thumb|right|Dan Leno in the 1880s
George Wild Galvin (20 December 1860 – 31 October 1904), better known by the stage name Dan Leno, was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era. He was best known, aside from his music hall act, for his dame roles in the annual pantomimes that were popular at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, from 1888 to 1904.
Leno was born in St Pancras, London, and began to entertain as a child. In 1864, he joined his parents on stage in their music hall act, and he made his first solo appearance, aged nine, at the Britannia Music Hall in Coventry. As a youth, he was famous for his clog dancing, and in his teen years, he became the star of his family's act. He adopted the stage name Dan Leno and, in 1884, made his first performance under that name in London. As a solo artist, he became increasingly popular during the late 1880s and 1890s, when he was one of the highest-paid comedians in the world. He developed a music hall act of talking about life's mundane subjects, mixed with comic songs and surreal observations, and created a host of mostly working-class characters to illustrate his stories. In 1901, still at the peak of his career, he performed his "Huntsman" sketch for Edward VII at Sandringham. The monarch was so impressed that Leno became publicly known as "the king's jester".
Leno also appeared in burlesque and, every year from 1888 to 1904, in the Drury Lane Theatre's Christmas pantomime spectacles. He was generous and active in charitable causes, especially to benefit performers in need. Leno continued to appear in musical comedies and his own music hall routines until 1902, although he suffered increasingly from alcoholism. This, together with his long association with dame and low comedy roles, prevented him from being taken seriously as a dramatic actor, and he was turned down for Shakespearean roles. Leno began to behave in an erratic and furious manner by 1902, and he suffered a mental breakdown in early 1903. He was committed to a mental asylum, but was discharged later that year. After one more show, his health declined, and he died aged 43.
Biography
Family background and early life
Leno was born on 20 December 1860 in St Pancras, London. He was the youngest of six children, including two elder brothers, John and Henry, and an elder sister, Frances. Two other siblings died in infancy. His parents, John Galvin (1826–1864) and his wife Louisa (née Dutton; 1831–1891), performed together in a music hall double act called "The Singing and Acting Duettists". Known professionally as Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Wild, they did not achieve much success, and the family struggled in poverty.
Having had very little schooling, and being raised by performers, Leno learned to entertain as a child. In 1864, at the age of four, Leno joined his parents on stage for the first time, at the Cosmotheca Music Hall in Paddington, under the billing "Little George, the Infant Wonder, Contortionist, and Posturer".
When Leno was four years old, his alcoholic father died, aged 37; on 7 March 1866. He was a seasoned actor and had been employed by Charles Kean in his theatre company at the Princess's Theatre in London. In 1866, the family home in Marylebone was demolished to make way for St Pancras railway station, and as a result Leno's sister Frances was sent to live with an uncle, while his brother John, who had occasionally performed with his parents, took full-time employment. On 18 July 1866, Leno, Henry and their parents appeared on the opening night of the Cambridge Music Hall in Toxteth, Liverpool, under the billing "Mr. and Mrs. Leno, the Great, Sensational, Dramatic and Comic Duettists and The Brothers Leno, Lancashire Clog, Boot and Pump Dancers". The following year, the brothers made their first appearance without their parents at the Britannia music hall in Hoxton. Tired of surviving on little or no money, Henry left the clog dancing act to take up a trade in London, forcing Leno to consider a future as a solo performer. Henry later founded a dance school. Leno and Danvers had been close from an early age. Arriving in Ireland the same year, the Lenos were struggling financially and stayed with William's relatives. In addition to his performances as part of the family act, young Leno appeared as a solo act under an Irish-sounding stage name, "Dan Patrick". During this tour of Ireland, the Lenos appeared in Dublin in a pantomime written by Leno's father: Old King Humpty; or, Harlequin Emerald Isle and Katty of Killarney (1869), for which Leno was praised by Charles Dickens, who was in the audience and told him: "Good little man, you'll make headway!"
In 1870, the Lenos appeared in another pantomime by Leno's father, Jack the Giant Killer; or, Harlequin Grim Gosling, or the Good Fairy Queen of the Golden Pine Grove, in which Leno played the title character and featured in the variety entertainment that preceded the pantomime. Throughout the 1870s, Leno and his parents performed as "The Comic Trio (Mr. & Mrs. Leno and Dan Patrick) In Their Really Funny Entertainments, Songs and Dances". Opening at Pullan's Theatre of Varieties in Bradford on 20 May 1878, this burlesque featured Leno as an escaped monkey; it became his favourite sketch of the period. At the same time, Leno's clog dancing continued to be so good that in 1880 he won the world championship at the Princess's Music Hall in Leeds,
1880s
thumb|left|upright|"The Railway Guard", 1890
In 1878, Leno and his family moved to Manchester. There he met Lydia Reynolds, who, in 1883, joined the Leno family theatre company, which already consisted of his parents, Danvers and Leno. The following year, Leno and Reynolds married; around this time, he adopted the stage name "Dan Leno". The Lenos felt comfortable with their working-class Sheffield audiences. On their opening night, over 4,000 patrons entered the theatre, paying sixpence to see Dan Leno star in Doctor Cut 'Em Up. In October 1884, facing tough competition, the Lenos gave up the lease on the theatre.
In 1885, Leno and his wife moved to Clapham Park, London, and Leno gained new success with a solo act that featured comedy patter, dancing and song. Although billed as "The Great Irish Comic Vocalist and Clog Champion" at first, he slowly phased out his dancing in favour of character studies, such as "Going to Buy Milk for the Twins", Leno's other London venues in the late 1880s included Collins's Music Hall in Islington, the Queen's Theatre in Poplar and the Standard in Pimlico.
Leno was a replacement in the role of Leontes in the 1888 musical burlesque of the ancient Greek character Atalanta at the Strand Theatre, directed by Charles Hawtrey. It was written by Hawtrey's brother, George P. Hawtrey, and it starred Frank Wyatt, Willie Warde and William Hawtrey. The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News praised Leno's singing and dancing and reported that: "He brings a good deal of fun and quaintness to the not very important part of Leontes." Leno accepted the role at short notice, with no opportunity to learn the script. But his improvised comedy helped to extend the life of the show. When Leno and another leading actor left a few months later, the production closed.
Music hall
During the 1890s, Leno was the leading performer on the music hall stage, rivalled only by Albert Chevalier, who moved into music hall from the legitimate theatre. Their styles and appeal were very different: Leno's characters were gritty working-class realists, while Chevalier's were overflowing in romanticism, and his act depicted an affluent point of view. According to Leno's biographer Barry Anthony, the two "represented the opposite poles of cockney comedy".|group= n
For his music hall acts, Leno created characters that were based on observations about life in London, including shopwalkers, grocer's assistants, beefeaters, huntsmen, racegoers, firemen, fathers, henpecked husbands, garrulous wives, pantomime dames, a police officer, a Spanish bandit and a hairdresser.
thumb|left|upright|"the Shopwalker", 1891
For his London acts, Leno purchased songs from the foremost music hall writers and composers. One such composer was Harry King, who wrote many of Leno's early successes. Other well-known composers of the day who supplied Leno with numbers included Harry Dacre and Joseph Tabrar. The songs in each piece became instantly distinctive and familiar to Leno's audiences, but his occasional changes to the characterisations kept the sketches fresh and topical.
"The Railway Guard" featured Leno in a mad characterisation of a railway station guard dressed in an ill-fitting uniform, with an unkempt beard and a whistle. The character was created by exaggerating the behaviour that Leno saw in a real employee at Brixton station who concerned himself in other people's business while, at the same time, not doing any work. "The Shopwalker" was full of comic one-liners and was heavily influenced by pantomime. Leno played the part of a shop assistant, again of manic demeanour, enticing imaginary clientele into the shop before launching into a frantic selling technique sung in verse. Leno's depiction of "The Waiter", dressed in an oversized dinner jacket and loose-fitting white dickey, which would flap up and hit his face, was of a man consumed in self-pity and indignation. Overworked, overwrought and overwhelmed by the number of his customers, the waiter gave out excuses for the bad service faster than the customers could complain: Conquest also hired Leno's wife to star in the production. The pantomime was a success, and Leno received rave reviews; as a result, he was booked to star as Tinpanz the Tinker in the following year's pantomime, which had the unique title of Sinbad and the Little Old Man of the Sea; or, The Tinker, the Tailor, the Soldier, the Sailor, Apothecary, Ploughboy, Gentleman Thief. Harris's pantomime productions at the huge theatre were known for their extravagance and splendour. Each one had a cast of over a hundred performers, ballet dancers, acrobats, marionettes and animals, and included an elaborate transformation scene and an energetic harlequinade. Often they were partly written by Harris. Herbert Campbell and Harry Nicholls starred with Leno in the next fifteen Christmas productions at Drury Lane. Campbell had appeared in the theatre's previous five pantomimes and was a favourite of the writer of those productions, E. L. Blanchard. Blanchard left the theatre when Leno was hired, believing that music hall performers were unsuitable for his Christmas pantomimes.
