The Music Hall and Theatre History Website

Homepage - Site index - Contact me

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Philip Paine writes on his quest to find all the Plaques in London which are dedicated to Music Hall and Variety artistes. (Edited from an article by Philip which was originally published in the Max Miller Appreciation Society's magazine"There'll Never Be Another")

I have established that there are many of these plaques which are dotted right across the capital, some were placed by The Dead Comics Society, but, as I was later to find out, not all plaques listed by this group are on the long list of official blue plaques, and an annoying fact is that a few of them are placed so high as to be missed by all passers-by. Whilst on the theme of facts, another that should be noted, is that the plaques have been placed by different organisations viz; English Heritage, Greater London Council, The Dead Comics Society and The Vauxhall Society. All are welcome however.

Right - Charlie Chaplin (Dead Comics Society) - 39 Methley Street , Kennington.

I decided to start my quest by bagging two (of the three) to Charlie Chaplin in the Kennington area. On my chosen day, the heavens opened and I was wet through come mid-afternoon. This was offset however as I quickly found the plaque on 39 Methley Street placed there by the Dead Comics Society. The road is narrow and tucked in amongst a labyrinth of such streets close to the busy Kennington Road and is a small area of historical tranquillity.

For the second plaque I ventured into the rain-drenched Kennington Road, and thankfully only had to run about a hundred yards along its length to number 287 where I found the plaque erected by the Vauhall Association. I had to open an iron gate and venture up the path, but as all appeared quiet I did not cause any alarm and quickly snapped my photograph and left.

Left - Charlie Chaplin (Vauhall Society) - Kennington Lane, Kennington.

The next day, with the weather far better I decided to venture north from my office in central London. I travelled by tube to Highbury and Islington and walked to Englefield Road, a wide tree-lined road and quickly found number 136. On this four-floored house is a well-crafted blue plaque with Greater London Council around its edge, to the memory of George Leybourne - "Champagne Charlie", who died in his early forties. He was born in Newcastle, and began his career in the northern music halls, and his first professional appearance in London came at the Whitechapel Music Hall in 1864.

Champagne Charlie was first performed at the Sun Music Hall, Knightsbridge in 1867 when he entered in top hat and tails, dressed in immaculate evening dress, with gloves, cane, and scarf, waving a bottle of vintage Moet & Chandon. He wrote the words for many hits of the era, e.g. The Flying Trapeze in 1867, and the year before he began endorsing Champagne and his efforts did much to extol its perceived virtues. His daughter Florrie married Music-Hall performer Albert Chevalier (featured later in this article) and she was the inspiration for his hit "My Old Dutch." George died in Islington and he is buried in Abney Park Cemetery in London.

Right - George Leybourne - 136 Englehart Road, Islington.

It took me ten minutes to walk to the other end of the road, where I boarded a number 149 bus back south and got off near Liverpool Street railway station. As the commuters poured out of their offices I zigzagged through the narrow local streets and found Hanbury Street, just off Commercial Street. This street is infamous as the scene of what is accepted as the second murder (of Annie Chapman) committed by "Jack the Ripper". Her body was found in the backyard of number 29, just a few doors up and across the road from number 12, where Bud Flanagan was born just 8 year after The Ripper's reign of terror. An English Heritage plaque graces the building, but due to its height, affixed to the first-floor, virtually everybody who passes below, misses this informative plaque.

Flanagan (Born Chaim Reuven Weintrop and of Polish Jewish parents) went to school in Petticoat Lane and by the age of 10 was working at The Cambridge Music Hall. In 1908 he took part in a talent contest at Shoreditch's London Music Hall performing conjuring tricks as Fargo, The Boy Wizard. Two years later he sailed to New York, jumped ship and earned his living as a Western Union messenger, in a feather-duster factory, and selling newspapers, and returned in 1915 whereupon he joined The Royal Field Artillery in France. Here he met the unpopular Sergeant-Major from whom he later adopted his stage name. In 1919, he formed a comedy double act, Flanagan and Roy. The rest, as they say "is history".

Left - Bud Flanagan - 12 Hanbury Street, (off Commercial Street) and near Liverpool St R Stn, Whitechapel. This is where the Ripper struck a few times and he murdered one lady a few doors up from Flanagan's home.

In two days I had bagged four of the plaques on my "hit-list" and all had been born in the Victorian era. I went in search of my fifth one the following day, straight from work and ventured along the central line to Shepherd's Bush station. A short walk around a large roundabout took me to St Ann's Villa's, a smart road with many grand and imposing houses. On arrival at number 1 in this smart street I expected to find a plaque to the memory of Albert Chevalier, but the venue, a large four-floor with a white façade was to give me my fist knock-back, as there was no plaque to be found. I sent off an e-mail to the company who list the various blue-plaques on the Internet, but to date they have not replied.

