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George Grossmith Jr.

George Grossmith Jr. (11 May 1874 – 6 June 1935) was an English actor, theatre producer and manager, director, playwright and songwriter, best remembered for his work in and with Edwardian musical comedies. Grossmith was also an important innovator in bringing "cabaret" and "revues" 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 (1892), a West End collaboration between his famous songwriter and actor father and W. S. Gilbert.

George Grossmith Jr.
Grossmith (right), with Edmund Payne in 1907
Born(1874-05-11)11 May 1874
Haverstock Hill, London, England
Died6 June 1935(1935-06-06) (aged 61)
Haverstock Hill, London, England
Occupation(s)Theatrical producer, actor, playwright and songwriter
SpouseAdelaide Astor
Parent(s)George Grossmith and Emmeline Rosa Noyce

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 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 burlesques. 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 (1905), The New Aladdin (1906), The Girls of Gottenberg (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. 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! (1917). He wrote the long-running revue series that began with The Bing Boys Are Here (1916), scheduling these projects around his naval service in World War I. He then produced Eastward Ho! (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 (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 (both in 1931), and in 1933, he played Touchstone in a production of As You Like It.

Life and career edit

 
"The Firm of Grossmith and Son"

George Grossmith was born in Haverstock Hill, London, the eldest son of the writer and Gilbert and Sullivan star George Grossmith, 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 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 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).[1]

Grossmith was known for "speaking" songs and for his easy comic grace on stage.[2] 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."[3]

Early career edit

Grossmith's first role in a musical was at the age of 18 in a small comic role in his father's collaboration with W. S. Gilbert, Haste to the Wedding. He next appeared in several small comic roles, including in The Baroness (1892).

Grossmith's breakthrough came in Morocco Bound (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.[2][4] 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.[5] Edwardes then hired Grossmith to create the part of Bertie Boyd in the hit musical The Shop Girl (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.[6] He eventually appeared in some 20 Edwardes shows, often interpolating his own songs into the shows.[4]

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 with a cast also including John Coates, Frank Wyatt, Letty Lind and Richard Temple.[7]

 
Grossmith and Phyllis Dare in The Sunshine Girl

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 era. His roles in these hits included The Hon. Guy Scrymgeour in The Orchid (1903), Gustave Babori in The Spring Chicken (1905), Genie of The Lamp in The New Aladdin (1906), Otto, the prince, in The Girls of Gottenberg (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 Edmund Payne.[2] From 1904, he was a Freemason.[8]

Grossmith co-wrote the successful Havana (1908), while he moved to another Edwardes theatre to play Count Lothar in 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.[1]

Peak producing years edit

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 in 1915. Grossmith played The Hon. Dudley Mitten.[9][10]

 
with Emmy Wehlen in The Girl on the Film

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 Yes, Uncle! (1917) elsewhere. His Oh! Joy (the British adaptation of Oh, Boy!, 1917) was also successful. He also wrote the tremendously successful revue series, The Bing Boys Are Here (1916), The Bing Girls are There (1917) and The Bing Boys on Broadway (1918).[4] Grossmith fitted his work on all these productions around his naval service in World War I.

Grossmith and Laurillard built their own theatre, the Winter Garden, on the site of an old music hall in Drury Lane. 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 and Guy Bolton and music by Ivan Caryll), followed by A Night Out (1920). Grossmith and Laurillard also became managers of the Apollo Theatre in 1920 (they had produced The Only Girl there in 1916 and Tilly of Bloomsbury there in 1919).[11] But expanding their operation caused Grossmith and Laurillard to end their partnership, with Grossmith retaining control of the Winter Garden.[1]

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:[4] Sally (1921), The Cabaret Girl (1922, with book by Wodehouse and music by Jerome Kern), The Beauty Prize (1923, with Wodehouse and Kern), a revival of Tonight's the Night (1923), Primrose (1924, with music by George Gershwin), Tell Me More (1925, with words by Thompson and music by George Gershwin)[12] and Kid Boots (1926 with music by Harry Tierney),[13] 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.[1]

Grossmith also co-produced Oscar Asche's conception of Eastward Ho! (1919),[14] 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 The Naughty Princess (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).[4] Around this time, Grossmith also worked as a programme adviser to the BBC, particular involved in comedy programming.[4] 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.[15]

 
Grossmith onstage at the Gaiety Theatre

In their joint memoir Bring on the Girls!, P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton relate a story about Grossmith holding auditions for Primrose. The young model-dancer-actress Sylvia Hawkes auditioned:

"Must I sing, Mr Grossmith?"

"Yes, Sylvia, you must. All of you have to sing if you want jobs as showgirls in Primrose. The Gershwin score demands it."

"Oh very well," she replied petulantly, and, going down to the floats she handed over a piece of music to the pianist in the pit. The piano struck a chord.