thumb|left|upright|[[Harry Nicholls (comedian)|Harry Nicholls and Herbert Campbell, Leno's co-stars in many pantomimes]]
Babes in the Wood was a triumph: the theatre reported record attendance, and the run was extended until 27 April 1889. Leno considerably reduced his music-hall engagements as a consequence. Nevertheless, between April and October 1889, Leno appeared simultaneously at the Empire Theatre and the Oxford Music Hall, performing his one-man show. During Leno's long association with the Drury Lane pantomimes, he appeared chiefly as the dame. After Harris died in 1896, Arthur Collins became the manager of the theatre and oversaw (and often helped to write) the pantomimes. They would often deviate from the script, improvising freely. This was met with some scepticism by producers, who feared that the scenes would not be funny to audiences and observed that, in any event, they were rarely at their best until a few nights after opening. and the English essayist and caricaturist Max Beerbohm stated that "Leno does not do himself justice collaborating with the public". He noted, however, that Leno "was exceptional in giving each of his dames a personality of her own, from extravagant queen to artless gossip". In Sleeping Beauty, Leno and Campbell caused the audience to laugh even when they could not see them: they would arrive on stage in closed palanquins and exchange the lines, "Have you anything to do this afternoon, my dear?" – "No, I have nothing on", before being carried off again.
thumb|upright|right|As Sister Anne in Bluebeard, 1901
Leno considered the dame roles in two of his last pantomimes, Bluebeard (1901) and Mother Goose (1902), written by J. Hickory Wood, to be his favourites. He was paid £200 (£ in adjusted for inflation) for each of the pantomime seasons. Leno appeared at Drury Lane as Sister Anne in Bluebeard, a character described by Wood as "a sprightly, somewhat below middle aged person who was of a coming on disposition and who had not yet abandoned hope" The Times drama critic noted: "It is a quite peculiar and original Sister Anne, who dances breakdowns and sings strange ballads to a still stranger harp and plays ping-pong with a frying-pan and potatoes and burlesques Sherlock Holmes and wears the oddest of garments and dresses her hair like Miss Morleena Kenwigs, and speaks in a piping voice – in short it is none other than Dan Leno whom we all know". Mother Goose provided Leno with one of the most challenging roles of his career, in which he was required to portray the same woman in several different guises. Wood's idea, that neither fortune nor beauty would bring happiness, was illustrated by a series of magical character transformations. The poor, unkempt and generally ugly Mother Goose eventually became a rich and beautiful but tasteless parvenu, searching for a suitor. The production was one of Drury Lane's most successful pantomimes, running until 28 March 1903. Leno toured the provinces in the piece and was an immediate success. So popular was his performance that Bode re-engaged him for a further two shows: the musical farce In Gay Piccadilly! (1899), by George R. Sims, in which Leno's uncle, Johnny Danvers appeared (The Era said that Leno was "attracting huge houses" and called him "excruciatingly funny"); and the musical comedy Mr. Wix of Wickham (1902). Both toured after their original runs. In 1897, Leno went to America and made his debut on 12 April of that year at Hammerstein's Olympia Music Hall on Broadway, where he was billed as "The Funniest Man on Earth". Reviews were mixed: one newspaper reported that the house roared its approval, while another complained that Leno's English humour was out of date. His American engagement came to an end a month later, and Leno said that it was "the crown of my career". Despite his jubilation, Leno was conscious of the few negative reviews he had received and rejected all later offers to tour the United States and Australia. The comedian retained editorial control of the paper, deciding which items to omit. The Journal was known for its slogans, including "One Touch of Leno Makes the Whole World Grin" and "Won't wash clothes but will mangle melancholy". The cover always showed a caricature of Leno and his editorial staff at work and play. Inside, the features included "Daniel's Diary", "Moans from the Martyr", two yarns, a couple of dozen cartoons and "Leno's Latest – Fresh Jokes and Wheezes Made on the Premises". After a run of nearly two years the novelty wore off, and Leno lost interest. The paper shut down on 2 December 1899. In 1898, Leno, Herbert Campbell and Danvers formed a consortium to build the Granville Theatre in Fulham, which was demolished in 1971. Leno published an autobiography, Dan Leno: Hys Booke, in 1899, possibly assisted by a ghostwriter, T. C. Elder. That year, Leno performed the role of "waxi omo" (a slang expression for a black-face performer) in the Doo-da-Day Minstrels, an act that included Danvers, Campbell, Bransby Williams, Joe Elvin and Eugene Stratton. The troupe's only performance was at the London Pavilion on 29 May 1899 as part of a benefit. Leno's song "The Funny Little Nigger" greatly amused the audience. His biographer Barry Anthony considered the performance to be "more or less, the last gasp of black-face minstrelsy in Britain". He also made 14 short films towards the end of his life, in which he portrayed a bumbling buffoon who struggles to carry out everyday tasks, such as riding a bicycle or opening a bottle of champagne. On 26 November 1901, Leno, along with Seymour Hicks and his wife, the actress Ellaline Terriss, was invited to Sandringham House to take part in a Royal Command Performance to entertain King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, their son George and his wife, Mary, the Prince and Princess of Wales. Leno performed a thirty-five-minute solo act that included two of his best-known songs: "How to Buy a House" and "The Huntsman". After the performance, Leno reported, "The King, the Queen and the Prince of Wales all very kindly shook hands with me and told me how much they had enjoyed it. The Princess of Wales was just going to shake hands with me, when she looked at my face, and couldn't do it for some time, because she laughed so much. I wasn't intending to look funny – I was really trying to look dignified and courtly; but I suppose I couldn't help myself." As a memento, the King presented Leno with a jewel-encrusted royal tie pin, and thereafter, Leno became known as "the King's Jester". Leno was the first music hall performer to give a Royal Command Performance during the King's reign.
