| Fred Karno | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frederick John Westcott 26 March 1866 Exeter, Devon, England, U.K. |
| Died | 18 September 1941 (aged 75) |
| Occupation | Music hall comedian & theatre impresario |
| Spouse | Edith Westcott (1889–1927) Marie Moore (1927–1941) |
Frederick John Westcott (26 March 1866 – 18 September 1941), best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was a theatre impresario of the British music hall.[1] Karno is credited with inventing the custard-pie-in-the-face gag. Among the young comedians who worked for him were Charlie Chaplin and Arthur Jefferson, who later adopted the name of Stan Laurel. These were part of what was known as “Fred Karno's Army”, a phrase still occasionally used in the UK to refer to a chaotic group or organisation. The phrase was also adapted by British soldiers into a trench song in the First World War, as a parody of the hymn The Church's One Foundation.[2] In the Second World War it was adapted as the Anthem of the Guinea Pig Club, the first line becoming “We are McIndoe's Army …”.
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Karno was born in Exeter, Devon, England, in 1866. He worked as a cabinet maker with a workshop in Waterbeer Street. He married Edith and in 1896 his son, Fred Karno, Jr. was born.[3]
In 1904 he visited Tagg's Island and in 1912 he bought the island and the existing hotel. He demolished the original hotel and hired architect Frank Matcham to build The Karsino.[4]
With the advent of cinema, the music hall's popularity declined. As a result of this decline, Karno went bankrupt in 1925.[4]
On 24 May 1927 his wife Edith, from whom he had been separated since 1904, died in her sleep of diabetes. Three weeks later, Karno married his second wife, his long-time partner, Marie Moore. Karno died in 1941 from diabetes, aged 75.[4][1]
His houseboat, the Astoria, on the River Thames at Hampton, Middlesex, is now used as a recording studio by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour.