Marriott Edgar - Revision history

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	~~{{short description\|British comedian and poet (1880–1951)}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2019}}~~
	~~{{EngvarB\|date=August 2022}}~~
	[[File:Marriot Edgar (2).jpg\|thumb\|right\|Marriott Edgar in pantomime dame costume]]		[[File:Marriot Edgar (2).jpg\|thumb\|right\|Marriott Edgar in pantomime dame costume]]
	'''Marriott Edgar''' (5 October 1880 – 5 May 1951), born '''George Marriott Edgar''' in [[Kirkcudbright]], Scotland, was an English poet, scriptwriter and comedian,<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.poetry.net/poet/Marriott+Edgar\|title=Marriott Edgar Poems\|website=Poetry.net\|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> best known for writing many of the [[monologue]]s performed by [[Stanley Holloway]], particularly the 'Albert' series. In total he wrote sixteen monologues for Stanley Holloway, whilst Holloway himself wrote only five.		'''Marriott Edgar''' (5 October 1880 – 5 May 1951), born '''George Marriott Edgar''' in [[Kirkcudbright]], Scotland, was an English poet, scriptwriter and comedian,<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.poetry.net/poet/Marriott+Edgar\|title=Marriott Edgar Poems\|website=Poetry.net\|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> best known for writing many of the [[monologue]]s performed by [[Stanley Holloway]], particularly the 'Albert' series. In total he wrote sixteen monologues for Stanley Holloway, whilst Holloway himself wrote only five.
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	==Early career==		==Early career==
	George Marriott Edgar was a performer, poet and writer. He began his career as a scene-painter,<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002237/19070118/102/0010\|title=\|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]\|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> but from 1907 until his death, he was known to the public as a comedian who played [[pantomime dame]]s. During the [[First World War]] he served with the [[Royal Sussex Regiment]] and the Mechanical Transport, and afterwards he toured Australia, New Zealand and South Africa with his dame act.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000726/19510515/039/0007\|title=\|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]\|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="The Stage 17 May 1951" >{{Cite web\|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001179/19510517/010/0003\|title=\|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]\|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000748/19230208/047/0005\|title=\|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> In 1929, he joined the cast of ''[[The Co-Optimists]]'' and worked with [[Stanley Holloway]].<ref name=ginell>[http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=718 Cary Ginell on Stanley Holloway at classicsonline.com] {{webarchive \|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233659/http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=718 \|date=2016-03-03}}</ref> At the start of the 1930s they went to Hollywood, where Edgar – who had dropped his first name for the professional appellation Marriott Edgar – met his half-brother Edgar Wallace.~~{{citation needed\|date=January 2019}}~~		George Marriott Edgar was a performer, poet and writer. He began his career as a scene-painter,<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002237/19070118/102/0010\|title=\|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]\|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> but from 1907 until his death, he was known to the public as a comedian who played [[pantomime dame]]s. During the [[First World War]] he served with the [[Royal Sussex Regiment]] and the Mechanical Transport, and afterwards he toured Australia, New Zealand and South Africa with his dame act.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000726/19510515/039/0007\|title=\|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]\|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="The Stage 17 May 1951" >{{Cite web\|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001179/19510517/010/0003\|title=\|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]\|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000748/19230208/047/0005\|title=\|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> In 1929, he joined the cast of ''[[The Co-Optimists]]'' and worked with [[Stanley Holloway]].<ref name=ginell>[http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=718 Cary Ginell on Stanley Holloway at classicsonline.com] {{webarchive \|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233659/http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=718 \|date=2016-03-03}}</ref> At the start of the 1930s they went to Hollywood, where Edgar – who had dropped his first name for the professional appellation Marriott Edgar – met his half-brother Edgar Wallace.

	==Monologues==		==Monologues==

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External links

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	==External links==		==External links==
	~~{{Commons category}}~~
	~~{{Wikiquote}}~~
	*{{IMDb name}}		*{{IMDb name}}
	*{{AllMovie name}}		*{{AllMovie name}}
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	*[http://www.seiyaku.com/lit/monologues/index.html All Marriott Edgar monologues with a preface for each one]		*[http://www.seiyaku.com/lit/monologues/index.html All Marriott Edgar monologues with a preface for each one]
	*[https://www.greatwartheatre.org.uk/db/person/1226/ Play by Marriott Edgar on Great War Theatre website]		*[https://www.greatwartheatre.org.uk/db/person/1226/ Play by Marriott Edgar on Great War Theatre website]

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	~~{{Edgar Wallace}}~~
	~~{{Marriott Edgar}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgar, Marriott}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgar, Marriott}}

