Stanley Holloway

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Biography

Stanley Augustus Holloway , Order of the British Empire|OBE (1& nbsp;October& nbsp;1890 – 30& nbsp;January& nbsp;1982) was an English stage and film actor, comedian, singer, poet and monologist . He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady . He was also renowned for his comic monologues and songs, which he performed and recorded throughout most of his 70-year career.

Born in London, Holloway pursued a career as a clerk in his teen years. He made early stage appearances before infantry service in the First World War. After the war he had his first major theatre success in Kissing Time , which he starred in when the musical transferred to the West End theatre|West End from Broadway theatre|Broadway in 1919. In 1921, he joined a Concert party (entertainment)|concert party , The Co-Optimists , and his career began to flourish. At first he was chiefly employed as a singer, but his skills as an actor and reciter of comic monologues were soon recognised. Characters from his monologues such as Sam Small, invented by Holloway, and Albert Ramsbottom, created for him by Marriott Edgar , were absorbed into popular British culture, and Holloway developed a following for the recordings of his many monologues. By the 1930s, he was in demand to star in variety show|variety , pantomime and musical comedy, including several revue s.

At the outbreak of World War II, Holloway made short propaganda films on behalf of the British Film Institute and Pathé News and took character parts in a series of war films including Major Barbara (film)|Major Barbara , The Way Ahead , This Happy Breed and The Way to the Stars . After the war, he appeared in the film Brief Encounter and made a series of films for Ealing Studios, including Passport to Pimlico , The Lavender Hill Mob and The Titfield Thunderbolt .

In 1956 he was cast as the irresponsible Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady , a role that he played on Broadway, the West End and in the film version in 1964. The role brought him international fame, and his performances earned him nominations for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . In his later years, Holloway appeared in television series in the US and the UK, toured in revues, appeared in stage plays in Britain, Canada, Australia and the US, and continued to make films into his eighties. Holloway was married twice and had five children, including the actor Julian Holloway .

Biography

Family background and early life

Holloway was born in Manor Park, London|Manor Park , Essex (now in the London Borough of London Borough of Newham|Newham ), General Register Office for England and Wales|GRO Register Index , courtesy of FreeBMD , accessed 7 December 2011, GRO Register Index, courtesy of FreeBMD, accessed 7 December 2011 the younger child and only son of George Augustus Holloway (1860–1919), a lawyer's clerk, and Florence Mary née Bell (1862–1913), a housekeeper and dressmaker.Midwinter, Eric. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011, accessed 21 April 2011 He was named after Henry Morton Stanley , the journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and for his search for David Livingstone . There were theatrical connections in the Holloway family going back to Charles Bernard (1830–1894), the brother of Holloway's maternal grandmother, an actor and theatre manager.Holloway and Richards, pp. 74–75
Holloway's paternal grandfather, Augustus Holloway (1829–1884), at FreeBMD, accessed 15 September 2011 an orphan, was brought up by sailmaker John Stone and his wife Mary, in Poole , Dorset ., 1841 census, accessed 23 April 2011 Augustus became a wealthy shopkeeper, running his own brush-making business. He married Amelia Catherine Knight in September 1856, at FreeBMD, accessed 15 September 2011 at FreeBMD, accessed 15 September 2011 and they had three children, Maria, Charles and George., ancestry.co.uk, accessed 23 April 2011

In the early 1880s they moved to Poplar, London .1881 census – Poole, Dorset When Augustus died, George Holloway (Stanley's father) moved to nearby Manor Park and became a clerk for a city lawyer, Robert Bell.Holloway and Richards, p. 42 George married Bell's daughter Florence in 1884, and they had two children, Amelia ("Millie", born in 1887) at FreeBMD, accessed 14 September 2011 and Stanley. George left Florence in 1905 and was never seen or heard from again by his family.Holloway and Richards, p. 68; The Births, Marriages and Deaths register of England and Wales shows George A. Holloway's death as being registered in 1919.