"God save our gracious King,
Long live our noble King,
God save the King."

Grossmith, a strict observer of ritual, rose and stood at attention. His minions rose and stood at attention. Guy, on his way to announce his arrival, stood at attention. As the anthem came to the normal stopping point, George started to sit down, but there is more, much more of the fine old chorale than is generally known. James Carey is credited with a three-stanza version; in another version John Bull ... has expressed the same sentiment in his own way; while James Oswald ... also got into the act. A printing is extant giving them all. Sylvia Hawkes sang them all. The pianist stopped playing, but that didn't stop Sylvia. They wanted her to sing, did they? Well, sing she would. Of course no one dared to call a halt. The national anthem is sacrosanct – especially if you're an actor-manager clinging to the hope of a belated knighthood.[16]

Later years and legacy edit

 
Part of the programme for the Old Gaiety's farewell performance, 1903

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 in the 1930s.[1] 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).[17]

In 1931–32, Grossmith was appointed managing director of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, producing The Land of Smiles and Cavalcade, but he resigned in 1932 to devote himself to cinema.[2] 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 As You Like It in the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park.[18] Also in 1933, he wrote a memoir called G. G. The following year, he played Horner in The Country Wife at the Ambassadors Theatre.[4]

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 Jerome Kern 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 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.[19]

The Wodehouse scholar Norman Murphy believes that Grossmith was the inspiration for Bertie Wooster.[20]

Grossmith died in a London nursing home at the age of 61.[2][21] He never received his promised knighthood.[4]

Filmography edit

 
Grossmith in Our Miss Gibbs
As an actor
As composer
  • Women Everywhere (1930) (lyrics: "All the Family")
As screenwriter

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Gänzl, Kurt. "Grossmith, George (1874–1935)" in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press (2004) retrieved 21 Oct 2007
  2. ^ a b c d e Obituary in The Times, 7 June 1935; p. 9
  3. ^ Hicks, Seymour Hicks: Twenty-Four Years of an Actor's Life (1910), p. 188
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Berger, Leon. "Grossmith, George Jr.", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Oxford University Press (2nd edition, 2001)
  5. ^ Cruickshank, Graeme. "The Life and Loves of Letty Lind" in The Gaiety, Issue 22, Summer 2007
  6. ^ Green, Stanley (1991). Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. p. 378. ISBN 9780306801136.
  7. ^ The Times, 12 November 1900, p. 13, col. G
  8. ^ He joined the Green Room Lodge No. 2957 on 6 April 1904, an actors' lodge which included Leedham Bantock, Fred Terry and Gerald du Maurier among its members. See George Grossmith Jr., United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers, 1751–1921, Ancestry.com (subscription required)
  9. ^ "English Actors Arrive" (PDF). The New York Times. 13 December 1914. p. 14. Retrieved 9 August 2008. George Grossmith heads company...
  10. ^ Howarth, Paul. "To-Night's the Night", American Musical Theatre pages at the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 15 April 2017, retrieved 5 July 2020
  11. ^ Apollo Theatre 13 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Click History tab for information about Grossmith's management of the theatre. Retrieved 15 April 2010
  12. ^ Tell Me More review in The Times, 27 May 1925, p. 14
  13. ^ Kid Boots review in The Times 3 February 1926, p. 12
  14. ^ Eastward Ho! review in The Times, 10 September 1919, p. 8
  15. ^ . Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2007.
  16. ^ Wodehouse and Bolton, Bring on the Girls! (1953), Chapter 13, section 3
  17. ^ Kingsley, Grace (14 January 1930). "Fox Signs George Grossmith". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  18. ^ The Times, 20 June 1933, p. 14
  19. ^ Lamb, Andrew. "From Pinafore to Porter: United States-United Kingdom Interactions in Musical Theater, 1879–1929", American Music, Vol. 4, No. 1, British-American Musical Interactions (Spring, 1986), pp. 34–49, University of Illinois Press, retrieved 18 September 2008
  20. ^ Hastings, Chris and Beth Jones. "The real-life Jeeves, Wooster and master of Blandings Castle finally unmasked", The Sunday Telegraph, 6 January 2008
  21. ^ "George Grossmith, British Actor, Dies". The New York Times. 7 June 1935. p. 25. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

References edit

  • Gänzl, Kurt. The British Musical Theatre (Macmillan Press, 1986)
  • Gänzl, Kurt. The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre (2nd ed., 2001, Schirmer)
  • Grossmith, George (1933). GG. London: Hutchinson.
  • Naylor, S (1913). Gaiety and George Grossmith. London: Stanley Paul.

