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Gillian Lynne

January 01, 1970

Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne DBE (née Pyrke; 20 February 1926 – 1 July 2018) was an English ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theatre-television director, noted for her theatre choreography associated with two of the longest-running shows in Broadway history, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. At age 87, she was made a DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2014 New Year Honours List.

Dame Gillian Lynne
DBE
Gillian Lynne at the Olivier Awards in 2013
Born
Gillian Barbara Pyrke

(1926-02-20)20 February 1926
Bromley, Kent, England
Died1 July 2018(2018-07-01) (aged 92)
Marylebone, London, England
Occupations
  • Ballerina
  • dancer
  • actress
  • theatre-television director
  • choreographer
Years active1963–2011
Spouses
  • Patrick Back
    (m. 1949; div. 19??)
​
(m. 1980)​

The New London Theatre, where the original West End production of Cats played, was officially renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre in 2018. This made Lynne the first non-royal woman to have a West End theatre named after her.

Early life and education edit

Gillian Barbara Pyrke was born in Bromley, Kent, and was a precocious dance talent from an early age, teaming with her childhood friend Beryl Grey while still at school, and dancing to blot out the tragedy of the violent death of her mother on 8 July 1939 in Coventry (as a result of a car crash along with Edward Turner's first wife), when Lynne was just 13 years old.[1][2]

Lynne's gift for dancing was discovered by a doctor. She had been underperforming at school, so her mother took her to the doctor and explained about her fidgeting and lack of focus. After hearing everything her mother said, the doctor told Lynne that he needed to talk to her mother privately for a moment. He turned on the radio and walked out. He then encouraged her mother to look at Lynne, who was dancing to the radio. The doctor noted that she was a dancer, and encouraged Lynne's mother to take her to dance school.[3]

Dancing career edit

Sadler's Wells Ballet edit

While dancing for Molly Lake's Company (the Ballet Guild) at the People's Palace, Lynne was spotted by Ninette de Valois and asked to join Sadler's Wells Ballet during World War II. With the opening of the Royal Opera House after the War she received her first major solo in Sleeping Beauty on the night of her 20th birthday. She went on to become an admired dramatic ballerina in the soon to be renamed Royal Ballet, renowned for her Black Queen in de Valois's Checkmate, Queen of the Wilis in Giselle and in roles created for her by Frederick Ashton and Robert Helpmann.[citation needed][4]

West End, film and television edit

Leaving Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1951 she was an instant success at the London Palladium as the star dancer and subsequently in the West End in such roles as Claudine in Can-Can at the Coliseum Theatre. She appeared in the film The Master of Ballantrae as Mariane, in which she was cast opposite Errol Flynn and directed by William Keighley.[5] She also appeared as both a dancer and actress on early British Television.[6]

Choreography and direction edit

In her long career as a choreographer and director, Lynne worked on many productions including those from the Royal Opera House, Royal Shakespeare Company and English National Opera as well as many West End and Broadway shows.[2] In 1970 she choreographed and directed the Nottingham Playhouse production of the musical, Love on the Dole. Originally a novel by Walter Greenwood, it was made into a musical starring Eric Flynn and Angela Richards. In 1975 she arrived in Australia to create The Australian Ballet's first work expressly commissioned for television, The Fool on the Hill.[7] She may be best known for her work on the Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals Cats (1981), The Phantom of the Opera (1986) and Aspects of Love (1990).

She was also a prolific television choreographer and director notably for The Muppet Show series and winning the 1987 BAFTA Huw Wheldon Award for her direction and choreography of A Simple Man, which starred Moira Shearer. She choreographed the Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Secret Garden, which ran at Stratford in 2000 and then transferred to the West End, running at the Aldwych Theatre from February 2001 to June 2001.[8]

In 2002, Lynne choreographed the Sherman Brothers' stage musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (based on the 1968 film). It played in London, and later on Broadway in 2005, both times successfully. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang brought her back to the London Palladium after 50 years and she rehearsed cast changes for the show's National UK Tour. Lynne choreographed the 90-minute Las Vegas Production of The Phantom of the Opera which opened in the Summer of 2006, directed I Want to Teach the World to Sing! Gala at Her Majesty's Theatre and musically staged The Imaginary Invalid for the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. in 2008. In September 2009, she was in New York City celebrating a Phantom of the Opera milestone at the Majestic Theatre. During this visit, she worked in a rehearsal with the company of the 2009–2010 international tour of Cats, produced by Troika Entertainment. [citation needed]

In October 2011, Lynne choreographed the 25th Anniversary production of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall. She was both choreographer and director for the musical Dear World, which played an engagement at The Charing Cross Theatre, London, in February and March 2013, and starred Betty Buckley.[9] Her production company[10] continues to produce television, film and stage productions.