During his early teenage years, Holloway attended the Worshipful School of Carpenters in nearby Stratford, London|Stratford Holloway and Richards, pp. 42–43 courtesy of Newham Council, accessed 6 December 2011 and joined a local choir, which he later called his "big moment". He left school at the age of 14 and worked as a junior clerk in a boot polish factory, where he earned ten shillings a week.Holloway and Richards, p. 46Ten shillings (10/-) is 50 pence in British decimal currency He began performing part-time as Master Stanley Holloway – The Wonderful Boy Soprano from 1904, singing sentimental songs such as " The Lost Chord ".Morley, p. 124 A year later, he became a clerk at Billingsgate Fish Market , where he remained for two years before commencing training as an infantry soldier in the London Rifle Brigade in 1907.Holloway and Richards, p. 58

Career

Early career and First World War

Holloway's stage career began in 1910, when he travelled to Walton-on-the-Naze to audition for The White Coon song|Coon s Show , a Concert party (entertainment)|concert party variety show arranged and produced by Will S. Pepper, father of Harry S. Pepper, with whom Holloway later starred in The Co-Optimists .Holloway and Richards, p. 49 This seaside show lasted six weeks.Holloway and Richards, p. 50

In 1913, Holloway was recruited by the comedian Leslie Henson to feature as a support in Henson's more prestigious concert party called Nicely, Thanks . In later life, Holloway often spoke of his admiration for Henson, citing him as a great influence on his career. The two became firm friends and often consulted each other before taking jobs. In his 1967 autobiography, Holloway dedicated a whole chapter to Henson,Holloway and Richards, p. 289 whom he described as "the greatest friend, inspiration and mentor a performer could have had". Later in 1913, Holloway decided to train as an operatic baritone , and so he went to Italy to take singing lessons from Ferdinando Guarino in Milan . However, a yearning to start a career in light entertainment and a contract to re-appear in Bert Graham and Will Bentley's concert party at the West Cliff Theatre caused him to return home after six months.Holloway and Richards, pp. 54–55

In the early months of 1914, Holloway made his first visit to the US and then went to Buenos Aires and Valparaíso with the concert party The Grotesques . At the outbreak of the First World War in August& nbsp;1914, he decided to return to the UK, but his departure was delayed for six weeks due to his contract with the troupe.Holloway and Richards, pp. 56–57 At the age of 25, Holloway enlisted in the Connaught Rangers|Connaught Rangers 4th Battalion infantry regiment, where he was immediately commissioned as a Subaltern because of his previous training as a private in the London Rifle Brigade. He was stationed in Cork and initially fought against Sinn Fein during the Easter Rising of 1916.Holloway and Richards, pp. 58–59 Later that year, he was sent to France,Holloway and Richards, p. 59 where he fought in the trenches alongside Michael John O'Leary|Michael O'Leary , who later won the Victoria Cross for gallantry in battle.Holloway and Richards, p. 60 Holloway and O'Leary stayed in touch after the war, becoming close friends.

Holloway spent much of his time in the later part of the war organising shows to boost troop morale in France.Holloway and Richards, pp. 60 and 76 One such revue , Wear That Ribbon , was performed in honour of O'Leary's winning the VC. Holloway, along with Henson and his newly established Star Attractions concert party, entertained the British troops in Wimereux .Holloway and Richards, p. 19 The party included such performers as Jack Buchanan , Eric Blore , Binnie Hale and Phyllis Dare , as well as the performers who would later form The Co-Optimists .Holloway and Richards, p. 20 Upon his return from France, Holloway joined a Yorkshire regiment in Hartlepool Holloway and Richards, p. 76 and immediately after the war ended he starred in The Disorderly Room with Leslie Henson, which Eric Blore had written while serving in the South Wales Borderers . It toured theatres on England's south coast, including Walton-on-the-Naze and Clacton-on-Sea .

Inter-war years

On being demobilisation|demobilised on 1 May 1919, Holloway returned to London and resumed his singing and acting career, finding success in two West End theatre|West End musicals at the New London Theatre|Winter Garden Theatre . Later that month, he created the role of Captain Wentworth in Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse 's Kissing Time ,Findon, B. H., "Kissing Time", The Play Pictorial , May 1919, p. 82; "Theatres", The Times , 3 July 1920, p. 14 followed in 1920 by the role of René in A Night Out (musical)|A Night Out ."A Night Out", The Play Pictorial , September 1920, p. 71 Due to its earlier provincial success, The Disorderly Room was given a West End production at the Victoria Palace Theatre , in late 1919, in which Holloway starred alongside Henson and Tom Walls .Holloway and Richards, p. 61 Holloway made his film debut in 1921, appearing in a silent comedy called The Rotters . Oxford Encyclopedia of Popular Music , Oxford University Press, 2006, online edition, accessed 5 December 2011

