George Robey

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George Robey
George Robey as the Queen of Hearts
Background information
Birth name:	George Edward Wade
Date of birth:	20 September 1869
Birth location:	Herne Hill, London
Date of death:	29 November 1954
Death location:	Saltdean, Sussex
Genres:	music hall singer, film & theatre actor
Spouse(s):	Blanche Littler Ethel Haydon

George Edward Wade (20 September 1869 – 29 November 1954), better known by his stage name, George Robey, was a British music hall star.

Particularly known for having participated with great enthusiasm in recruitment for the army during World War I in Britain. In one theatre he promised "a shiny florin for every recruit who signs on tonight". (The Slogan - Sidelights on recruiting with Harry Lauder’s Band by Private Joseph Quigley, Simpkin London 1916)

He appeared in April 1916 at the Alhambra Theatre in the musical/revue The Bing Boys Are Here. He was given the leading male part, Lucius Bing, opposite Violet Loraine as Emma. It became one of the most popular musicals of the time. His duet with Loraine If You Were the Only Girl (in the World) became a "signature song" of the era and endured as a pop standard.

Robey also had a brief association with Chelsea Football Club. Following a friendly match involving the club, in which he played and scored, he was awarded an amateur contract.

In December 1905, George Robey brought a team of professional football players to Springfield Park, Wigan for a charity match against Wigan Town (1905-08) in aid of the Chief Constable’s Clog and Stocking Fund.

Robey also appeared in films. Among his most famous roles were Sancho Panza in both the 1923 and 1933 film versions of Don Quixote, as Ali Baba in the 1934 film version of Chu Chin Chow, and as the dying Falstaff in Laurence Olivier's film version of Shakespeare's Henry V (1944 film).