Major stage credits edit

Film credits edit

Personal life edit

Lynne married her second husband, actor/singer Peter Land in 1980.

It was love at first sight: they met when he got a part in a production of My Fair Lady that she co-directed in 1978. "He was standing there at the bar, and he was drop-dead gorgeous. We just looked at each other..."

— The Guardian [2]

The first volume of her autobiography, A Dancer in Wartime[12] was published on 3 November 2011 in the UK by Chatto & Windus.

Lynne died on 1 July 2018 at a London hospital from pneumonia, aged 92.[13][14]

Awards, honours and nominations edit

She has won, and been nominated for, numerous awards for her work. She has received the Silver Order of Merit, Golden Rose of Montreux Award, BAFTA, Molière Award and The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award by the Royal Academy of Dance (2001). She received a Special Award at the 2013 Olivier Awards.[15]

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1997 Birthday Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to dance and musical theatre.[16][17]

Lynne was nominated for the Tony Award twice for Choreography, for Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, and for the Drama Desk Award for Cats.[18] She received the Olivier Award in 1981, for Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Musicals, for Cats.[19]

In 2018, The New London Theatre was renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre, making it the first theatre in the West End of London to be named after a non-royal woman.[20]

References edit

  1. ^ Recounted by Dame Beryl Grey in The Independent, 10 March 2002; accessed 22 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Moorhead, Joanna. "'Mummy's still looking after me'" The Guardian, 25 November 2011; accessed 17 March 2014.
  3. ^ Recounted by Sir Ken Robinson in his TED talk, Do schools kill creativity? (starting at 14:50 minutes)
  4. ^ Watts, Graham. "Interview. Gllian Lynne, the Sadler's Wells Ballet years" 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine, ballet.co.uk, October 2009; accessed 17 March 2014.
  5. ^ "'The Master of Ballantrae' Listing" tcm.com, accessed 2 January 2014.
  6. ^ , The New York Times, accessed 2 January 2014.
  7. ^ "Australian Ballet Story" ausballetstory.com.au, accessed 2 January 2014
  8. ^ The Secret Garden Listing 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine albemarle-london.com, accessed 1 January 2014
  9. ^ Gans, Andrew. "'Dear World', Starring Tony Winner Betty Buckley, Will End London Run March 16" 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, 13 March 2013.
  10. ^ Lean Two Productions, gillianlynne.com; accessed 17 March 2014.
  11. ^ Dick Whittington Listing, 1999 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine albemarle-london.com, accessed 1 January 2014
  12. ^ Lynne, Gililan (3 November 2011). A Dancer in Wartime. Chatto & Windus. ISBN 978-0701185992.
  13. ^ Wild, Stephanie. "Director and Choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne Passes Away at 92". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  14. ^ "Gillian Lynne, Choreographer of 'Cats', Is Dead at 92". The New York Times. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  15. ^ Shenton, Mark. "Gillian Lynne and Michael Frayn to Receive Special Awards at Olivier Awards" 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, 24 March 2013.
  16. ^ Gillian Lynne named DBE 30 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine; 19 January 2014; accessed 22 March 2014.
  17. ^ Shenton, Mark. "Angela Lansbury Becomes a Dame in Queen's New Year's Honors; Other Honorees Include Gillian Lynne, Michael Crawford and More" 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, 31 December 2013; accessed 22 March 2014.
  18. ^ "Gillian Lynne – Broadway Cast & Staff". IBDb.com. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  19. ^ "Oivier Winners 1981" 12 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, olivierawards.com; accessed 1 January 2014.
  20. ^ "West End theatre renamed after Cats choreographer Gillian Lynne – BBC News". BBC News. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.