From June 1921, Holloway had considerable success in The Co-Optimists , a concert party formed with performers whom he had met during the war in France, which The Times called "an all-star ' Concert party (entertainment)|pierrot ' entertainment in the West-end.""The Theatres", The Times , 20 June 1921, p. 9 It opened at the small Royalty Theatre Holloway and Richards, p. 28 and soon transferred to the much larger Palace Theatre, London|Palace Theatre , where the initial version of the show ran for over a year, giving more than 500 performances."The Palace Itself Again – Co-Optimists' Cheery Burlesque", The Times , 23 August 1921, p. 6Holloway and Richards, p. 29 The entertainment was completely rewritten at regular intervals to keep it fresh, and the final edition, beginning in November& nbsp;1926, was the 13th version."The Co-Optimists", The Times , 30 November 1926, p. 12 The Co-Optimists closed in 1927 at Her Majesty's Theatre|His Majesty's Theatre after 1,568 performances over eight years. In 1929, The Co-Optimists (film)|a feature film version was made, with Holloway rejoining his former co-stars."The Film World", The Times , 18 December 1929, p. 12

In 1923, Holloway established himself as a BBC Radio performer. The early BBC broadcasts brought variety and classical artists together, and Holloway could be heard in the same programme as the cellist John Barbirolli or the Band of the Scots Guards ."Programmes for the Week-End", The Times , 16 January 1926, p. 4 He developed his solo act throughout the 1920s while continuing his involvement with the musical theatre and The Co-Optimists . In 1924 he made his first gramophone discs, recording for HMV Records|HMV two songs from The Co-Optimists : "London Town" and "Memory Street".HMV records 1724 and 1725 (1924) After The Co-Optimists disbanded in 1927, Holloway played at the Hippodrome, London|London Hippodrome in Vincent Youmans 's musical comedy Hit the Deck (musical)|Hit the Deck as Bill Smith, a performance judged by The Times to be "invested with many shrewd touches of humanity"."Hit the Deck", The Times , 4 November 1927, p. 7 In The Manchester Guardian , Ivor Brown praised him for a singing style "which coaxes the ear rather than clubbing the head."Brown, Ivor. "Hit the Deck", The Manchester Guardian , 4 November 1927, p. 15

Holloway began regularly performing monologues, both on stage and on record, in 1928, with his own creation, Sam Small, in Sam, Sam, Pick oop thy Musket . Over the following years, he recorded more than 20& nbsp;monologues based around the character, most of which he wrote himself. He created Sam Small after Henson had returned from a tour of northern England and told him a story about an insubordinate old soldier from the Battle of Waterloo .Holloway and Richards, p. 83 Holloway developed the character, naming him after a Cockney friend of Henson called Annie Small;Holloway and Richards, p. 85 the name Sam was chosen at random. Holloway adopted a northern accent for the character. The Times'' commented, "For absolute delight … there is nothing to compare with Mr. Stanley Holloway's monologue, concerning a military contretemps on the eve of Waterloo … perfect, even to the curled moustache and the Lancashire accent of the stubborn Guardsman hero.""Variety Theatres", The Times , 12 February 1929, p. 7

