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Frederick Lonsdale

April 26, 2024

Frederick Lonsdale (5 February 1881 – 4 April 1954) was a British playwright known for his librettos to several successful musicals early in the 20th century, including King of Cadonia (1908), The Balkan Princess (1910), Betty (1915), The Maid of the Mountains (1917), Monsieur Beaucaire (1919) and Madame Pompadour (1923). He also wrote comedy plays, including The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1925) and On Approval (1927) and the murder melodrama But for the Grace of God (1946). Some of his plays and musicals were made into films, and he also wrote a few screenplays.

Frederick Lonsdale
Lonsdale in 1908
Born5 February 1881
St Helier, Jersey
Died4 April 1954 (aged 73)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Occupationplaywright

Personal life edit

Lonsdale was born Lionel Frederick Leonard in St Helier, Jersey, the son of Susan (née Belford) and John Henry Leonard, a tobacconist.[1][2] He began as a private soldier and worked for the London and South Western Railway. His daughters included his biographer Frances Donaldson and Angela Worthington (who was born illegitimately, through his relationship with Muriel Rose Morice),[3][4] while his grandsons included the actors Edward and James Fox, and the film producer Robert Fox.

Career edit

 
Cover of the vocal score for King of Cadonia.
 
Scene from Lonsdale's play Spring Cleaning as performed at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm in 1925.

Frank Curzon produced the young Lonsdale's first work, the musical King of Cadonia (1908). Lonsdale's more substantial than usual dialogue for the show's Ruritanian comic opera plot won King of Cadonia fine notices and helped the musical to a long career. His next success was also for Curzon, The Balkan Princess (1910); this was little more than King of Cadonia with the sexes reversed, but it enjoyed a good London run, a long and wide provincial tour, and foreign productions.

Lonsdale's next success was five years later, for George Edwardes, with Betty (1915). Following Edwardes's death, he submitted to Edwardes' executor, Robert Evett, a text that Curzon had rejected, The Maid of the Mountains (1917; revived in 1920), which became one of the phenomenally successful wartime shows in London, establishing itself as a classic of the British musical stage.

Lonsdale continued to write some musicals after the war. He adapted Booth Tarkington's Monsieur Beaucaire (1919, with music by André Messager) as a highly successful light opera and Jean Gilbert's Die Frau im Hermelin (1922, The Lady of the Rose) and Katja, die Tänzerin (1925), as well as Leo Fall's Madame Pompadour (1923). He also wrote the successful original book to the Parisian tale of The Street Singer (based on a 1912 film of the same name for Phyllis Dare (1924) and Lady Mary (1928).

He also began to write straight comedies, and his plays included Aren't We All? (1923), Spring Cleaning (1925), The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1925, which ran for 514 performances), On Approval (1927), Canaries Sometimes Sing (1929) and Let Them Eat Cake (a.k.a. Half a Loaf) among others. In 1946 he had a further West End hit with the murder melodrama But for the Grace of God. His last play, The Way Things Go, was written in 1949, more than 40 years after his first stage work and five years before his death in London from a heart attack. It was staged in 1950 with a cast including Kenneth More and Glynis Johns and ran for 155 performances in the West End.

Selected filmography edit

Screenwriter edit

Further reading edit

  • Biography: Donaldson, F: Freddy Lonsdale (Heinemann, London, 1957)

References edit

  • Aren't We all full text on internet archive
  • Let them eat cake full text on internet archive
  • The last of Mrs Cheney full text on gutenberg
  1. ^ Weintraub, Stanley; Cengage, Gale (1982). Modern British dramatists, 1900–1945 – Stanley Weintraub – Google Books. ISBN 9780810309371. Retrieved 5 August 2013 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Frederick Lonsdale Biography. BookRags.com. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Featured Articles – Emilia Fox". TheGenealogist.co.uk. 31 July 1974. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  4. ^ Nick Barratt 12:01AM BST 26 May 2007 (26 May 2007). "Family detective". Telegraph. Retrieved 5 August 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links edit

  • Works by Frederick Lonsdale at Faded Page (Canada)
  • Works by or about Frederick Lonsdale at Internet Archive
  • Frederick Lonsdale at the Internet Broadway Database  
  • . Archived from the original on 1 June 2004. Retrieved 1 June 2004.
  • Frederick Lonsdale at IMDb  
  • Two plays by Frederick Lonsdale at Great War Theatre