External links edit

george, grossmith, 1874, june, 1935, english, actor, theatre, producer, manager, director, playwright, songwriter, best, remembered, work, with, edwardian, musical, comedies, grossmith, also, important, innovator, bringing, cabaret, revues, london, stage, born. George Grossmith Jr 11 May 1874 6 June 1935 was an English actor theatre producer and manager director playwright and songwriter best remembered for his work in and with Edwardian musical comedies Grossmith was also an important innovator in bringing cabaret and revues 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 1892 a West End collaboration between his famous songwriter and actor father and W S Gilbert George Grossmith Jr Grossmith right with Edmund Payne in 1907Born 1874 05 11 11 May 1874Haverstock Hill London EnglandDied6 June 1935 1935 06 06 aged 61 Haverstock Hill London EnglandOccupation s Theatrical producer actor playwright and songwriterSpouseAdelaide AstorParent s George Grossmith and Emmeline Rosa NoyceGrossmith 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 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 burlesques 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 1905 The New Aladdin 1906 The Girls of Gottenberg 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 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 amp Co 1916 and Yes Uncle 1917 He wrote the long running revue series that began with The Bing Boys Are Here 1916 scheduling these projects around his naval service in World War I He then produced Eastward Ho 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 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 both in 1931 and in 1933 he played Touchstone in a production of As You Like It Contents 1 Life and career 1 1 Early career 1 2 Peak producing years 1 3 Later years and legacy 2 Filmography 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksLife and career edit nbsp The Firm of Grossmith and Son George Grossmith was born in Haverstock Hill London the eldest son of the writer and Gilbert and Sullivan star George Grossmith and his mother was Emmeline Rosa nee 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 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 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 1 Grossmith was known for speaking songs and for his easy comic grace on stage 2 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 3 Early career edit Grossmith s first role in a musical was at the age of 18 in a small comic role in his father s collaboration with W S Gilbert Haste to the Wedding He next appeared in several small comic roles including in The Baroness 1892 Grossmith s breakthrough came in Morocco Bound 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 2 4 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 5 Edwardes then hired Grossmith to create the part of Bertie Boyd in the hit musical The Shop Girl 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 6 He eventually appeared in some 20 Edwardes shows often interpolating his own songs into the shows 4 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 with a cast also including John Coates Frank Wyatt Letty Lind and Richard Temple 7 nbsp Grossmith and Phyllis Dare in The Sunshine GirlGrossmith 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 era His roles in these hits included The Hon Guy Scrymgeour in The Orchid 1903 Gustave Babori in The Spring Chicken 1905 Genie of The Lamp in The New Aladdin 1906 Otto the prince in The Girls of Gottenberg 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 Edmund Payne 2 From 1904 he was a Freemason 8 Grossmith co wrote the successful Havana 1908 while he moved to another Edwardes theatre to play Count Lothar in 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 1 Peak producing years edit 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 in 1915 Grossmith played The Hon Dudley Mitten 9 10 nbsp with Emmy Wehlen in The Girl on the FilmBack at the Gaiety Theatre Grossmith wrote produced and starred in the hit Theodore amp 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 Yes Uncle 1917 elsewhere His Oh Joy the British adaptation of Oh Boy 1917 was also successful He also wrote the tremendously successful revue series The Bing Boys Are Here 1916 The Bing Girls are There 1917 and The Bing Boys on Broadway 1918 4 Grossmith fitted his work on all these productions around his naval service in World War I Grossmith and Laurillard built their own theatre the Winter Garden on the site of an old music hall in Drury Lane 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 and Guy Bolton and music by Ivan Caryll followed by A Night Out 1920 Grossmith and Laurillard also became managers of the Apollo Theatre in 1920 they had produced The Only Girl there in 1916 and Tilly of Bloomsbury there in 1919 11 But expanding their operation caused Grossmith and Laurillard to end their partnership with Grossmith retaining control of the Winter Garden 1 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 4 Sally 1921 The Cabaret Girl 1922 with book by Wodehouse and music by Jerome Kern The Beauty Prize 1923 with Wodehouse and Kern a revival of Tonight s the Night 1923 Primrose 1924 with music by George Gershwin Tell Me More 1925 with words by Thompson and music by George Gershwin 12 and Kid Boots 1926 with music by Harry Tierney 13 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 1 Grossmith also co produced Oscar Asche s conception of Eastward Ho 1919 14 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 The Naughty Princess 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 4 Around this time Grossmith also worked as a programme adviser to the BBC particular involved in comedy programming 4 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 15 nbsp Grossmith onstage at the Gaiety TheatreIn their joint memoir Bring on the Girls P G Wodehouse and Guy