Dan Leno was a star of the music halls in the 1880s
and known as the 'Funniest Man on Earth'. He was also
one of the most popular pantomime dames of the 1890s.
Born in 1860 his real name was George Galvin and, like
many music hall performers, his parents were also on
the halls. His first performance was at the Cosmotheca
Music Hall in Paddington, London where he was billed
as 'Little George, the Infant Wonder, Contortionist
and Posturer'.
He became known as a clog dancer, travelling the halls
around the country, often giving twenty shows a night
in different taverns. In 1880 he became World Champion
Clog Dancer and won a silver belt. The judges sat under
the stage and listened to the beats.
His clog dancing didn't go down so well with audiences
in London and he turned instead to developing his comedy
routine. Leno developed a rambling character monologue
as part of his comic song where he would talk directly
to the audiences. He managed to evoke a whole gallery
of characters based on minute observation, which conjured
up the street life of London, where people gossiped
on their doorsteps and through open windows.
Leno claimed that the characters in his songs were
all founded on real people; the talkative old woman,
the
Beefeater with
more interest in the refreshment room than history,
the chatty shopkeeper. One of his most famous monologues
was the neighbour gossiping about the imaginary Mrs
Kelly. ' Mrs Kelly, you know Mrs Kelly'. But all
his comedy was tinged with
pathos - like many of his audience, he was the little man, and his comedy was an out
pouring of deep grievances.
In 1886 Leno played the dame in Jack and the Beanstalk at
the Surrey Theatre. Such was his success that
Augustus Harris hired him as dame at Drury
Lane for the 1888 production of Babes in the Wood. He became one
of the greatest and most popular of all pantomime dames and continued to play
during the Christmas season at Drury Lane for the next 15 years.
Leno's nickname, 'the King's Jester', came after he
appeared before Edward VII at Sandringham House in
Norfolk in 1901. He died after a nervous breakdown
at the age of 42. He had performed almost daily for
36 years of his life.
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