The following morning I had to visit a friend who lives in Walworth so decided that as I was in the area, I may as well photograph the third plaque to Charlie Chaplin which is affixed on high at the junction of Walworth Road and East Street. Although Chaplin moved around a lot as a child, it is known that he lived in East Street.

Right - Charlie Chaplin - High up on a wall of East St junction with Walworth Road, Walworth.

There is also a worthwhile piece of trivia relating to the late Chaplin. His birth was never registered and thus he has no birth certificate. My mother worked in the local Registry Office and was aware of famous locals i.e. Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, a.k.a. Michael Caine, and Michael Keiran Parker, a.k.a. Michael Barrymore; yet she could never find Chaplin's birth certificate. When the film of his life was being planned, one of the film directors came into her office to ask for a copy of his birth-certificate and left empty handed.

After some more lateral thinking and more searching for web-sites on the Internet, I have been able to find many more plaques that may be of interest to readers of this page. Sadly only one was to be found in Southeast London, the area of the capital that I know best, so I had to plan three ventures into parts of the capital that I was unfamiliar with. Some were found in North London, some in Southwest London and some in what may be described as central, and the last one came when I travelled to east London.

One came to my attention, following a visit to a neighbour to deposit some cricket books. He was interested in my research on stage names from the past and memorials to them, and added "You've seen the plaque to Lillie Langtry near Sloane Square?" I had to explain that I had not found that one, so I added it the others that I was out to seek.

I crossed the underground line and after a brisk ten minute walk found the wide and tree-lined Torrington Park; where at number 85 a plaque had been unveiled by The Heritage Foundation in 1995 to the memory of Eric Morecambe, who lived at the address.

Left - Eric Morecambe at 85 Torrington Park.

It is an impressive and sizeable old house, but the plaque, despite its large size, is hidden from view from the street. If you approach the property and reach the porch to ring the bell, the said blue circular plaque is on the left hand wall, inside the porch area. I did not venture up the path to get a closer look, but must add that it does look an impressive one. I must question why folk put plaques in places where the public are unable to see them. The position of this plaque is worse than previous ones that I have found high up; at least the latter can be seen from the street.

I then travelled south a few stations to reach Camden Town and changed to the other part of the Northern line, and once again headed north. I got off at Brent Cross station and crossed the nearby and very busy North Circular Road by footbridge, and within seconds saw Shirehill Park, where at 93 I found a plaque for "Little Tich".

Right - Little Tich - 93 Shirehill Park, Brent Cross.

This huge house is about forty yards from the North Circular Road, and at the bottom of the garden the underground trains pass by, across a brick bridge. It is plagued by noise and close by are some large houses, all boarded up and ready for demolition. The plaque, affixed on the first floor level, shows "Little Tich (Harry Relph) 1867-1928 Music Hall Comedian lived and died here." It was erected by The Greater London Council.

Little Tich was noted for his various characters, including The Spanish Senora, The Gendarme, and The Tax Collector, but perhaps best known for his Big Boot dance, which involved a pair of 28-inch boots. He was also a renowned pantomime dame; and in one season he appeared with Marie Lloyd and Dan Leno, both of whom feature later in this article. He was born at Cudham, near Orpington in Kent one of fifteen children to the landlord of the Blacksmith's Arms. His first stage appearance came aged twelve at Gravesend. He was only four feet six inches tall and as people small in stature at that time had the nickname of Tich, he became Little Tich.

Little Tich's last performance was at the London Alhambra Theatre in 1927, with Jack Hylton's Band, and he died at home after a long illness. He had five fingers and a thumb on each hand, and six toes on both feet. Apparently mementoes of his life are still evident at the public house which was his place of birth, which could well lead to another article if I can get there.

The journey to the second batch of plaques came two days later. I took the tube train again on the Northern line from Embankment in the centre of the capital south to Colliers Wood and walked about ten minutes to reach Longley Road, where according to the English Heritage web-site there would be two plaques that would be of interest to me; one to Harry Lauder at number 46 and one to Harry Tate at number 72.

Left - Harry Lauder - 46 Longley Road, Upper Tooting (The house was No.24 when owned by Sir Harry, who named it Athole House. The house number was subsequently changed to 46.) (There was also one at N0 72 for Harry Tate but as the building where he lived is no more and has been replaced by flats, English Heritage have removed the plaque.)