Personal life
In 1883, Leno met Sarah Lydia Reynolds (1866–1942), a young dancer and comedy singer from Birmingham, while both were appearing at King Ohmy's Circus of Varieties, Rochdale. The daughter of a stage carpenter, Lydia, as she was known professionally, was already an accomplished actress as a teenager: of her performance in Sinbad the Sailor in 1881, one critic wrote that she "played Zorlida very well for a young artiste. She is well known at this theatre and with proper training will prove a very clever actress." She and Leno married in 1884 in a discreet ceremony at St. George's Church, in Hulme, Manchester, soon after the birth of their first daughter, Georgina. A second child died in infancy, and John was born in 1888. After Leno's mother and stepfather retired from performing, Leno supported them financially until their deaths.
Leno owned "an acre or so" of land at the back of his house in Clapham Park, producing cabbages, potatoes, poultry, butter and eggs. In 1898, Leno and his family moved to 56 Akerman Road, Lambeth, where they lived for several years. A blue plaque was erected there in 1962 by the London County Council.
Charity and fundraising
The Terriers Association was established in 1890 to help retired artists in need of financial help. Leno was an active fundraiser in this and in the Music Hall Benevolent Fund, of which he became the president. Some of Leno's charity was discreet and unpublicised.
In the late 1890s, Leno formed a cricket team called the "Dainties", for which he recruited many of the day's leading comedians and music hall stars. They played for charity against a variety of amateur teams willing to put up with their comedic mayhem, such as London's Metropolitan Police Force; Leno's and his teammates' tomfoolery on the green amused the large crowds that they drew. From 1898 to 1903, the Dainties continued to play matches across London. Two films of action from the matches were produced in 1900 for audiences of the new medium of cinema. In September 1901, at a major charity match, the press noted the carnival atmosphere. The comedians wore silly costumes – Leno was dressed as an undertaker and later as a schoolgirl riding a camel. Bands played, and clowns circulated through the crowd. The rival team of professional Surrey cricketers were persuaded to wear tall hats during the match. 18,000 spectators attended, contributing funds for music hall and cricketers' charities, among others.
Decline and mental breakdown
thumb|upright|left|Leno as Mother Goose
Leno began to drink heavily after performances, and, by 1901, like his father and stepfather before him, he had become an alcoholic. By 1902, Leno's angry and violent behaviour directed at fellow cast members, friends and family had become frequent. Once composed, he would become remorseful and apologetic. He attempted to persuade her to act alongside him in a Shakespearean season that Leno was willing to fund. On the second visit to her home, Leno brought Collier a diamond brooch. Recognising that Leno was having a mental breakdown, she gently refused his offer, and Leno left distraught. where he spent several months under the care of Dr. Savage, who treated Leno with "peace and quiet and a little water colouring". On his second day, Leno told a nurse that the clock was wrong. When she stated that it was right, Leno remarked, "Well if it's right, then what's it doing here?" Leno made several attempts to leave the asylum, twice being successful. He was found each time and promptly returned.
Last year and death
thumb|right|upright|Leno's memorial at Lambeth cemetery, London
Upon Leno's release from the institution in October 1903, the press offered much welcoming commentary and speculated as to whether he would appear that year in the Drury Lane pantomime, scheduled to be Humpty Dumpty. Concerned that Leno might suffer a relapse, Arthur Collins employed Marie Lloyd to take his place. By the time of rehearsals, however, Leno persuaded Collins that he was well enough to take part, and the cast was reshuffled to accommodate him. Leno appeared with success. Upon hearing his signature song, the audience reportedly gave him a standing ovation that lasted five minutes. He received a telegram from the King congratulating him on his performance.
Leno's stage partner Herbert Campbell died in July 1904, shortly after the pantomime, following an accident at the age of fifty-seven. The death affected Leno deeply, and he went into a decline. At that time, he was appearing at the London Pavilion, but the show had to be cancelled owing to his inability to remember his lines. On 20 October 1904, Leno gave his last performance in the show. Afterwards, he stopped at the Belgrave Hospital for Children in Kennington, of which he was vice-president, to leave a donation.
Leno died at his home in London on 31 October 1904, aged 43, and was buried at Lambeth Cemetery, London.