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 The
world has never seen a man quite like Noel Coward. As a writer he could
knock off a hit show in a matter of days, as an actor his career spanned
five decades and as a cabaret performer he won the hearts of a whole new
generation. He was, undoubtedly, a star.
Born in Teddington, England in 1899 to Violet and Arthur Coward Noel came
into this world determined to make his mark. Encouraged by an ambitious
mother he wasted no time in starting what would be a long and varied
career. By the age of twelve he had made his first professional appearance
on the stage and couple of years later he had his first encounter with the
irrepressible Gertrude Lawrence when they appeared together in the play Hannele.
The stage - as they say - was set.
In 1924 Coward starred in the first production of his play The Vortex.
The young Coward could have had little idea how dramatically this event
would change his life. The play dealt with the scandalous issue of drug
abuse and caused the Lord Chamberlain to declare one particular scene as
revolting in the last degree. It created an enormous stir on the London
theatre scene and literally catapulted its writer and star into the public
eye. By the time he was
in his mid-thirties Coward had written over fifteen plays including Hay
Fever, Private Lives and Cavalcade. Despite his comparative
youth the first of many Coward biographies had already been written. In
1930 Coward starred with Gertrude Lawrence in Private Lives and
captured the glamorous image of his generation. With the outbreak of the
Second World War the 'balconies and cocktails' image fell out of fashion
and by the 1950s Coward had turned to the world of cabaret to earn his
living.
This shift in his career was kick-started by his cabaret show at The
Desert Inn in Las Vegas. The Vegas show was given a particularly special
boost by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra travelled from Hollywood to see the show,
and then went on to announce on national radio, "If you want to
hear how songs should be sung, get the hell over to The Desert Inn!".
Four weeks later Coward left The Desert Inn a star reborn. As an added
bonus he had a classic live-recorded album of the show which, forty-five
years later, has yet to go out of print.
Of course Coward is as much remembered now for his films as for his live
performances. His 1942 film In Which We Serve brought Coward an
Oscar nomination for Best Writer and was ranked in the top 100 British
Films ever in a recent BFI poll. As a writer he went on to produce such
classics as Brief Encounter, but his career as a film actor is
perhaps more notorious for it's 'might-have-beens'.
When approached to play the King in The King & & he politely
declined and pointed Rogers and Hammerstein in the direction of a
little-known young actor called Yul Brynner; when offered Professor
Higgins in My Fair Lady he said no, and the part was then
immortalised by Rex Harrison; he was asked to take the role of Colonel
Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai but turned it down - Alec
Guinness later won an Oscar in the role, and finally Harry Lime in The
Third Man was refused by Coward before being snapped up by the young
Orson Welles.
Despite the inevitable ups and downs of such a lengthy and diverse career
Coward finally received the recognition he truly deserved in 1970 when he
received a knighthood. His failing health was evident at the ceremony and
three years later he died at home in his beloved Jamaica.
Last year was the centenary of Noel Coward's birth. Despite his fears his
memory has not faded and the centenary was marked by a gala night at the
Carnegie Hall in New York. The previous year a statue was unveiled by his
old friend the Queen Mother in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and Coward
is commemorated with not one, but two blue plaques, at his previous houses
in both Teddington and Sutton.
But what really keeps the memory of Coward alive are the songs, the plays,
the films and the irrepressible one-liners he left behind. Famous for his
razor-sharp wit he once said:
"Wit ought to be a glorious treat, like caviar. Never spread it
about like marmalade"
Wherever he is now, Noel Coward is feasting on caviar.
DID YOU KNOW?
Five little known facts about Noel Coward
1. Although he loved to paint, Coward was actually allergic to oil
paints and consequently always painted wearing gloves.
2. Dora Bryan is still a household name of the British theatre, but
things could have been different . . . when Coward met an up and coming
actress called Dora Broadbent he suggested her surname was perhaps not
suitable for a West End calibre actress and she changed it. Perhaps this
was the push that saw her finally on the road to success?
3. In 1965 Coward underwent mild cosmetic surgery - one of the
first men to do so.
4. The distinguished writer R D Blackmore - author of Lorna Doone -
was godfather to Noel's older brother Russell. When asked if he would be
godfather to Noel he declined, saying that as four of his five godchildren
had died (including Russell) he felt perhaps he was a bad choice of
godparent.
5. Coward had no formal music training and although he did take
singing lessons to work on his technique, he was a self-taught pianist who
never took a single piano lesson in his whole life.
NOEL COWARD: A
Life
Born Teddington 16th December 1899
The middle of three sons. The eldest, Russell, died of meningitis before
Noel was born. The youngest, Eric, died of cancer aged only 28.
In 1927 he bought Goldenhurst Farm in Kent with its surrounding 150 acres,
and moved in his mother, father and two maiden aunts Ida and Vida.
In 1947 he built a house in Jamaica. After being swamped with visitors he
built a second house, Firefly, which became his home and his retreat
He shared thirty years of his life with his long-time partner Graham Pynn,
but never publicly acknowledged his homosexuality, for fear of offending
his public
Died in Jamaica in 1973.
For more information about Noel Coward's life and work, take a look at www.noelcoward.net
- the website of the Noel Coward Society.
To read previous months Arts
features.
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Acknowledgements:
Photograph:
'Noel Coward rehearses', copyright © of and
supplied by:
The
Raymond Mander and Joe Mitchenson Theatre Collection. Tel: 020
7236 0182 Fax: 020 7236 0184
email: richard@mander-and-mitchenson.co.uk
Salvation Army Headquarters, P O Box 249, 101 Queen Victoria
Street, London, EC4P 4EP |
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