Stanley Holloway on stage and screen
The English comic singer, monologist and actor Stanley Holloway, started his performing career in 1910. He starred in English seaside towns such as Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze, primarily in concert party and variety shows. The first of these, The White Coons Show, was soon followed by the more prestigious Nicely, Thanks! in 1913. From here, he went on to co-star in The Co-Optimists, a variety show which brought him to wider audience attention. After the First World War, he returned to London and found success in the West End musicals at the Winter Garden Theatre, including Kissing Time, followed in 1920 by A Night Out. The Co-Optimists continued until 1927, and he then appeared in Hit the Deck, a comic musical which appeared both in London and on Broadway. Reporting for The Manchester Guardian, the theatre critic Ivor Brown praised Holloway for a singing style "which coaxes the ear rather than clubbing the head."
In between his stage roles, Holloway had a successful film career. He made his silent film debut in 1921 in The Rotters and went on to star in over 60 motion pictures, with his last being in 1976. His credits covered many genres including drama, romance and comedy and he shared successful collaborations with a number of studios, including Gaumont-British Picture Corporation, Gainsborough Studios and, most notably, Ealing Studios. He started his association with Ealing in 1934, appearing in the fifth Gracie Fields picture, Sing As We Go. After a ten-year absence from the studios, Holloway returned to star in Champagne Charlie in 1944 alongside Tommy Trinder and went on to star in Nicholas Nickleby and Another Shore. However, it was the next three Ealing Comedies, Passport to Pimlico, The Lavender Hill Mob and The Titfield Thunderbolt, which confirmed Holloway as a mainstay of British cinema. His final film with the studio was Meet Mr. Lucifer.
In 1956, Holloway revived his flagging career, creating the role of Alfred P. Doolittle in the extraordinarily successful original Broadway production of My Fair Lady, which was made into a hit film in 1964 with Holloway in the same role. Owing to the film's success, he was able to get good roles in more films, including Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter alongside Herman's Hermits. His films in the early 1970s included The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Flight of the Doves and Up the Front. His final film was Journey into Fear, released in 1976.
Stage shows
| Production | Date | Role | Theatre | Notes | |
| The White Coons Show | 1910 | Various | Six week show in Walton-on-the-Naze | ||
| Nicely, Thanks! | 1913 | Various | Concert party in which Holloway first worked with Leslie Henson | ||
| Kissing Time | – 1 February 1919 | New Amsterdam Theatre, New York | Written by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse | ||
| Kissing Time | – 3 July 1920 | Winter Garden Theatre, London | Written by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse | ||
| The Disorderly Room | 1919 | Various | Victoria Palace Theatre | Written by Eric Blore, Holloway starred alongside Leslie Henson, Tom Walls and Jack Buchanan. The sketch later became popularly associated with Tommy Handley, who frequently played it on stage and on radio. | |
| A Night Out | – 18 June 1921 | René | Winter Garden Theatre | Ran for 309 performances | |
| The Co-Optimists | – | Various | Royalty Theatre | Devised by Davy Burnaby | |
| The Co-Optimists | – 4 August 1927 | Various | Palace Theatre | Devised by Davy Burnaby. The show ran for 500 performances. | |
| Hit the Deck | – | Belasco Theatre, New York | The musical was written by R.P. Weston, Bert Lee and Vincent Youmans with lyrics by Clifford Grey and Leo Robin. | ||
| Hit the Deck | – | Hippodrome, London | Ran for 277 performances. The musical was written by R.P. Weston, Bert Lee and Vincent Youmans with lyrics by Clifford Grey and Leo Robin. | ||
| Song of the Sea | 1928 | His Majesty's Theatre, London | An adaption of a German operetta "Lady Hamilton". Written by Arthur Wimperis with music composed by Eduard Künneke. | ||
| Coo-ee | 1929 | Various | Vaudeville Theatre, London | Revue with Billy Bennett, Dorothy Dickson and Claude Hulbert | |
| The Co-Optimists | 1929–1931 | Various | Revival of the popular show which toured the provencies, including the Princes Theatre, Bristol on 11 May 1931. | ||