I passed number 46 first, a large impressive double-fronted house on a busy road and the plaque was clear to see and not too high. It was unveiled by the Greater London Council and states "Sir Harry Lauder, Music Hall Artiste lived here 1903-1911". Lauder was born near Edinburgh in 1870 and, aged twelve went to work in the mill in Arbroath where his family has moved to after the death of his father. He began his singing career there which led to paid employments and saw his career grow. In 1907 he went to America and was well received, but he is of course remembered as a comedian, although he also turned his hand to pantomime. He was in Australia when the Great War began but John, his son returned home to join the Argyll and Southern Highlanders. He was back in London in 1916 but tragedy struck on January 1st 1917 when he was informed that John had been killed in action. His famous composition Keep Right on to the End of the Road; is familiar to millions and used by Birmingham City Football Club as their club anthem. I can also remember much of the song being played over the speakers prior to Status Quo coming on stage in 1984, for what was supposedly their final series of concerts. Perhaps it is surprising to know that he wrote this song to the memory of his son John. However as memorial and war songs go, this must be one of the most played, most loved and heartily sung ones ever composed, and is also one of a small percentage that guarantee instant crowd participation. Although not the melodic and quiet song one normally associates with tribute songs, it must be considered a superb composition to the memory of his son, which has stood the test of time remarkably well and whose impact has never diminished. I bet Harry never thought that this uplifting and thumping number would ever be sung at football grounds and concert halls around the country so frequently and many years after his death in 1950.

From there it was but fifteen doors to number 72 where I expected to find a plaque to Harry Tate, the music hall star with that large moustache, unveiled in 1984. Not only was there no plaque, but no house either! The site has been replaced by a row of low flats, although the numbers of these do coincide with what they replaced. Number 72 is reasonably new, but there is no sign of a plaque remaining. I have e-mailed English Heritage and await a reply. Meanwhile I do not want to leave Tate out, so:

Harry Tate, who did impressions of Dan Leno (who will feature later) was a Scot who was born Ronald MacDonald Hutchinson, and who made his name in the music halls and on film. He was born in July 1872 and worked for Henry Tate and Sons the sugar refiners, from whom he took his stage name prior to finding fame on stage and he bought the earliest known celebrity personalised number plate - T8.

Right - Harry Tate - Courtesy Gareth Price.

He died in 1940 from injuries sustained in an air-raid during the Blitz and is, according to the Wikipedia internet web-site buried in St Mary's Church, Northolt in Middlesex. However when my research took me to the web-site of Stewart King a Labour candidate for the Putney, Roehampton and Southfields he says "Harry Tate's funeral at the cemetery in Blackshaw Road, Tooting, was attended by over a thousand mourners." So is Harry buried north of the Thames, or south of it?

I then travelled a short distance to Clapham South underground station and after a short walk to a most desirable area where very expensive three-floor detached houses seemed the norm, found my third plaque, at 3 Thurleigh Avenue, which had been unveiled in 1979. It is a detached house is now called Edith Villa and it was once home to Gus Elen (1862-1940).

Above - Gus Elen - 3 Thurleigh Avenue, Clapham.

The plaque was unveiled by the Greater London Council and merely states "Gus Elen Music Hall Comedian lived here". He began as a busker, and later found work in a minstrel troupe. His solo success began with coster songs sung in 1891 at the Middlesex Music Hall. He was often dressed in the clothes of a poor East End costermonger, coming himself from a similar background. I hope that the following short interview, given after he had become famous (taken from in Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopaedia of Variety Performers in America) will be of interest:

"Years before I entered the ranks of music hall performers proper, I used to contribute to the programmes of the weekly sing songs held at such places as 'Poppy Lords' in Lisson Grove; the 'Magpie and Stump', Battersea; or the 'George Street Recital Hall'. At the last named hall, the salaries ranged from a shilling to three and sixpence a night with a cup of coffee and a bun thrown in by way of refreshment. In those days I often filled in a season on the 'waxeys' (on the seaside) at Margate and Ramsgate in a Negro minstrel troupe."

Gus Elen is buried in Streatham Park Cemetery in London.

I then took the tube to Balham, switched onto the overground railway and two stops later was at Norbury. A walk past the police station and across the local park took me to a rather bland and quiet suburban housing estate. Here, on a large house at 45 The Chase I found a plaque to the memory of Will Hay (1888-1949) unveiled by English Heritage which tells that "Will Hay, Comic Actor and Astronomer lived here 1927-1934".

Left - Will Hay - 45 The Chase, Norbury.

