Noel Peirce Coward

Noël Coward Born December 16, 1899 in Teddington, Middlesex, England, UK Died March 26, 1973 in Blue Harbor, Jamaica (heart attack) Birth Name Noël Peirce Coward Nickname The Master Height 6' (1.83 m) Mini Bio (1) Noel Coward virtually invented the concept of Englishness for the 20th century. An astounding polymath - dramatist, actor, writer, composer, lyricist, painter, and wit -- he was defined by his Englishness as much as he defined it. He was indeed the first Brit pop star, the first ambassador of "cool Britannia." Even before his 1924 drugs-and-sex scandal of The Vortex, his fans were hanging out of their scarves over the theater balcony, imitating their idol's dress and repeating each "Noelism" with glee. Born in suburban Teddington on 16 December 1899, Coward was on stage by the age of six, and writing his first drama ten years later. A visit to New York in 1921 infused him with the pace of Broadway shows, and he injected its speed into staid British drama and music to create a high-octane rush for the jazz-mad, dance-crazy 1920s. Coward's style was imitated everywhere, as otherwise quite normal Englishmen donned dressing gowns, stuck cigarettes in long holders and called each other "dahling"; his revues propagated the message, with songs sentimental ("A Room With A View," "I'll See You Again") and satirical ("Mad Dogs and Englishmen," "Don't Put Your Daughter On the Stage, Mrs. Worthington"). His between-the-wars celebrity reached a peak in 1930 with "Private Lives," by which time he had become the highest earning author in the western world. With the onset of World War II he redefined the spirit of the country in films such as This Happy Breed (1944), In Which We Serve (1942), Blithe Spirit (1945) and, perhaps most memorably, Brief Encounter (1945). In the postwar period, Coward, the aging Bright Young Thing, seemed outmoded by the Angry Young Men, but, like any modern pop star, he reinvented himself, this time as a hip cabaret singer: "Las Vegas, Flipping, Shouts "More!" as Noel Coward Wows 'Em in Cafe Turn" enthused Variety. By the 1960s, his reappraisal was complete -- "Dad's Renaissance", called it -- and his "Hay Fever" was the first work by a living author to be produced at the National Theatre. He was knighted -- at last -- in 1970, and died in his beloved Jamaica on 26 March 1973. Since his death, his reputation has grown. There is never a point at which his plays are not being performed, or his songs being sung. A playwright, director, actor, songwriter, filmmaker, novelist, wit . . . was there nothing this man couldn't do? Born into a musical family he was soon treading the boards in various music hall shows where he met a young girl called Gertrude Lawrence, a friendship and working partnership that lasted until her death. His early writings were mainly short songs and sketches for the revue shows popular in the 1920s, but even his early works often contained touches of the genius to come ("Parisian Pierrot" 1923). He went on to write and star (with Gertie) in his own revues, but the whiff of scandal was never far away, such as that from the drug addict portrayed in "The Vortex." Despite his obvious homosexual lifestyle he was taken to the hearts of the people and soon grew into one of the most popular writer/performers of his time. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Crook Trivia (55) HRH Prince Edward Wessex unveiled a statue of Coward at a gathering of the Broadway theatre community on Monday, 1 March 1999, at the Gershwin Theatre (221 West 51st St.). The ceremony was the first in a year-long series of events in New York celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the British playwright, songwriter, and performer. He was created a Knight Bachelor in the 1970 Queen's New Year Honours List for his services to drama. Godfather of actor Daniel Massey. Mother named him Noel because his birthday arrived so close to Christmas. Was performing onstage before he was 10. Wrote some 140 plays, and hundreds of songs. Turned down the role of Humbert in Lolita (1962). Worked undercover for British Intellegence during WWII. The character of Eric Dare in Cole Porter's musical "Jubilee" is based on Coward. Turned down the role of the eponymous villain in the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962). Friend and neighbor of James Bond creator Ian Fleming. Godfather of Juliet Mills. Portrayed by Harry Groener in the short-lived Off-Broadway musical "If Love Were All" (1999). He was director David Lean's original choice for the role of Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). The role was ultimately played by Alec Guinness, who won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance. Befriended the ten-year-old Peter Collinson, when he was the governor of the orphanage where Collinson lived. Collinson later directed him in The Italian Job (1969). He subsequently became Collinson's godfather. Was the first "tax exile," a British subject living outside the UK in order not to incur the income tax, to be knighted. Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors." New Revision Series, Vol. 132, pp. 107-114 (as David Cornwell). Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005. Won a Special Tony Award in 1970 "for his multiple and immortal contributions to the theatre." He also received two Tony nominations in 1964: as Best Director (Musical) for "High Spirits," which was based on his play "Blithe Spirit;" and as Best Author (Musical), along with collaborator Harry Kurnitz, for "The Girl Who Came to Supper," which was based on Terence Rattigan's "The Sleeping Prince." He once encountered Edna Ferber, who was wearing a tailored suit. "You look almost like a man," said Coward. "So do you," replied Ferber. Mentioned in the Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart' song, "The Lady is a Tramp". The character of Beverly Carlton in the Moss Hart/George S. Kaufman play "The Man Who Came to Dinner" was based on Coward. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1920 he started the turtleneck fashion fad. Enjoyed the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff. Portrayed by Daniel Massey in Star! (1968), Francis Matthews in Ike: The War Years (1979), Julian Fellowes in Goldeneye (1989), Jim Mezon in Dieppe (1993), Pip Torrens in Marple: Marple: What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw (2004), Pip Torrens in Ian Fleming: Bondmaker (2005), etc. Attended The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. Other actors who also attended the academy include Kelly Brook, Richard Todd, Leslie Phillips, Emily Lloyd, Stephen Manwaring and Martine McCutcheon. He developed his trademark clipped, staccato manner of speaking in order to mask a lisp and because it made it easier for his partially deaf mother to hear what he was saying. Sir Winston Churchill personally blocked an awarding of the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire to Coward, even though the playwright had spied for Britain during the war, according to never before seen letters. In 1942 Churchill urged King George VI to abandon his plans to bestow the honor on Coward, who was the King's personal friend. Upon his death, his remains were interred at the Firefly Estate in Montego Bay, Saint James, Jamaica.