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[ Noel Coward ]
Born into a middle-class family, Noel would often say that the family lived a life of 'genteel' poverty. Even as a young child, he was somewhat stage struck and would give little performances for the family. He was encouraged in this by his mother. His career started with an advertisement in the Daily Mirror for an "attractive, talented, handsome Boy wanted". His mother answered the ad, and he was auditioned by Lilla Field for whom he sang the song "Liza".
His parents were Arthur Sabin and Violet Veitch Coward, who in 1905 had Noel's only brother, Eric Coward. In 1912, his mother attended a stage show where there was a fortune teller who claimed to know a person's future by examining some piece of that person's clothing. His mother offered the fortune teller one of Noel's stockings, and was told that the boy would one day become very important. (A statement that is occasionally made by Gypsy Fortune Tellers.)
By age 11, Noel was already on the stage acting in minor roles. He was to work with actor Claude Hawtrey who Noel would later say had an enormous effect upon his grasp of acting. In 1913, he met Gertrude Lawrence. In 1915, he appeared in 'Charley's Aunt' - his first adult role. He also composed his first song "Forbidden Fruit". In 1916, he had his first cabaret appearance. In 1917, in collaboration with Esme Wynne, he he wrote 'Ida Collaborates', - his first play. 1918 was a busy year. He wrote (also with Esme Wynne) 'Women and Whiskey'; spent some time in the British Army; wrote another play 'The Rat Trap', and made his first film appearance (as an extra). In 1919, "The Baseball Rag", with music by Doris Joel became Noel's first published tune. In 1921, he had his play "I'll Leave It To You" in London's West End (Noel had a starring role). He traveled to America in 1921, the first of many trips, and in 1922, his novel 'The Withered Nosegay' was published. 1923 saw Noel's first musical Revue 'London Calling' in which he appeared with Gertrude Lawrence, - a lady he had first met as a child some 10 years earlier.
He continued writing plays. In 1923, 'The Vortex' and 'Hay Fever' were produced in the West End, and in 1924, 'The Vortex' (his third play), was also produced on Broadway. The plot concerned itself with the emotions of a son whose mother was constantly involved with men much younger than herself. Also in the plot was the fact that the son was a drug addict. The play, dealing with sex, drugs, and other taboo subjects, was an instant hit and established him as a playwright and actor. For the first time, Noel now found himself wearing new suits, owning a car, getting photographed and lots of publicity.
In 1925, four of his plays were on stage simultaneously in London. In 1926, at age 17, he had a role in the D. W. Griffith movie "Silent World", and he purchased his first Rolls Royce. The eight years between 1924 to 1932 were very productive and consolidated his reputation. Such plays as 'Hay Fever';
'Bitter Sweet'; and 'Design For Living' were all huge successes. In 1930, he quickly wrote (while in a Shanghai Hotel) the play 'Private Lives' which was
perhaps the epitome of his comic style.
While he had a tremendous conviction of his own talent, it is also true that he was a huge success, - he was the "beatles" of his own day. Still, while he epitomized elegance and style, his habits were quite down to earth. He preferred eating Steak and Kidney Pie, and Baked Beans over haute cuisine, for example.
At this time, he built his first home 'Goldenhurst'. Noel was a Homosexual, which at that time was illegal in Britain. His first (open) friend was Jack Wilson, an American Stock Broker. His agent was all in favor of fomenting a rumor that Noel was having an affair with Gertrude Lawrence, but Noel would not have any part of it. While he and Gertrude had been great friends since childhood, they never had sex together. They were almost like oil and water -in a professional way only. Coward was a stage disciplinarian while Lawrence was very easy going. Vary early on, Gertrude had married Francis Hawley-White, while much later on, she married Richard Aldrich, of the Cape Playhouse, at Dennis MA (Cape Cod). Another actor friend, Lawrence Olivier, early on in his career had the objectionable habit of giggling while on stage. It was Coward who cured him of that...even though it took 7 months. Olivier later married Vivian Leigh, whose remarkable career had a tragic end.
In 1936, tonight (with co-star Gertrude Lawrence) was produced in the West End. From Sept. 1939 to April 1940, Noel worked in Paris, France, in the office of "Enemy Propaganda Office", and later that year he began singing tours as his contribution to Britain's war effort. By the end of the 1930's, Coward was a solid, sophisticated star, but something of an enigma. It was Coward who really 'invented' that special personna of elegance and sophistication that so marked the period, yet he himself was ill-educated, and homosexual. By 1940, Noel had written 32 plays and perhaps 140 tunes, yet he never learned to read or write music. Among the songs he had composed were: "Mad Dogs And Englishmen Go Out In The Midday Sun"; "Zigeuna"; "Bittersweet"; "Don't Lets Be Beastly To The Germans" (he had a very strong anti-German bias); "I Travel Alone", "You've Got That Thing", "What Is This Thing Called Love", and many more. Among his films were 'Cavalcade'; 'In Which We Serve"; and 'Brief Encounter' 1945) and others.
In 1944, he was still on tours entertaining Servicemen everywhere. One of his works, 'Middle East Diary', had some lines concerning "the mournful boys from Brooklyn, which raised some eyebrows in the USA. By the late 1940s, plays were getting harder to come by. He began to travel widely because he felt that he could write better away from home. He traveled to Europe, Asia, the Americas, and finally settled in Jamaice, BWI. A reporter once asked him why he chose to live in Jamaica rather than in Britain, and Noel is reported to have replied "I can answer that in just two words - Income Tax." He built a home in Jamaica, which he called 'Firefly', and entertained lavishly. There, sitting on a porch with 'fireflys' flitting around the garden, he would serve his guests with flasks of Dry Martinis. If they would become slightly inebriated, Noel would mark it up to 'the altitude'.
In time, he was to build a second home in Jamaica, but his health began to deteriorate - and he couldn't forget London. During the 1950's, he wrote seven new plays, none of which was successful. After the London opening of his play 'Sirocco', he went on stage to the boos of the audience. When his plays could no longer find a public, he turned more and more to writing songs which were all well received in America. In 1965, he opened as an act in a Las Vegas casino where he was a huge hit. Many Hollywood stars flew in to see him. On one trip, Frank Sinatra; Merle Oberon, and Judy Garland came to Las Vegas to see him. His elegance, English accent and music made him an 'exotic' personality to Americans, who also happened to enjoy his music. Also in 1965, he had a Television appearance on the Mary Martin show.
But by 1965, in London and in New York, good plays were fast disappearing. The run-of-the-mill plays no longer had a good beginning, middle and solid ending. A slight musical production, whose only point was to amuse and to entertain, would be called trivial and superficial, and be panned by the public and press. Still, in the late 1960's, his play 'Hay Fever' was revived to critical acclaim.
In 1969, London's famed Savoy Hotel, gave him a 70th Birthday party. In 1970, Noel was knighted, a happy time that was soon followed by a secession of illnesses. He returned to his home in Jamaica. In 1983, Noel suffered a fatal heart attack. He was buried at 'Firefly' with just a few good friends present, including his long time companion Graham Paine. In 1984, a stone, commemorating his life, was placed in the 'Poet's Corner' of Westminister Abbey.
[ Jiml Cowler ]
Among the tunes he composed are:
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