Harry Grattan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1880 programme for "Children's Pinafore"

Harry Grattan (c. 1867 - 1951) was a British stage actor, singer, dancer and writer known for his performances in musical comedies around 1900.

[edit] Life and career

Gratton started early as a child actor (along with his sister, Emilie), playing in Rip Van Winkle (1875), Slave Life (1875), Orson in 1876 (a show written for him and his sister by their father, H. P. Grattan), Little Goody Two-Shoes (1876), Little Red Riding Hood; or, Harlequin Grandmama (1877), and Captain Corcoran in the "Children's Pinafore" in 1879-80 at the Savoy Theatre (Emilie played Josephine).

As an adult, he starred in popular Edwardian musical comedies such as Morocco Bound (1894), Go Bang (1894), As in a Looking Glass (1887), Jim the Penman (1887), The Messenger Boy (1900), The Toreador (1902), The Orchid (1904), The Spring Chicken (1905), The New Aladdin (1906, also choreographed by Grattan), Venus (1906), Miss Hook of Holland (1907), and More (1915; for which he was also the lyricist).

As a writer, he produced the book and lyrics for Hitchy-Koo (1917), which was a success on Broadway.[1] and wrote the successful 1918 revue Tabs, with music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Ronald Jeans. He wrote (and sometimes appeared in) a series of revues, including Odds and Ends, Erb and Emma, and Mind Your Backs during the World War I and into the 1920s, some of them produced by Andr Charlot and some with the child star Betty Bolton.