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{{short description|British comedian and poet (1880–1951)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2022}}
[[File:Marriot Edgar (2).jpg|thumb|right|Marriott Edgar in pantomime dame costume]]
'''Marriott Edgar''' (5 October 1880 – 5 May 1951), born '''George Marriott Edgar''' in [[Kirkcudbright]], Scotland, was an English poet, scriptwriter and comedian,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poetry.net/poet/Marriott+Edgar|title=Marriott Edgar Poems|website=Poetry.net|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> best known for writing many of the [[monologue]]s performed by [[Stanley Holloway]], particularly the 'Albert' series. In total he wrote sixteen monologues for Stanley Holloway, whilst Holloway himself wrote only five.

==Family background==
Edgar's great grandfather was [[James Henry Marriott]].<ref name="lane" /> His parents were Jane (also known as Jenny) ''née'' Taylor, born in London in 1856, and Richard Horatio Marriott Edgar (1847–1894), only son of [[Alice Marriott (actress)|Alice Marriott]] (1824–1900), proprietress of the Marriott family theatre troupe. Richard was born in Manchester, Lancashire, near Christmas 1847 as Richard Horatio Marriott; both his two sisters, Adeline Marriott (b. 1853) and Grace Marriott (b. 1858) were also born in Lancashire. Later all three children chose to take the surname of their mother's husband, Robert Edgar, whom she married in 1856.<ref name=BMD1>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl?start=1856&end=1856&sq=2&eq=2&type=Marriages&vol=1d&pgno=130&jsexec=1&mono=0&v=MTM0NTgwMjQ5OTo2YTNlNWYwYzRiOGNmODllMThjYjE3ODkzY2UwY2MyMTAyMDQyZmZj&searchdef=db=bmd_1344282533&sq=1&v=MTM0NTgwMTc4MDowMWFlOWIzMmE2YzgxZDExMzZjMDQ3MDc0ZDI2ZGM5ODdiMjE2OTYx&s_surname=marriott&surname=edgar&end=1856&type=Marriages&eq=2&start=1856&action=Find|title=FreeBMD - Search|website=Freebmd.org.uk|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref>

Richard and Jane married in March 1875, with Richard being unaware that he had fathered an illegitimate namesake son, Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace, with widowed actress Mrs Mary Jane "Polly" Richards, after a brief sexual encounter. Polly, having invented an obligation in London to hide her pregnancy, gave birth in secret on 1 April 1875, almost a month after Richard and Jenny married. This son became the famous journalist, novelist, playwright and screenplay writer, [[Edgar Wallace]].<ref name="lane" >{{cite book |title=Edgar Wallace; the Biography of a Phenomenon |first=Margaret |last=Lane |publisher=The Book Club |year=1939}}</ref>

Richard and Jenny Taylor's children were Alice Marriott Edgar (b. 1876, London), twins Richard and Jennifer Marriott Edgar (b. 1878, London), after whose births the family moved to Scotland, where George was born on 5 October 1880,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.poemhunter.com/marriott-edgar/|title=Marriott Edgar - Marriott Edgar Poems - Poem Hunter|website=Poemhunter.com|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> then returning to London, where Joseph Marriott Edgar was born in 1884 and Adeline Alice Edgar in 1886.

==Early career==
George Marriott Edgar was a performer, poet and writer. He began his career as a scene-painter,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002237/19070118/102/0010|title=|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> but from 1907 until his death, he was known to the public as a comedian who played [[pantomime dame]]s. During the [[First World War]] he served with the [[Royal Sussex Regiment]] and the Mechanical Transport, and afterwards he toured Australia, New Zealand and South Africa with his dame act.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000726/19510515/039/0007|title=|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="The Stage 17 May 1951" >{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001179/19510517/010/0003|title=|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000748/19230208/047/0005|title=|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> In 1929, he joined the cast of ''[[The Co-Optimists]]'' and worked with [[Stanley Holloway]].<ref name=ginell>[http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=718 Cary Ginell on Stanley Holloway at classicsonline.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233659/http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=718 |date=2016-03-03}}</ref> At the start of the 1930s they went to Hollywood, where Edgar – who had dropped his first name for the professional appellation Marriott Edgar – met his half-brother Edgar Wallace.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

==Monologues==
[[File:The Albert and the Lion, Blackpool - DSC07222.JPG|thumb|right|alt=exterior of large mid-20th century public house|'The Albert and the Lion', a pub on Blackpool Promenade, near [[Blackpool Tower|the Tower]]]]