Hay was born in Stockton, County Durham and became a dedicated and respected amateur astronomer. He had his own observatory in his garden in Mill Hill, and was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He was also one of Britain's first private pilots and gave flying lessons to Amy Johnson. Before he entered the acting profession he was an translator - he was fluent in French, German, Latin, Italian, Norwegian and Afrikaans. He trained as an engineer and joined a firm of engineers but at the age of 21 gave it up for acting. He had a brief screen career; by the time he made his first film he was in his mid-forties and an established music hall artist, and his last role came less than a decade later. But between 1934 and 1943 he was a prolific and popular film comedian.

The weekly Will Hay Programme started in August 1944, and was broadcast live from the Paris Cinema, near Piccadilly Circus. In 1947 he had a stroke which left him crippled and he died at home in Chelsea, London after a further stroke in 1949 and he is buried in Streatham Park Cemetery, London.

I returned to Norbury railway station, and then to Balham station, switched onto the tube station and travelled north a few stops on the Northern line to Oval. A long walk up Brixton Road took me to Mostyn Road, thankfully a reasonably short road. At its end it is crossed by Ackerman Road, where at number 56 I hoped to find a plaque to the memory of Dan Leno (1860-1904) which had been unveiled in 1962 by the London County Council. He lived at the address between 1898-1901.

Right - Dan Leno, 56 Ackerman Road, Brixton.

Thankfully his large house was at the junction of these two noisy and busy roads, but most of it was obscured by a large tree in the front garden.

Dan Leon was born George Wild Galvin in 1860 in Somers Town, London, which is where St Pancras railway station now stands. Aged twenty he was voted the world's champion clog dancer, and he went on to find success with a new act, featuring comedy patter, dancing and song. He set about creating various comedic characters, including dames, a police officer, a Spanish bandit, a fire-fighter and a hairdresser. In the 1880's he was about the most popular music hall act in the country. In 1896 he was hired by Augustus Harris, manager at Drury Lane to appear in a variety of pantomimes and in most of these he played the dame to Marie Lloyd's principal girl. He was not to live long; he died after suffering a mental breakdown due to the demands of so many performances, and probably from a brain tumour, just before his 44th birthday. He is buried in Lambeth Cemetery and his headstone is engraved with 'Here sleeps the King of Laughter-Makers. Sleep well, dear heart, until the King of Glory awakens thee.' His funeral was a huge event, the biggest one for an actor or comedian since David Garrick's.

I returned to the Oval underground station, this time going by bus and rejoined the tube system. It was a short journey to Lancaster Gate station, which involved another trip on the Northern line, and when I emerged into the centre of the capital, rain was falling. I found Craven Road easily, but the plaque to Tommy Hanley (1892-1949), which is affixed to number 34, is high up and on Amersham House.

Left - Tommy Handley - 34 Craven Road, near Lancaster Park underground station in London.

It was unveiled in 1980 by the Greater London Council and states "Tommy Handley Radio Comedian lived here". He was born in Toxteth, Liverpool, he served in the British Army during The Great War, then worked in variety, and at the start of radio was a regular broadcaster. He went onto work with Arthur Askey and Bob Monkhouse and starred in the famous comedy series It's That Man Again. He died of a brain haemorrhage a week before his 57th birthday, and was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium although he was given a memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral.

Later I found myself walking past The Lillie Langtry pub and noticed Langtry Place, little more than a scruffy alley off of Seagrave Road. There is also a Lillie Bridge, a Lily's Hotel (note the different spelling) and for trivia freaks, the second football F.A. Cup final was played at the Lillie Bridge ground, although the playing surface is now covered in tarmac and used as a car-park.

Right - The Lillie Langtry pub is in Fulham and the plaque to her near Sloane Square.

I boarded a tube train on the district line in order to head east and back to Charing Cross station and my train home. But this journey would be broken in order to find the plaque to Lillie Langtry that my neighbour had informed me about. It is again affixed too high and on Langtry's restaurant, which is part of the impressive and ornate Cadogan Hotel at 21 Pont Street, Kensington, where she lived between 1892-1897. From 1895 it was the Cadogan Hotel, so she would stay in her old bedroom in the building.

The plaque unveiled by the Greater London Council states that "Lillie Langtry Actress lived here". She was born in 1853, as Emilie Charlotte Le Breton in Jersey, the only daughter of the Dean of Jersey, the Rev. William Corbet Le Breton, but had six brothers. In 1874 she married Edward Langtry and insisted that he take her away from the Channel Islands and eventually they rented a home in Belgravia, London. She began her stage career several years later, after her husband became bankrupt.

