Let's All Go To The Music Hall Quiz

Answer: Harry Lauder

Sir Harry Lauder started his career in the music halls of Scotland. He wrote most of his own songs and "I Love A Lassie" made him a British star. In 1911 he toured the USA, and was earning the sum of $1000 a night. An absolute fortune in those days. His career spanned forty years and in that time he toured America several times, as well as going to Australia.

He always performed in full Scottish dress and was famous for his bent walking stick. During World War I he organised a recruitment tour of music halls, and also raised over one million pounds to help servicemen returning after the war.

It was this work that earned him his Knighthood.

Answer: Jessie Wallace

With this film Jessie Wallace proved that there is much more to her than her "Eastenders" role. Doing all her own singing she performed virtually all of Marie Lloyd's famous songs, including "My Old Man Said Follow The Van" and "The Boy I Love Is Up In The Gallery". She also aged convincingly as the film followed Marie Lloyd's life from her teens to her fifties.

Answer: Shirley Eaton

The film had the Crazy Gang as employees of an ailing circus. They find Aladdin's magic lamp and decide to use it to save the circus with various comedic results. The most notable part of it is Flanagan and Allen singing me their signature tune, "Underneath The Arches". Shirley Eaton had a small part as one of the circus performers.

She went on to play Jill Masterson in the 1964 Bond film, "Goldfinger".

Answer: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

"It's A Long Way To Tipperary" was supposedly written by Jack Judge for a 5 shilling bet by in Stalybridge on 30th January 1912 and was performed at a local music hall the next night. During WWI it became a popular song among British army troops after an Irish regiment was reported, in the Daily Mail, to have sung it as they marched through Boulogne.

It has since become a signature tune in many war films. The prisoners of war sang it in Jean Renoir's film "La Grande Illusion" and the crew of the U-boat in "Das Boot" sang it. It was background music in "The Russian are Coming, the Russians are Coming" and it was sung by the staff of the newsroom as they marched off camera in the finale of the TV series "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". It is often played as part of the soundtrack of WWI TV documentaries. It is also the theme tune to the video game "The Great Escape".

(Question by Calpurnia 09)

Answer: Statler and Waldorf

Statler and Waldorf share the stage left balcony box in The Muppet Theatre, and from there they take great delight in taunting the characters on stage. Fozzie bear always seems to attract more teasing and cat calls than anyone else.

Their outfits from the routine "The Varsity Drag" which consists of pink and red striped jackets, orange pants and straw boaters was used on the action figures of Statler and Waldorf released in 2004 by Palisades Toys.

Fozzie and Pops (the Muppets stage doorman) performed a vaudeville act called "Once in Love with Amy". Kermit the protozoa and Fozzie the amoeba (seen in a waterdrop under a microscope) performed a Vaudeville shtick routine. Bert and Ernie are a famous duo from Sesame Street.

Answer: MAD

The routine of "Who's on First" is styled on early Burlesque acts which feature a play on words. Debate over who first created the skit still rages, and it is unclear if it was a new work in its own right or if it was the result of adaptation from similar skits. Almost seven years before Abbott and Costello formally performed their version, comedian Will Hay performed a routine about a schoolboy name Howe who lived in Ware but now hails from Wye.

The video library version (written by Desmond Devlin and illustrated by Mort Drucker) appeared in issue 378, February 1999. Instead of What, Who and Why, the article uses song titles from several artists including Tracy Chapman and Alanis Morissette.

Answer: Vesta Tilley

Vesta Tilley started her male impersonation career at the age of six. Her first London appearance was in 1878, at the age of 14, at the Royal Holborn theatre. She was known for her immaculately tailored male suits and clear soprano voice. She married Walter de Freece who built The Hippodrome chain of music hall theatres.

Gertie Gitana was an English artiste, Ella Shields came from the USA and also sang a song, called 'I'm Burlington Bertie from Bow', which was a parody of the Vesta Tilley song. Little Tich was a man, who wore trademark 3 foot long boots.

Answer: The Windmill

The film was called 'Mrs Henderson Presents', and also starred Will Young in his acting debut.
The Windmill theatre was the home of nudity for many years - none of the nude models was allowed to move so much as a finger, by decree of the Lord Chancellor - otherwise it was deemed too indecent. The theatre was owned by Mrs Laura Henderson and run by Vivian van Damm.

Answer: After The Ball

At a ball a young man goes to fetch his partner a drink. He returns to find her kissing another young man and leaves immediately, refusing to listen to her explanation. He makes his home far away and it is not until many years later that he receives a letter telling him Maggie is dying, come as she dies. "I saw forgiveness wrote in those lines".
He finds that it was her brother that she had kissed. Both had stayed single as they truly loved each other and they both lived out their lives with broken hearts. Victorians loved this sort of thing particularly the melancholy refrain.

"After the ball was over,
After the break of day-
After the dancers' leaving;
After the stars were gone;
Many a heart was broken
If you could read them all;
Many the hopes that had vanished
After the ball"

This song became one of the most successful of its time and sold over two million copies in sheet music. It was first used in the musical "A Trip to Chinatown", then in the musical "Show Boat" plus in both of the film versions (!936 and 1951) of that wonderful show. It was sung by Alice Faye in "Lillian Russell" and is also heard in the 1936 film "San Francisco".

Answer: George Robey

George Robey, who was knighted in 1954 for his services to charity, was a truly talented Music Hall performer who moved into straight acting in the 1930s. He often dressed as a woman and was famous for his pantomime Dames. One of his trademark things was to tell the audience not to laugh -'Desist!' - which made them laugh all the more: a device later used by such comics as Frankie Howerd and Tony Hancock.