Bolton relate a story about Grossmith holding auditions for Primrose The young model dancer actress Sylvia Hawkes auditioned Must I sing Mr Grossmith Yes Sylvia you must All of you have to sing if you want jobs as showgirls in Primrose The Gershwin score demands it Oh very well she replied petulantly and going down to the floats she handed over a piece of music to the pianist in the pit The piano struck a chord God save our gracious King Long live our noble King God save the King Grossmith a strict observer of ritual rose and stood at attention His minions rose and stood at attention Guy on his way to announce his arrival stood at attention As the anthem came to the normal stopping point George started to sit down but there is more much more of the fine old chorale than is generally known James Carey is credited with a three stanza version in another version John Bull has expressed the same sentiment in his own way while James Oswald also got into the act A printing is extant giving them all Sylvia Hawkes sang them all The pianist stopped playing but that didn t stop Sylvia They wanted her to sing did they Well sing she would Of course no one dared to call a halt The national anthem is sacrosanct especially if you re an actor manager clinging to the hope of a belated knighthood 16 Later years and legacy edit nbsp Part of the programme for the Old Gaiety s farewell performance 1903After 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 in the 1930s 1 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 17 In 1931 32 Grossmith was appointed managing director of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane producing The Land of Smiles and Cavalcade but he resigned in 1932 to devote himself to cinema 2 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 As You Like It in the Open Air Theatre Regent s Park 18 Also in 1933 he wrote a memoir called G G The following year he played Horner in The Country Wife at the Ambassadors Theatre 4 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 Jerome Kern 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 song to London and he too who as coproducer gave Kern his first joint composer billing in London with Theodore amp 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 19 The Wodehouse scholar Norman Murphy believes that Grossmith was the inspiration for Bertie Wooster 20 Grossmith died in a London nursing home at the age of 61 2 21 He never received his promised knighthood 4 Filmography edit nbsp Grossmith in Our Miss GibbsAs an actorA 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 Epervier 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 AuflandAs composerWomen Everywhere 1930 lyrics All the Family As screenwriterWomen Everywhere 1930 story Wedding Rehearsal 1932 story Notes edit a b c d e Ganzl Kurt Grossmith George 1874 1935 in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 2004 retrieved 21 Oct 2007 a b c d e Obituary in The Times 7 June 1935 p 9 Hicks Seymour Hicks Twenty Four Years of an Actor s Life 1910 p 188 a b c d e f g h Berger Leon Grossmith George Jr The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Oxford University Press 2nd edition 2001 Cruickshank Graeme The Life and Loves of Letty Lind in The Gaiety Issue 22 Summer 2007 Green Stanley 1991 Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre Cambridge Massachusetts Da Capo Press p 378 ISBN 9780306801136 The Times 12 November 1900 p 13 col G He joined the Green Room Lodge No 2957 on 6 April 1904 an actors lodge which included Leedham Bantock Fred Terry and Gerald du Maurier among its members See George Grossmith Jr United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers 1751 1921 Ancestry com subscription required English Actors Arrive PDF The New York Times 13 December 1914 p 14 Retrieved 9 August 2008 George Grossmith heads company Howarth Paul To Night s the Night American Musical Theatre pages at the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive 15 April 2017 retrieved 5 July 2020 Apollo Theatre Archived 13 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine Click History tab for information about Grossmith s management of the theatre Retrieved 15 April 2010 Tell Me More review in The Times 27 May 1925 p 14 Kid Boots review in The Times 3 February 1926 p 12 Eastward Ho review in The Times 10 September 1919 p 8 Grossmith George 1925 article Radio the Rival written as Programme Advisor to the BBC Archived from the original on 15 July 2011 Retrieved 27 October 2007 Wodehouse and Bolton Bring on the Girls 1953 Chapter 13 section 3 Kingsley Grace 14 January 1930 Fox Signs George Grossmith Los Angeles Times Retrieved 6 June 2010 The Times 20 June 1933 p 14 Lamb Andrew From Pinafore to Porter United States United Kingdom Interactions in Musical Theater 1879 1929 American Music Vol 4 No 1 British American Musical Interactions Spring 1986 pp 34 49 University of Illinois Press retrieved 18 September 2008 Hastings Chris and Beth Jones The real life Jeeves Wooster and master of Blandings Castle finally unmasked The Sunday Telegraph 6 January 2008 George Grossmith British Actor Dies The New York Times 7 June 1935 p 25 Retrieved 6 June 2010 References editGanzl Kurt The British Musical Theatre Macmillan Press 1986 Ganzl Kurt The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre 2nd ed 2001 Schirmer Grossmith George 1933 GG London Hutchinson Naylor S 1913 Gaiety and George Grossmith London Stanley Paul External links editBiography of Grossmith George Grossmith Jr at the Internet Broadway Database George Grossmith Jr at IMDb Information about Grossmith credits Audio clip of Grossmith singing Murders on YouTube from To Night s the Night 1914 Plays by George Grossmith at Great War Theatre Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Grossmith Jr amp oldid 1207112095, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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