In 1929, Holloway played another leading role in musical comedy, Lieutenant Richard Manners in Song of the Sea , and later that year he performed in the revue Coo-ee , with Billy Bennett (comedian)|Billy Bennett , Dorothy Dickson and Claude Hulbert . When The Co-Optimists re-formed in 1930, he rejoined that company, now at the Savoy Theatre , and at the same venue appeared in Savoy Follies in 1931,Gaye, p. 746 where he introduced to London audiences the monologue The Lion and Albert ."Savoy Follies – Sparkle and Spontaneity", The Times , 8 July 1932, p. 12 The monologue was written by Marriott Edgar , who based the story on a news item about a boy who was eaten by a lion in the zoo.Ginell, Cary. "About this Album", ClassicsOnline, accessed 5 December 2011 In the monologue, Mr. and Mrs. Ramsbottom react in a measured way when their son Albert is swallowed. Edgar named the lion Wallace after his half-brother Edgar Wallace , a famous crime writer and playwright of the early 20th& nbsp;century.Lane and Wallace, p. 12 Neither Edgar nor Holloway was convinced that the piece would succeed, but needing material for an appearance at a Northern Rugby League dinner Holloway decided to perform it.Holloway and Richards, p. 91 It was well received, and Holloway introduced it into his stage act. Subsequently, Edgar wrote 16 monologues for him. In its obituary of Holloway, The Times wrote that Sam and Albert "became part of English folklore during the 1930s, and they remained so during the Second World War." These monologues employed the Holloway style that has been called "the understated look-on-the-bright-side world of the cockney working class. ... Holloway's characters are obstinate, and hilariously clueless. He often told his stories in costume; sporting outrageous attire and bushy moustaches."

Beginning in 1934, Holloway appeared in a series of British films, three of which featured his creation Sam Small. He started his association with the filmmakers Ealing Studios in 1934, appearing in the fifth Gracie Fields picture Sing As We Go ., British Film Institute, accessed 23 April 2011 His other films from the 1930s included Squibs (1935), British Film Institute, accessed 23 April 2011 and The Vicar of Bray (film)|The Vicar of Bray (1937)., British Film Institute, accessed 23 April 2011 In December 1934, Holloway made his first appearance in pantomime , playing Abanazar in Aladdin . In his first season in the part, he was overshadowed by his co-star, Henry Lytton|Sir Henry Lytton , as the Emperor,"Stanley Holloway in Pantomime", The Manchester Guardian , 1 January 1935, p. 10 but he quickly became established as a favourite in his role, playing it in successive years in Leeds , London, Edinburgh and Manchester .

World War II and post-war

When the Second World War started in 1939, Holloway was 49 and too old for active service. He decided to make his contribution in short propaganda pieces for the British Film Institute and Pathé News . He narrated documentaries aimed at lifting morale in war-torn Britain, including ''Albert's Savings (1940), written by Marriott Edgar and featuring the character Albert Ramsbottom,"Stanley Holloway In War Savings Film", Tamworth Herald'', 10 August 1940, p. 5, Imperial War Museum, accessed 22 April 2011; and , Play.com, accessed 22 April 2011 and Worker and Warfront No.8 (1943) with a script written by Edmund Clerihew Bentley|E. C. Bentley about a worker who neglects to have an injury examined and contracts blood poisoning. These two films were included on a 2007 Imperial War Museum DVD ''Britain's Home Front at War: Words for Battle.

On stage during the war years, Holloway appeared in revues, first Up and Doing , with Henson, Binnie Hale and Cyril Ritchard in 1940 and 1941,"Theatres", The Observer , 26 May 1940, p. 1 and then Fine and Dandy , with Henson, Dorothy Dickson , Douglas Byng and Graham Payn ."Theatres", The Observer , 23 August 1942, p. 1 In both shows, Holloway presented new monologues, and The Times thought a highlight of Fine and Dandy was a parody of the BBC radio programme The Brains Trust , with Holloway "ponderously anecdotal" and Henson "gigglingly omniscient"."Savile Theatre", The Times , 1 May 1942, p. 6

In 1941 Holloway took a character part in Gabriel Pascal 's film of George Bernard Shaw|Bernard Shaw 's Major Barbara (film)|Major Barbara , in which he played a policeman. He had leading parts in later films, including The Way Ahead (1944), This Happy Breed (film)|This Happy Breed (1944) and The Way to the Stars (1945). Who Was Who , A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 21 April 2011 After the war, he played Albert Godby in Brief Encounter and had a cameo role as the First Gravedigger in Laurence Olivier 's 1948 film of Hamlet (1948 film)|Hamlet . In 1951, Holloway played the same role on the stage to the Hamlet of Alec Guinness . For Pathé News, he delivered the commentary for documentaries in a series called Time To Remember , where he narrated over old newsreels from significant dates in history from 1915 to 1942. Holloway also starred in a series of films for Ealing Studios, beginning with Champagne Charlie (film)|Champagne Charlie in 1944 alongside Tommy Trinder . After that he made Nicholas Nickleby (1947 film)|Nicholas Nickleby (1947) and Another Shore (1948). He next appeared in three of the most famous Ealing Comedies , Passport to Pimlico (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953). His final film with the studio was Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953).