Holloway was already enjoying some success with the monologue format, with such classics as ''Sam, Pick Oop Tha' Musket''. Edgar asked him if he had heard a story about a couple who had taken their son to the zoo, only to see the lad eaten by a lion. Holloway had indeed heard the story, and shortly afterwards Edgar supplied him with a script. ''The Lion and Albert'' became one of Holloway's most popular pieces, one of many he recorded beginning in 1930.<ref name=ginell/> The lion of the poem is named "Wallace", which was the name of the first African lion to be bred in Britain, living from 1812 until 1838, and his name became a popular one for lions.<ref name=taxidermy>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ravishingbeasts.com/lions/2006/11/3/wallace-the-lion.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221000524/http://www.ravishingbeasts.com/lions/2006/11/3/wallace-the-lion.html|url-status=dead|title=Wallace the lion at ravishingbeasts.com|archive-date=21 February 2015|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> Edgar gave the poem the title ''The Lion and Albert'', but some later performances and re-publications used the form ''Albert and the Lion''.<ref name="L+A">{{Cite web|url=https://www.seiyaku.com/lit/monologues/003.html|title=Monologue 003 - The Lion and Albert|website=Seiyaku.com|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> A pub on Blackpool Promenade also uses the latter form.

The monologues were designed to be spoken rhythmically with piano accompaniment, which in many cases was also composed by Edgar.<ref name=worldofSH>for examples see{{cite book |title=The World of Stanley Holloway |year=1972 |publisher=Francis, Day & Hunter Ltd}}</ref> The texts were published by [[Francis, Day & Hunter Ltd.]] during the 1930s in three collections. All were illustrated by [[John Hassall (illustrator)|John Hassall]], many of whose lively images also became classics. Edgar's compositions were
*''Albert 'Arold and Others'' – performed by [[Stanley Holloway]] and Marriott Edgar<ref name=AAO>{{cite book |title=Albert 'Arold and Others |author=Marriott Edgar |publisher=Francis Day & Hunter |location=London}}</ref>
**''The Lion and Albert'': Albert swallowed by a lion in the menagerie of [[Blackpool Tower]]
**''Runcorn Ferry'' (''Tuppence per Person per Trip''), set in [[Runcorn]]
**''Three Ha'pence a Foot'', featuring an argument with [[Noah]]
**''The Battle of Hastings'', an account of the [[Battle of Hastings]]
**''Marksman Sam'', featuring Stanley Holloway's creation Sam Small
**''Albert and the 'Eadsman'', set in the [[Tower of London]]
**''The Return of Albert'' (''Albert Comes Back''), sequel to ''The Lion and Albert''
**''Goalkeeper Joe'', set in [[Wigan]]
**''Gunner Joe'', at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]]
**''The Jubilee Sov'rin'', the awkward loss of a [[Sovereign (British coin)|sovereign]] commemorating [[Queen Victoria]]'s [[Diamond Jubilee]]
**''The Magna Charter'', the signing of [[Magna Carta]]
**''Little Aggie'', an elephant
*''Albert and Balbus and Samuel Small'' – written and performed by Marriott Edgar<ref name=ABSS>{{cite book |title=Albert and Balbus and Samuel Small |author=Marriott Edgar |publisher=Francis Day & Hunter |location=London}}</ref>
**''The 'Ole in the Ark'', a necessary repair to [[Noah's Ark]]
**''Sam's Racehorse'', an unfortunate purchase
**''George and the Dragon'', an unhelpful pub landlady
**''The Recumbent Posture'', a linguistic misunderstanding
**''The Channel Swimmer'', an attempt on the [[English Channel]]
**''Asparagus'', a cautionary tale
**''Uppards'', a [[Lancashire dialect and accent|Lancashire]] version of [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow|Longfellow]]'s famous poem ''[[Excelsior (Longfellow)|Excelsior]]''
**''Joe Ramsbottom'', a farmer and the squire
**''Burghers of Calais'', retelling the story of [[the Burghers of Calais]]
**''Balbus'' (''The Great Wall of China''), a fantasy based on the Latin textbook example: "[[Lucius Cornelius Balbus (consul)|Balbus]] built a wall"
**''Jonah and the Grampus'', the story of [[Jonah]]
*''Normans and Saxons and Such – some Ancient History''<ref name=NSS>{{cite book |title=Normans and Saxons and Such |author=Marriott Edgar |publisher=Francis Day & Hunter |location=London}}</ref>
**''Canute the Great 1017–1035'', about [[Cnut the Great]]
**''William Rufus 1087–1100'', about [[William II of England]]
**''Queen Matilda 1100–1135'', about [[Empress Matilda]]
**''The Fair Rosamond 1154–1189'', about [[Rosamund Clifford]]
**''Richard Cœur-de-Lion 1189–1199'', about [[Richard I of England]]
**''Henry the Seventh 1485–1509'', about [[Henry VII of England]]

''The Lion and Albert'' and ''The Return of Albert'' have been translated into German under the titles ''Der Löwe und Albert'' and ''Albert kommt wieder, na klar!'' respectively. ''The Lion and Albert'' has been performed as a two-part song of eighteen verses to an Irish folk tune by [[Charlestown (Manning album)|Kathy Hampson]]'s Free Elastic Band.