| The Savoy Follies | 1931 | PC | Savoy Theatre, London | Written by Riginald Arkell and Wolseley Charles. Co-starring H. M. Walker, Hal David, Douglas Byng and Florence Desmond and where Holloway first introduced the monologue The Lion and Albert. | |
| Here We Are Again | – | Lyceum Theatre, London | |||
| Three Sisters | – | Theatre Royal, Drury Lane | The production featured Victoria Hopper, Adele Dixon, Esmond Knight and Charlotte Greenwood. Written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. | ||
| Aladdin | 1934 | Abanazar | First appearance in pantomime, co-starring Sir Henry Lytton, as the Emperor, playing it in successive years in Leeds, London, Edinburgh and Manchester. | ||
| London Rhapsody | 1938 | Various | London Palladium | Performed alongside The Crazy Gang. Holloway and comedian Jimmy Britton replaced Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen after they pulled out for contractual reasons. | |
| Up and Doing | – | Various | Saville Theatre, London | A revue written by Firth Shephard; co-starring Leslie Henson, Cyril Ritchard and Binnie Hale. | |
| Fine and Dandy | 1942 | Saville Theatre, London | Co-starring Leslie Henson, Douglas Byng, Dorothy Dickson and Graham Payn, the show had a run of three hundred and forty-six performances. | ||
| Mother Goose | – | London Casino, London | The show was Holloway's first and only London Christmas pantomime. He first performed the monologue "Sam's Christmas Pudding" after writing it especially for the production. | ||
| Hamlet | 1951 | First Gravedigger | New Theatre, London | Directed by Alec Guinness, who also played the title role. Holloway was offered the role of the First Gravedigger by Guinness who was impressed with his performance in the film version a few years earlier. | |
| Mr Lord Says No | 1951 | By Michael Clayton Hutton. It was adapted for the screen the following year and was retitled The Happy Family. Holloway played the same role in the film. | |||
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1954 | Holloway joined the Old Vic Company which toured America, performing at the Met. It opened in October 1954, having made a successful début at the Edinburgh Festival the same year. | |||
| My Fair Lady | – | Alfred P. Doolittle | Mark Hellinger Theatre | Holloway performed two songs; With a Little Bit of Luck and Get Me to the Church on Time. He was nominated for a Tony Award. | |
| My Fair Lady | – 3 October 1959 | Alfred P. Doolittle | Theatre Royal, Drury Lane | Holloway was replaced in the role by James Hayter | |
| Laughs and Other Events | – 17 October 1960 | Himself | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York | Produced by Martin Tahse, Directed by Tony Charmoli, Piano: Richmond Gale and Arthur Siegel; Banjo: Jerry Silverman; Concertina: Allan Atlas | |
| Cool Off | – 4 April 1964 | , Irving, policeman and Lester Lenz | Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia | Based on the legend of Faust | |
| Candida | 1970 | Burgess | Shown at the Shaw Festival, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada | ||
| Siege | 1972 | Cambridge Theatre, London | The show had a three-month run with Alastair Sim, David Ambrose and Michael Bryant. | ||
| You Can Never Tell | 1973 | William |
Film
Television
| Programme | Date | Channel | Role | Notes | |
| NBC | |||||
| DuPont Show of the Month: "Crescendo" | CBS | ||||
| NBC | Pooh-Bah | ||||
| ITV | Ibrahim | ||||
| Our Man Higgins | – 11 September 1963 | ABC | Higgins | 34 episodes | |
| Kraft Music Hall | NBC | ||||
| CBS | Eggcup Tycoon | ||||
| NBC | Himself | ||||
| Show of the Week, "'Ere's 'Olloway" | BBC2 | ||||
| Blandings Castle | – 31 March 1967 | BBC1 | Six episodes: "Lord Emsworth and Company for Gertrude", "Blandings Castle Pig Hoo-Oo-Ey!", "Lord Emsworth Acts For The Best", "Lord Emsworth and the Crime Wave at Blandings", "The Great Pumpkin Crisis" and "Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend" | ||
| CBS | |||||
| Armchair Theatre, "The Ballad of the Artificial Mash" | ITV | ||||
| Thingumybob | – | ITV | |||
| – 28 March 1972 | ITV | Documentary series about the First and Second World Wars; Holloway narrated five episodes | |||
| BBC | |||||
| Run a Crooked Mile | 18 November 1969 | Universal Television | Caretaker | ||
| If It Moves It's Rude: The Story of the Windmill Theatre | 26 December 1969 | BBC1 | On-screen participant | ||
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | 7 March 1973 | NBC | Poole | ||
| Fifty Bighearted Years; The Variety Club of Great Britain's Tribute to Arthur Askey | ITV | ||||
| Looks Familiar | ITV | ||||
| Royal Variety Performance | BBC1 |