In 1948 Holloway toured for six months in Australia around Melbourne and in New Zealand The Mail , 30 April 1949, p. 10, accessed 24 September 2011 supported by the band leader Billy Mayerl . The Advertiser , 1 April 1949, p. 4, accessed 24 September 2011 The Argus , 14 April 1949, p. 5, accessed 23 September 2011 He made his Australian début at The Tivoli Theatre, Melbourne, The Argus , 6 July 1949, p. 9, accessed 24 September 2011 and recorded television appearances to publicise the forthcoming release of Passport to Pimlico . The Argus , 5 August 1949, p. 5, accessed 24 September 2011 Holloway wrote the monologue Albert Down Under especially for the tour. Advocate , 19 April 1949, p. 4, accessed 24 September 2011

1950s and 1960s stage and screen

In 1954 Holloway joined the Old Vic theatre company to play Bottom in '' A Midsummer Night's Dream , with Robert Helpmann as Oberon and Moira Shearer as Titania. After playing at the Edinburgh Festival , the Royal Shakespeare Company took the production to New York, where it played at the Metropolitan Opera|Metropolitan Opera House and then on tour of the US and Canada. The production was harshly reviewed by critics on both sides of the Atlantic, but Holloway made a strong impression. Holloway said of the experience: "Out of the blue I was asked by the Royal Shakespeare Company to tour America with them, playing Bottom. ... From that American tour came the part of Alfred Doolittle in My Fair Lady and from then on, well, just let's say I was able to pick and choose my parts and that was very pleasant at my age." The New York Times; Obituary 31 January 1982, p. 36 Holloway's film career continued simultaneously with his stage work; one example was the 1956 comedy Jumping for Joy . American audiences became familiar with his earlier film roles when the films began to be broadcast on television in the 1950s.

In 1956 Holloway created the role of Alfred P. Doolittle in the original Broadway theatre|Broadway production of My Fair Lady . The librettist, Alan Jay Lerner , remembered in his memoirs that Holloway was his first choice for the role, even before it was written. Lerner's only concern was whether, after so long away from the musical stage, Holloway still had his resonant singing voice. Holloway reassured him over a lunch at Claridge's : Lerner recalled, "He put down his knife and fork, threw back his head and unleashed a strong baritone note that resounded through the dining room, drowned out the string quartet and sent a few dozen people off to the osteopath to have their necks untwisted."Lerner, pp. 62–63 Holloway had a long association with the show, appearing in the original 1956 Broadway production at the Mark Hellinger Theatre , the 1958 London version at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , and the My Fair Lady (film)|film version in 1964. In The Manchester Guardian , Alistair Cooke wrote, "Stanley Holloway distils into the body of Doolittle the taste and smell of every pub in England."Cooke, Alistair. "Shavian Source of a Delicious Daydream", The Manchester Guardian , 20 March 1956, p. 5

Looking back in 2004, Holloway's biographer Eric Midwinter wrote, "With his cockney authenticity, his splendid baritone voice, and his wealth of comedy experience, he made a great success of this role, and, as he said, it put him 'bang on top of the heap, in demand' again at a time when, in his mid-sixties, his career was beginning to wane".Holloway and Richards, p. 12 His performances earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Following his success on Broadway, Holloway played Pooh-Bah in a 1960 US television Bell Telephone Hour production of The Mikado , produced by the veteran Gilbert and Sullivan performer Martyn Green . Holloway appeared with Groucho Marx and Helen Traubel of the Metropolitan Opera.Shepherd, Marc. , The Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, accessed 11 April 2011 His notable films around this time included Alive and Kicking (film)| Alive and Kicking in 1959, co-starring Sybil Thorndike and Kathleen Harrison ,"Cinemas", The Observer , 14 June 1959, p. 25 and No Love for Johnnie in 1961 opposite Peter Finch ."Weaknesses of plot mar 'No Love for Johnnie'", The Guardian , 24 April 1961, p. 19 In 1962, Holloway took part in a studio recording of Oliver! with Alma Cogan and Violet Carson , in which he played Fagin. studio cast recording, 1962 LP, Capitol, accessed 14 September 2011