Her début in London came in December, 1881 at the Haymarket Theatre in She Stoops to Conquer and the following autumn she made her first appearance in America. Her heyday as a society beauty culminated in her becoming a semi-official mistress to the Prince of Wales, the future king Edward VII. (The Lillie Langtry pub is diagonally opposite to another called the Prince of Wales!)

Left - Lillie Langtry - near Sloane Square.

In 1881 she gave birth to a daughter, Jeanne Marie Langtry whose father was not her husband's, and Prince Louis of Battenberg was reportedly her lover at the time. He was then assigned to the warship HMS Inconstant!

In 1887, she became an American citizen, and divorced her husband the same year in California. Mr. Langtry died in 1897, and two years later she married Sir Hugo Gerald de Bathe, and became a leading owner in the horse-racing world, before retiring to Monte Carlo. She died in Monaco in 1929, and was buried in St. Saviour's Churchyard in Jersey - where her father had been rector.

Later in the week I made the journey east and found the plaque for Marie Lloyd (1870-1922) which is located at 55 Graham Road, Hackney and which was unveiled by the Greater London Council.

Right - Marie Lloyd - 55 Graham Road, Hackney, London.

She was born Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (note her last two names are the same as one of today's top female comediennes) in Hoxton, London, and her early interest in the music-hall was engineered by her father John, who worked part-time in the nearby Royal Eagle Tavern.

Marie formed her sisters into a singing group called the Fairy Bells Minstrels, and sung temperance songs in local missions and church halls, costumed by their mother Matilda Mary Caroline Wood.

In her teens she took the name Marie Lloyd and later on, her songs were considered risqué by many although her fame continued to grow. Apparently on one occasion, when moralists objected to her song "I sits among the cabbages and peas", with its daring reference to urinating, she transformed the lyrics, and sang instead "I sits among the cabbages and leeks" to the roars of laughter from the audience.

Shortly after she made her first visit to America and her reputation preceded her. She gave an interview to the New York Telegraph in which she said "They don't pay their sixpences and shillings at a music hall to hear the Salvation Army. If I was to try to sing highly moral songs, they would fire ginger beer bottles and beer mugs at me. I can't help it if people want to turn and twist my meanings."

Her private life was also controversial; her marriage to Percy Courtenay was stormy and ended in divorce in 1905. She then married Alec Hurley in 1906, although he died in 1913, and then she married Bernard Dillon, an Irish jockey, in Oregon, in February 1914.

Sadly Dillon drank heavily and abused Marie and she began drinking as her own escape and in 1920 they parted. Marie then went downhill and although she still worked, it became harder to get her on to the stage. On October 4th 1922 she appeared at the Empire Music Hall, Edmonton, London. During the last song in her act I'm One of the Ruins That Cromwell Knocked About a Bit, she staggered about on the stage and fell, however, she was desperately ill, and died three days later. On October 12th 1922, over one hundred thousand people attended her funeral at Hampstead. She was buried in Hampstead Cemetery, Fortune Green Road, with her parents.

I have enjoyed my rambles and travels across the capital in order to present this side of the entertainment business. It is good to see so many names from the past commemorated and I have no doubt that future generations will have no qualms in unveiling more plaques to today's stage heroes. Having thought earlier this year that I had located and photographed most of the plaques in the capital, with a bit more research I found fourteen more. Some like the one for Leno show where the subject lived for only a few years, others, like Hattie Jacques, for many years and many state only that the subject "Lived here". Still, we should be grateful that their memory has been recognised. If I have one small gripe, I wish that all of these plaques were affixed at a lower level, which would allow passers-by the see them, which surely was the reason they were unveiled? I feel that I have now got the majority of the capital's plaques to entertainers located and captured on film, although I have a sneaking feeling that there are a few more to be found.

The above article and its accompanying images were very kindly sent in by the article's author, Philip Paine, for inclusion on this site. The article is an edited version of one that was originally published in the Max Miller Appreciation Society's magazine"There'll Never Be Another" TNBA.

Music Hall and Variety Artistes Commemorative Plaques

Displayed below on this page are many of the Plaques which Commemorate the lives, birth places, or deaths of Britain's Music Hall and Variety Artistes.

If you have photographs of other Plaques of Music Hall and Variety Artistes in Britain that you believe would enhance this page then please Contact me.

A visitor to the site says: 'There is a Tommy Trinder blue plaque at 54 Wellfield Rd, Streatham. It as a Streatham Society blue plaque and it is on the house where Trinder was born.' - Courtesy Stuart Fleming.

If you have photographs of other Plaques of Music Hall and Variety Artistes in Britain that you believe would enhance this page then please Contact me.

Another site with many Plaques commemorating Music Hall Artistes, and other notable people, is Open Plaques.org.