External links edit

  • London Gazette notice of damehood; london-gazette.co.uk; accessed 22 March 2014.
  • Official website
  • Gillian Lynne profile, imdb.com; accessed 17 March 2014.
  • Gillian Lynne at the Internet Broadway Database  
  • Gillian Lynne and Dance on YouTube

January 01, 1970
gillian, lynne, dame, gillian, barbara, lynne, née, pyrke, february, 1926, july, 2018, english, ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, theatre, television, director, noted, theatre, choreography, associated, with, longest, running, shows, broadway, history. Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne DBE nee Pyrke 20 February 1926 1 July 2018 was an English ballerina dancer choreographer actress and theatre television director noted for her theatre choreography associated with two of the longest running shows in Broadway history Cats and The Phantom of the Opera At age 87 she was made a DBE Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 New Year Honours List Dame Gillian LynneDBEGillian Lynne at the Olivier Awards in 2013BornGillian Barbara Pyrke 1926 02 20 20 February 1926Bromley Kent EnglandDied1 July 2018 2018 07 01 aged 92 Marylebone London EnglandOccupationsBallerinadanceractresstheatre television directorchoreographerYears active1963 2011SpousesPatrick Back m 1949 div 19 Peter Land m 1980 wbr The New London Theatre where the original West End production of Cats played was officially renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre in 2018 This made Lynne the first non royal woman to have a West End theatre named after her Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Dancing career 2 1 Sadler s Wells Ballet 2 2 West End film and television 3 Choreography and direction 4 Major stage credits 5 Film credits 6 Personal life 7 Awards honours and nominations 8 References 9 External linksEarly life and education editGillian Barbara Pyrke was born in Bromley Kent and was a precocious dance talent from an early age teaming with her childhood friend Beryl Grey while still at school and dancing to blot out the tragedy of the violent death of her mother on 8 July 1939 in Coventry as a result of a car crash along with Edward Turner s first wife when Lynne was just 13 years old 1 2 Lynne s gift for dancing was discovered by a doctor She had been underperforming at school so her mother took her to the doctor and explained about her fidgeting and lack of focus After hearing everything her mother said the doctor told Lynne that he needed to talk to her mother privately for a moment He turned on the radio and walked out He then encouraged her mother to look at Lynne who was dancing to the radio The doctor noted that she was a dancer and encouraged Lynne s mother to take her to dance school 3 Dancing career editSadler s Wells Ballet edit While dancing for Molly Lake s Company the Ballet Guild at the People s Palace Lynne was spotted by Ninette de Valois and asked to join Sadler s Wells Ballet during World War II With the opening of the Royal Opera House after the War she received her first major solo in Sleeping Beauty on the night of her 20th birthday She went on to become an admired dramatic ballerina in the soon to be renamed Royal Ballet renowned for her Black Queen in de Valois s Checkmate Queen of the Wilis in Giselle and in roles created for her by Frederick Ashton and Robert Helpmann citation needed 4 West End film and television edit Leaving Sadler s Wells Ballet in 1951 she was an instant success at the London Palladium as the star dancer and subsequently in the West End in such roles as Claudine in Can Can at the Coliseum Theatre She appeared in the film The Master of Ballantrae as Mariane in which she was cast opposite Errol Flynn and directed by William Keighley 5 She also appeared as both a dancer and actress on early British Television 6 Choreography and direction editIn her long career as a choreographer and director Lynne worked on many productions including those from the Royal Opera House Royal Shakespeare Company and English National Opera as well as many West End and Broadway shows 2 In 1970 she choreographed and directed the Nottingham Playhouse production of the musical Love on the Dole Originally a novel by Walter Greenwood it was made into a musical starring Eric Flynn and Angela Richards In 1975 she arrived in Australia to create The Australian Ballet s first work expressly commissioned for television The Fool on the Hill 7 She may be best known for her work on the Andrew Lloyd Webber s musicals Cats 1981 The Phantom of the Opera 1986 and Aspects of Love 1990 She was also a prolific