In 1962 Holloway played the role of an English butler called Higgins in a US television sitcom called Our Man Higgins . It ran for only a season. His son, Julian Holloway|Julian , also appeared in the series.Obituary, The Times , 1 February 1982, p. 10 In 1964 he again appeared on stage in Philadelphia in Cool Off! , a short-lived Faust ian spoof.Mandelbaum, Ken. Broadway.com, accessed 23 April 2011 He returned to the US a few more times after that to take part in The Dean Martin Show three times and The Red Skelton Show twice. He also appeared in the 1965 war film '' In Harm's Way '', together with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas .Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times , 7 April 1965

Last years

Holloway appeared for the first time in a major British television series in the BBC's 1967 adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse 's Blandings Castle stories, playing Beach, the butler, to Ralph Richardson 's Lord Emsworth. His portrayal of Beach was received with critical reservation, but the series was a popular success.
In 1970, Holloway began an association with the Shaw Festival in Canada, playing Burgess in Candida (play)|Candida . He made what he considered his West End debut as a straight actor in Siege by David Ambrose at the Cambridge Theatre in 1972, co-starring with Alastair Sim and Michael Bryant (actor)|Michael Bryant . He returned to George Bernard Shaw|Shaw and Canada, playing the central character Walter/William in You Never Can Tell (play)|You Never Can Tell in 1973. His final film appearance was in 1975 in Daniel Mann 's Journey into Fear (1975 film)|Journey into Fear with Zero Mostel , Joseph Wiseman and Shelley Winters .Maltin, p. 720

Holloway continued to perform until well into his eighties, touring Asia and Australia in 1977 together with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and David Langton in The Pleasure of His Company , by Samuel A. Taylor and Cornelia Otis Skinner . He made his last appearance performing at the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium in 1980, aged 89., British Film Institute, accessed 23 April 2011

Holloway died of a stroke at the Nightingale Nursing Home in Littlehampton , West Sussex , on 30& nbsp;January& nbsp;1982, aged 91. He is buried, along with his wife Violet, at St. Mary the Virgin Church in East Preston, West Sussex|East Preston , West Sussex.

Personal life

Holloway was married twice, first to Alice "Queenie" Foran. They met in June& nbsp;1913 in Clacton, while he was performing in a concert party and she was selling charity flags on behalf of the RNLI .Holloway and Richards, p. 66 Queenie was orphaned at the age of& nbsp;16, something that Holloway felt he and Queenie had in common, as his mother had died that year and his father had earlier abandoned the family. He married Queenie in November& nbsp;1913.Holloway and Richards, p. 68

They had four children: Joan, born on Holloway's 24th birthday in 1914, Patricia (b. 1920), John (b. 1925) and Mary (b. 1928).Holloway and Richards, pp. 69–70 Upon the death of her mother, Queenie inherited some property in Southampton Row and relied on the rents from the property for her income.Holloway and Richards, p. 71 During the First World War, while Holloway was away fighting in France, Queenie began to have financial trouble, as the tenants failed to pay their rent. Out of desperation, she approached several loan sharks in order to survive, incurring a huge debt about which Holloway knew nothing. She also started to drink heavily as the pressures from the war and of supporting her daughter took their toll. On Holloway's return from the war, the debt was paid off, but in the late 1920s, he found himself in difficulties with the British tax authorities and was briefly declared bankrupt."An Actor's Affairs", The Times , 4 December 1931, p. 4 He and Queenie lived together until her death in 1937, at the age of& nbsp;45, from cirrhosis of the liver .Holloway and Richards, pp. 71–72 Little is known about the children from this first marriage, except that John worked as an engineer in an electrics company, and Mary worked for British Petroleum for many years.Holloway and Richards, p. 70

