Noel Coward

NOEL COWARD d1973. English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer known for his wit flamboyance and sense of personal style which was a combination of cheek, chic, pose and poise. He attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. He achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works including ; Hay Fever / Private Lives / Design for Living / Present Laughter and Blithe Spirit have remained in the regular theatre repertoire. He composed hundreds of songs, in addition to well over a dozen musical theatre works (including the operetta Bitter Sweet and comic revues) / poetry / several volumes of short stories / the novel Pomp and Circumstance and a three-volume autobiography. His stage / film acting and directing career spanned six decades, during which he starred in many of his own works. At the outbreak of the Second World War Coward volunteered for war work, running the British propaganda office in Paris. He also worked with the Secret Service, seeking to use his influence to persuade the American public and government to help Britain. He won an Academy Award in 1943 for his naval film drama, In Which We Serve and was knighted in 1969. In the 1950s he achieved fresh success as a cabaret performer, performing his own songs including ; Mad Dogs and Englishmen / London Pride and I went To a Marvellous Party. His plays and songs achieved new popularity in the 1960-1970s and his work / style continued to influence popular culture. He was knighted in 1969 and died age 74 in 1973 from heart disease.