television choreographer and director notably for The Muppet Show series and winning the 1987 BAFTA Huw Wheldon Award for her direction and choreography of A Simple Man which starred Moira Shearer She choreographed the Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Secret Garden which ran at Stratford in 2000 and then transferred to the West End running at the Aldwych Theatre from February 2001 to June 2001 8 In 2002 Lynne choreographed the Sherman Brothers stage musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang based on the 1968 film It played in London and later on Broadway in 2005 both times successfully Chitty Chitty Bang Bang brought her back to the London Palladium after 50 years and she rehearsed cast changes for the show s National UK Tour Lynne choreographed the 90 minute Las Vegas Production of The Phantom of the Opera which opened in the Summer of 2006 directed I Want to Teach the World to Sing Gala at Her Majesty s Theatre and musically staged The Imaginary Invalid for the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D C in 2008 In September 2009 she was in New York City celebrating a Phantom of the Opera milestone at the Majestic Theatre During this visit she worked in a rehearsal with the company of the 2009 2010 international tour of Cats produced by Troika Entertainment citation needed In October 2011 Lynne choreographed the 25th Anniversary production of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall She was both choreographer and director for the musical Dear World which played an engagement at The Charing Cross Theatre London in February and March 2013 and starred Betty Buckley 9 Her production company 10 continues to produce television film and stage productions Major stage credits editBallet Guild 1942 1944 Soloist Sadler s Wells Ballet 1944 1951 Leading Soloist London Palladium 1951 1954 Star Dancer Can Can 1954 Claudine New Cranks 1960 Cast Rose Marie 1960 Wanda England Our England 1960 61 Stager Puss in Boots 1962 Queen of Catland Collages 1963 Conceived Director Choreographer Performer Round Leicester Square 1963 Director The Roar of the Greasepaint the Smell of the Crowd 1965 Choreographer Pickwick 1965 Musical Stager Choreographer The Matchgirls 1966 Director Choreographer The Flying Dutchman 1966 Choreographer Bluebeard 1966 Director Choreographer How Now Dow Jones 1967 Choreographer The Midsummer Marriage 1968 Choreographer The Trojans 1969 Choreographer Phil The Fluter 1969 Musical Stager Choreographer Love on the Dole 1970 Director Choreographer Tonight at 8 30 1970 71 Director Ambassador 1971 Musical Stager Choreographer Lillywhite Lies 1971 Director Liberty Ranch 1972 Director Choreographer Once Upon A Time 1972 Director Choreographer The Card 1973 Musical Stager Choreographer Hans Christian Andersen 1974 Musical Stager Choreographer The Fool on the Hill ballet 1975 Choreographer The Comedy of Errors 1976 Musical Stager A Midsummer Night s Dream 1977 Co director As You Like It 1977 Musical Stager The Way of the World 1978 Choreographer My Fair Lady 1978 Musical Stager Choreographer Thuis Best 1978 Director Choreographer Parsifal 1979 Choreographer Once in a Lifetime 1979 Musical Stager Choreographer Songbook 1979 Musical Stager Jeeves Takes Charge 1980 Director Tom Foolery 1980 Director Choreographer To Those Born Later 1981 Director Cats 1981 Associate Director Choreographer La Ronde 1982 Additional Director Alone Plus One 1982 Director Performer The Rehearsal 1983 Director The Phantom of the Opera 1986 Musical Stager Choreographer Cabaret 1986 Director Choreographer Faust 1990 Choreographer Aspects of Love 1990 Choreographer Dance for Life Gala 1991 Director Producer Valentine s Day 1991 Director Choreographer Pickwick 1993 Musical Stager Choreographer That s What Friends Are For 1996 Director Avow 1996 Director What the World Needs Now 1998 Director Choreographer Gigi 1999 Director Choreographer Dick Wittington 1999 Director Choreographer Sadler s Wells 11 The Secret Garden 2000 Musical Stager Choreographer Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 2002 amp 2005 Musical Stager ChoreographerFilm credits editThe Master of Ballantrae 1953 Actress Choreographer The Last Man to Hang 1956 Actress Make Mine a Million 1959 Actress Wonderful Life 1963 64 Musical Stager Choreographer Every Day s a Holiday 1965 Musical Stager Choreographer Three Hats for Lisa 1964 Musical Stager Choreographer Half a Sixpence 1967 Musical Stager Choreographer Mister Ten Per Cent 1967 Choreographer 200 Motels 1971 Musical Stager Mr Love 1972 Stager Choreographer Man of La Mancha 1972 