On 2& nbsp;January& nbsp;1939, Holloway married a 25-year-old actress and former chorus dancer named Violet Marion Lane (1913& ndash;1997).Holloway and Richards, pp. 170–71 Violet was born into a working class family from Leeds . Her mother was Scottish, and her civil engineer father, Alfred Lane, was a Yorkshire man.Midwinter, Eric. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, accessed 16 November 2011 The marriage lasted over 40& nbsp;years until Holloway's death in 1982. Although he was a client of the Aza Agency in London, Violet effectively managed Holloway's career, and no project was taken on without her approval. In his autobiography, Holloway said of her, "I suppose I am committing lawful bigamy. Not only is she my wife, lover, mother, cook, chauffeuse, private secretary, house keeper, hostess, electrician, business manager, critic, handy woman, she is also my best friend."Holloway and Richards, p. 65 They had one son, Julian Holloway|Julian , who also became an actor and is best known for appearing in the Carry On films|Carry On films. Julian had a brief relationship with Patricia Neal 's daughter Tessa Dahl (Stanley Holloway had appeared with Neal in the 1965 film ''In Harm's Way ), which produced a daughter, the model and author Sophie Dahl ,Banks-Smith, Nancy. The Guardian , 24 March 2010 and he later was briefly married to the actress Zena Walker . The Telegraph , 8 September 2003

Holloway, Violet and Julian lived mainly in the tiny village of Penn, Buckinghamshire .Holloway and Richards, p. 322 Holloway also owned other properties including a flat in St. John's Wood in North West London,. Hulton Archive, GettyImages.co.uk, accessed 30 November 2011 which he used when working in the capital,Holloway and Richards, p. 172 and a flat in Manhattan during the My Fair Lady Broadway years. The final years of his life were spent in Angmering , West Sussex, with Violet. Holloway had many friends in show business and forged close friendships with people such as Leslie Henson, Gracie Fields, Maurice Chevalier , Laurence OlivierHolloway and Richards, p. 227 and Arthur Askey , who said of him, "He was the nicest man I ever knew. He never had a wrong word to say about anyone. He was a great actor, a super mimic and a one-man walking comic show.""Stanley Holloway dies, 91", The Sunday Express , 31 January 1982 While working in the US, Holloway numbered among his friends Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , Burgess Meredith and Groucho Marx.Holloway and Richards, p. 333

Honours, memorials and books

Holloway was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1960 New Year's Honours list for his services to entertainment. The New York Times , 1 January 1960, p. 2 In 1978, he was honoured with a special award by the Variety Club of Great Britain .

There is a memorial plaque dedicated to Holloway in St. Paul's, Covent Garden , London, which is known as "the actors' church". The plaque is next to a memorial to Gracie Fields.. Flickr.com, accessed 23 April 2011 In 2009 English Heritage unveiled a Blue Plaque at 25 Albany Road, Manor Park, Essex, the house in which Holloway was born in 1890. There is a building named after him at 2 Coolfin Road, Newham, London, called Stanley Holloway Court., Cylex Business Directory, accessed 23 April 2011

Holloway entitled his 1967 autobiography Wiv a Little Bit of Luck after the song he performed in My Fair Lady . The book was ghost-written by the writer and director Dick Richards and was published in 1967. He oversaw the publication of three volumes of the monologues by or associated with him: Monologues (1979); The Stanley Holloway Monologues (1980); and More Monologues (1981).

Recordings

Holloway had a 54-year recording career, beginning in the age of Gramophone record#Acoustic recording|acoustic recording , and ending in the era of the Gramophone record#Stereo sound|stereophonic LP . He mainly recorded songs from musicals and revues, and he recited many monologues on various subjects. Most prominent among his recordings (aside from his participation in recordings of My Fair Lady ) are those of three series of monologues that he made at invervals throughout his career. They featured Sam Small, Albert Ramsbottom, and historical events such as the Battle of Hastings , Magna Carta and the Battle of Trafalgar . In all, his discography runs to 130 recordings, spanning the period 1924 to 1978., recordings list at worldcat.org, accessed 14 September 2011 A review in Gramophone (magazine)|The Gramophone of one of his 1957 albums containing recordings of his old "concert party" songs commented, "what a fine voice he has and how well he can use it – diction, phrasing, range and the interpretative insight of the artist". The Gramophone , October 1961, p. 72

Notes and references

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Undetermined Music Artists

Stanley Holloway

Biography

Biography

Family background and early life

Career

Early career and First World War

Inter-war years

World War II and post-war

1950s and 1960s stage and screen

Last years

Personal life

Honours, memorials and books

Recordings

Notes and references

Sources

External links

Copyright Citations