April 26, 2024
frederick, lonsdale, february, 1881, april, 1954, british, playwright, known, librettos, several, successful, musicals, early, 20th, century, including, king, cadonia, 1908, balkan, princess, 1910, betty, 1915, maid, mountains, 1917, monsieur, beaucaire, 1919,. Frederick Lonsdale 5 February 1881 4 April 1954 was a British playwright known for his librettos to several successful musicals early in the 20th century including King of Cadonia 1908 The Balkan Princess 1910 Betty 1915 The Maid of the Mountains 1917 Monsieur Beaucaire 1919 and Madame Pompadour 1923 He also wrote comedy plays including The Last of Mrs Cheyney 1925 and On Approval 1927 and the murder melodrama But for the Grace of God 1946 Some of his plays and musicals were made into films and he also wrote a few screenplays Frederick LonsdaleLonsdale in 1908Born5 February 1881St Helier JerseyDied4 April 1954 aged 73 London EnglandNationalityBritishOccupationplaywright Contents 1 Personal life 2 Career 3 Selected filmography 3 1 Screenwriter 4 Further reading 5 References 6 External linksPersonal life editLonsdale was born Lionel Frederick Leonard in St Helier Jersey the son of Susan nee Belford and John Henry Leonard a tobacconist 1 2 He began as a private soldier and worked for the London and South Western Railway His daughters included his biographer Frances Donaldson and Angela Worthington who was born illegitimately through his relationship with Muriel Rose Morice 3 4 while his grandsons included the actors Edward and James Fox and the film producer Robert Fox Career edit nbsp Cover of the vocal score for King of Cadonia nbsp Scene from Lonsdale s play Spring Cleaning as performed at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm in 1925 Frank Curzon produced the young Lonsdale s first work the musical King of Cadonia 1908 Lonsdale s more substantial than usual dialogue for the show s Ruritanian comic opera plot won King of Cadonia fine notices and helped the musical to a long career His next success was also for Curzon The Balkan Princess 1910 this was little more than King of Cadonia with the sexes reversed but it enjoyed a good London run a long and wide provincial tour and foreign productions Lonsdale s next success was five years later for George Edwardes with Betty 1915 Following Edwardes s death he submitted to Edwardes executor Robert Evett a text that Curzon had rejected The Maid of the Mountains 1917 revived in 1920 which became one of the phenomenally successful wartime shows in London establishing itself as a classic of the British musical stage Lonsdale continued to write some musicals after the war He adapted Booth Tarkington s Monsieur Beaucaire 1919 with music by Andre Messager as a highly successful light opera and Jean Gilbert s Die Frau im Hermelin 1922 The Lady of the Rose and Katja die Tanzerin 1925 as well as Leo Fall s Madame Pompadour 1923 He also wrote the successful original book to the Parisian tale of The Street Singer based on a 1912 film of the same name for Phyllis Dare 1924 and Lady Mary 1928 He also began to write straight comedies and his plays included Aren t We All 1923 Spring Cleaning 1925 The Last of Mrs Cheyney 1925 which ran for 514 performances On Approval 1927 Canaries Sometimes Sing 1929 and Let Them Eat Cake a k a Half a Loaf among others In 1946 he had a further West End hit with the murder melodrama But for the Grace of God His last play The Way Things Go was written in 1949 more than 40 years after his first stage work and five years before his death in London from a heart attack It was staged in 1950 with a cast including Kenneth More and Glynis Johns and ran for 155 performances in the West End Selected filmography editThe Fast Set directed by William C deMille 1924 based on the play Spring Cleaning A Kiss in the Dark directed by Frank Tuttle 1925 based on the play Aren t We All The Fake directed by Georg Jacoby UK 1927 based on the play The Fake The Last of Mrs Cheyney directed by Sidney Franklin 1929 based on the play The Last of Mrs Cheyney The Lady of Scandal directed by Sidney Franklin 1930 based on the play The High Road On Approval directed by Tom Walls UK 1930 based on the play On Approval Canaries Sometimes Sing directed by Tom Walls UK 1931 based on the play Canaries Sometimes Sing Women Who Play directed by Arthur Rosson UK 1932 based on the play Spring Cleaning Aren t We All directed by Harry Lachman UK 1932 based on the play Aren t We All The Maid of the Mountains directed by Lupino Lane UK 1933 based on the musical The Maid of the Mountains Leave It to Smith directed by Tom Walls UK 1933 based on the play Never Come Back The Last of Mrs Cheyney directed by Richard Boleslawski 1937 based on the play The Last of Mrs Cheyney On Approval directed by Clive Brook UK 1944 based on the play On Approval The Law and the Lady directed by Edwin H Knopf 1951 based on the play The Last of Mrs Cheyney The Last of Mrs Cheyney directed by Franz Josef Wild de West Germany 1961 based on the play The Last of Mrs Cheyney Screenwriter edit The Devil to Pay dir George Fitzmaurice 1930 Lovers Courageous dir Robert Z Leonard 1932 Bad Subject dir Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia 1933 Italian remake of The Devil to Pay The Private Life of Don Juan dir Alexander Korda 1934 Further reading editBiography Donaldson F Freddy Lonsdale Heinemann London 1957 References editAren t We all full text on internet archive Let them eat cake full text on internet archive The last of Mrs Cheney full text on gutenberg Weintraub Stanley Cengage Gale 1982 Modern British dramatists 1900 1945 Stanley Weintraub Google Books ISBN 9780810309371 Retrieved 5 August 2013 via Google Books Frederick Lonsdale Biography BookRags com 2 November 2010 Retrieved 5 August 2013 Featured Articles Emilia Fox TheGenealogist co uk 31 July 1974 Retrieved 5 August 2013 Nick Barratt 12 01AM BST 26 May 2007 26 May 2007 Family detective Telegraph Retrieved 5 August 2013 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link External links editWorks by Frederick Lonsdale at Faded Page Canada Works by or about Frederick Lonsdale at Internet Archive Biography of Lonsdale Frederick Lonsdale at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp Profile of Lonsdale including information about his comedies Archived from the original on 1 June 2004 Retrieved 1 June 2004 Frederick Lonsdale at IMDb nbsp Two plays by Frederick Lonsdale at Great War Theatre Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frederick Lonsdale amp oldid 1212956123, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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