Choreographer Under Milk Wood 1972 Musical Stager Choreographer The Old Curiosity Shop 1974 Musical Stager Yentl 1982 Musical Stager Alice in Wonderland 1985 Choreographer European Vacation 1985 Musical Stager Choreographer Cats 1997 Musical Stager ChoreographerPersonal life editLynne married her second husband actor singer Peter Land in 1980 It was love at first sight they met when he got a part in a production of My Fair Lady that she co directed in 1978 He was standing there at the bar and he was drop dead gorgeous We just looked at each other The Guardian 2 The first volume of her autobiography A Dancer in Wartime 12 was published on 3 November 2011 in the UK by Chatto amp Windus Lynne died on 1 July 2018 at a London hospital from pneumonia aged 92 13 14 Awards honours and nominations editShe has won and been nominated for numerous awards for her work She has received the Silver Order of Merit Golden Rose of Montreux Award BAFTA Moliere Award and The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award by the Royal Academy of Dance 2001 She received a Special Award at the 2013 Olivier Awards 15 She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE in the 1997 Birthday Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire DBE in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to dance and musical theatre 16 17 Lynne was nominated for the Tony Award twice for Choreography for Cats and The Phantom of the Opera and for the Drama Desk Award for Cats 18 She received the Olivier Award in 1981 for Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Musicals for Cats 19 In 2018 The New London Theatre was renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre making it the first theatre in the West End of London to be named after a non royal woman 20 References edit Recounted by Dame Beryl Grey in The Independent 10 March 2002 accessed 22 March 2014 a b c Moorhead Joanna Mummy s still looking after me The Guardian 25 November 2011 accessed 17 March 2014 Recounted by Sir Ken Robinson in his TED talk Do schools kill creativity starting at 14 50 minutes Watts Graham Interview Gllian Lynne the Sadler s Wells Ballet years Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine ballet co uk October 2009 accessed 17 March 2014 The Master of Ballantrae Listing tcm com accessed 2 January 2014 Lynne filmography The New York Times accessed 2 January 2014 Australian Ballet Story ausballetstory com au accessed 2 January 2014 The Secret Garden Listing Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine albemarle london com accessed 1 January 2014 Gans Andrew Dear World Starring Tony Winner Betty Buckley Will End London Run March 16 Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine playbill com 13 March 2013 Lean Two Productions gillianlynne com accessed 17 March 2014 Dick Whittington Listing 1999 Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine albemarle london com accessed 1 January 2014 Lynne Gililan 3 November 2011 A Dancer in Wartime Chatto amp Windus ISBN 978 0701185992 Wild Stephanie Director and Choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne Passes Away at 92 BroadwayWorld com Retrieved 1 July 2018 Gillian Lynne Choreographer of Cats Is Dead at 92 The New York Times 6 July 2018 Retrieved 16 July 2018 Shenton Mark Gillian Lynne and Michael Frayn to Receive Special Awards at Olivier Awards Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine playbill com 24 March 2013 Gillian Lynne named DBE Archived 30 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine 19 January 2014 accessed 22 March 2014 Shenton Mark Angela Lansbury Becomes a Dame in Queen s New Year s Honors Other Honorees Include Gillian Lynne Michael Crawford and More Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine playbill com 31 December 2013 accessed 22 March 2014 Gillian Lynne Broadway Cast amp Staff IBDb com Retrieved 7 November 2018 Oivier Winners 1981 Archived 12 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine olivierawards com accessed 1 January 2014 West End theatre renamed after Cats choreographer Gillian Lynne BBC News BBC News 22 June 2018 Retrieved 23 June 2018 External links editLondon Gazette notice of damehood london gazette co uk accessed 22 March 2014 Official website Gillian Lynne profile imdb com accessed 17 March 2014 Gillian Lynne at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp Gillian Lynne and Dance on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gillian Lynne amp oldid 1209007201, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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