In 1991, [[BBC Radio 4]] broadcast a series of eight programmes entitled ''Marriott's Monologues'', with a different monologist in each programme performing Marriott's monologues with piano accompaniment and discussing the monologues.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ft3p3 |title=BBC Radio 4 Extra - Marriott's Monologues |access-date=17 April 2017 |archive-date=21 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621205328/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ft3p3 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The monologists included Dame [[Thora Hird]], [[Betty Driver]], [[Les Dawson]], [[Roy Hudd]], [[Kenneth Waller]], [[Peter Goodwright]], [[Bernie Clifton]] and [[Roy Castle]].

==Film scriptwriting==
Edgar worked for [[Gainsborough Pictures]] between 1936 and 1944, as a scriptwriter for a number of British films (mostly comedies) such as:

{{Div col}}
* ''[[Here's George]]'' (1932)
* ''[[Rolling Home (1935 film)|Rolling Home]]'' (1935)
*''[[Windbag the Sailor]]'' (1936)
*''[[Oh, Mr Porter!]]'' (1937)
* ''[[O-Kay for Sound]]'' (1937)
*''[[Good Morning, Boys]]'' (1937)
*''[[Said O'Reilly to McNab]]'' (1937)
*''[[Convict 99]]'' (1938)
*''[[Alf's Button Afloat]]'' (1938)
*''[[Old Bones of the River]]'' (1938)
*''[[Ask a Policeman]]'' (1939)
*''[[The Frozen Limits]]'' (1939)
*''[[Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt]]'' (1940)
*''[[Band Waggon (film)|Band Waggon]]'' (1940)
*''[[Where's That Fire?]]'' (1940)
*''[[The Ghost Train (1941 film)|The Ghost Train]]'' (1941)
*''[[Gasbags]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Hi Gang! (film)|Hi Gang!]]'' (1941)
*''[[I Thank You (film)|I Thank You]]'' (1941)
*''[[Back-Room Boy]]'' (1942)
*''[[King Arthur Was a Gentleman]]'' (1942)
*''[[Miss London Ltd.]]'' (1943)
*''[[Bees in Paradise]]'' (1944)
{{Div col end}}

==Marriage and family==
Edgar married Mildred Williams in [[Brentford]] in 1904.<ref name=BMD2>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl?start=1904&end=1904&sq=4&eq=4&type=Marriages&vol=3a&pgno=286&jsexec=1&mono=0&v=MTM0NTgxMDA1NTo4ZGRkMWI3Mjc5NWZiM2UwMmMyOGU3NTUxNzMxZmYzNzZhOTVlMWYy&searchdef=db=bmd_1344282533&sq=1&v=MTM0NTgwOTkzMzplYzdhNWFlYmY3MTQyZWZkMjE2YzI4OTgxYzljM2Q2NjIxZWI5MzIz&s_surname=williams&surname=edgar&end=1905&type=Marriages&eq=4&start=1900&action=Find|title=FreeBMD - Search|website=Freebmd.org.uk|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> They had a son, Hindle (1905–1985), who was an actor.

Edgar died in [[Battle, East Sussex]], on 5 May 1951. He was 70 years old.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{IMDb name}}
*{{AllMovie name}}
*{{BFI|4ce2ba7e2b1ca|name=Marriott Edgar}}
*[http://monologues.co.uk/ Monologues]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111005083006/http://www.gunga-din.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=4&id=69&Itemid=57 More Marriott Edgar monologues]
*[http://www.seiyaku.com/lit/monologues/index.html All Marriott Edgar monologues with a preface for each one]
*[https://www.greatwartheatre.org.uk/db/person/1226/ Play by Marriott Edgar on Great War Theatre website]

{{Authority control}}

{{Edgar Wallace}}
{{Marriott Edgar}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgar, Marriott}}
[[Category:1880 births]]
[[Category:1951 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kirkcudbright]]
[[Category:English male poets]]
[[Category:20th-century English poets]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:British male screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century British screenwriters]]
[[Category:Pantomime dames]]
[[Category:20th-century English comedians]]