George Robey

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Sir George Robey

George Robey as the Queen of Hearts
Background information
Birth name(s): George Edward Wade
Date of birth: 20 September 1869(1869-09-20)
Birth location: Herne Hill, London, England
Date of death: 29 November 1954 (aged 85),
Death location: Saltdean, Sussex, England
Genre(s): 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 an English music hall comedian and star. He was marketed as the "Prime Minister of Mirth".

Contents

[edit] Early life

Robey was born into a middle class family – his father George was a civil engineer. His father's foreign assignments lead to his first studies at the University of Leipzig, then Cambridge University. He did not graduate, but joined a firm associated with the Birmingham tramway, as a clerk. He earned small fees from performing music and song at local venues, adopting the stage name "Robey" from a firm of builders, final changing it by deed-poll.[1]

[edit] Stage career

Robey's London début was made at the Royal Aquarium, as assistant to Professor Kennedy, a burlesque mesmerist, in 1891.[2] In this act he sang songs, pretending to be under hypnosis. He was soon performing in his own act, and was booked at the Oxford Music Hall in June 1891, aged 21.[1]

Like many of his time, Robey's act consisted of patter and song, with elaborate stage costumes, often appearing in drag. He was renowned for his double entendres, and ordering his audience to "Desist" and "Kindly temper your hilarity with a modicum of reserve", in the manner adopted by later comedians such as Frankie Howerd. Naturally, these exhortations had the opposite effect.[1]

During World War I he was known for his enthusiastic participation in recruitment drives for the army. In one theatre he promised "a shiny florin for every recruit who signs on tonight".[3] He raised over £500,000 for war charities and at the end of the war he was offered a knighthood for his services, but declined, accepting a CBE.[1]

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 continued to raise money for charity, raising over £2m for war savings in World War II, and in 1954 finally accepted a knighthood.[1]

Robey was also an artist, and a number of pen and ink self-charicatures are in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. He was the uncle of Clara Ada Robins (1897-1983) whose family now reside in Brighton, England.

[edit] Film Work

Robey also appeared in films. Among his most notable roles were Sancho Panza in both the 1923[4] and 1933[5] film versions of Don Quixote, as Ali Baba in the 1934 film version of the musical comedy Chu Chin Chow[6], and as the dying Falstaff in Laurence Olivier's film version of Shakespeare's Henry V .[7]

Robey appeared in the early sound films And Very Nice Too[8] and Good Queen Bess[9] (both 1913), made in the Kinoplasticon process, where the film was synchronized with phonograph records. He also wrote and starred in two Lee De Forest Phonofilm sound-on-film productions, Safety First (1928)[10] and Mrs. Mephistopheles (1929).[11]

[edit] Footballing interests

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".

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e George Robey biography (It's Behind You! Music Hall history) accessed 26 May 2008
  2. ^ The Royal Aquarium (Arthur Lloyd theatre history) accessed 26 May 2008
  3. ^ Incident recounted in The Slogan - Sidelights on recruiting with Harry Lauder’s Band by Private Joseph Quigley (Simpkin London 1916)
  4. ^ Don Quixote (1923) at the Internet Movie Database
  5. ^ Don Quixote (1933) at the Internet Movie Database
  6. ^ Chu-Chin-Chow (1934) at the Internet Movie Database
  7. ^ Henry V (1944) at the Internet Movie Database
  8. ^ And Very Nice Too (1913) at the Internet Movie Database
  9. ^ Good Queen Bess (1913) at the Internet Movie Database
  10. ^ Safety First (1928) at the Internet Movie Database
  11. ^ Mrs Mephistopheles (1929) at the Internet Movie Database

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Robey, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wade, George Edward
SHORT DESCRIPTION English music hall singer, film & theatre actor
DATE OF BIRTH 20 September 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH Herne Hill, London, England
DATE OF DEATH 29 November 1954
PLACE OF DEATH Saltdean, Sussex, England