on Parade 1936 Action for Slander 1937 The Girl in the Taxi 1937 Stardust 1938 Danny Boy 1941 References Edit a b Biography of a Water Rat Gowr co uk Retrieved 4 September 2020 Albert Whelan BFI Albert Whelan The Whistling Boy Windyridge VAR16 www musichallcds co uk Albert Whelan Albertwhelan com Retrieved 4 September 2020 Albert Whelan Songs AllMusic Albert Whelan Movies and Filmography AllMovie Pathe British Albert Whelan www britishpathe com External links EditAlbert Whelan at IMDb Albert Whelan cylinder recordings from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive at the University of California Santa Barbara Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Albert Whelan amp oldid 1132911355, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
