Frank Curzon
Encyclopedia
Royal Strand Theatre
The Royal Strand Theatre was located in Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre was built on the site of a panorama in 1832, and in 1882 was rebuilt by the prolific theatre architect Charles J. Phipps...
, Avenue Theatre
Playhouse Theatre
The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt in 1907 and still retains its original substage machinery...
, Criterion Theatre
Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has an official capacity of 588.-Building the theatre:...
, Comedy Theatre, Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
and Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
, among others.
Curzon produced some of the most successful Edwardian musical comedies
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
, including A Chinese Honeymoon
A Chinese Honeymoon
A Chinese Honeymoon is a musical comedy in two acts by George Dance, with music by Howard Talbot and additional music by Ivan Caryll and others, and additional lyrics by Harry Greenbank and others...
(1903) and Miss Hook of Holland
Miss Hook of Holland
Miss Hook of Holland is an English musical comedy in two acts, with music and lyrics by Paul Rubens with a book by Austen Hurgon and Rubens. The show was produced by Frank Curzon and opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on 31 January 1907, running for a very successful 462 performances...
(1907; one of several successes starring his wife, Isabel Jay
Isabel Jay
Isabel Jay was an English opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and in musical comedies...
), and he later produced several plays starring Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
. Curzon was involved in a number of legal disputes, the most celebrated of which involved an audience member who refused to remove her hat. When Curzon prevented her from returning to her seat, she charged him with assault. Curzon won.
Later in life, Curzon became a very successful racehorse breeder, and in 1927 his horse Call Boy
Call Boy (horse)
Call Boy was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career which lasted from July 1926 to June 1927, he ran seven times winning four races. His most notable success came in the 1927 Epsom Derby, which he won in record time...
won the Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
.
Biography
Curzon was born in WavertreeWavertree
Wavertree is an area of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England, and is a Liverpool City Council ward. It is bordered by a number of districts to the south and east of Liverpool city centre from Toxteth, Edge Hill, Fairfield, Old Swan, Childwall and Mossley Hill....
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England, the son of W. Clarke Deeley of Curzon Park
Curzon Park
The Chester suburb of Curzon Park is a highly attractive residential area South of the River Dee situated within easy walking distance of the ancient Roman and medieval city walls, just across the famous Grosvenor Bridge. Part of the Curzon & Westminster Ward, the Curzon Park area is well known for...
, Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, and his wife Elizabeth, née Mallaby. His real name, under which he appeared in several legal cases, was Francis Arthur Deeley. His brother was Sir Harry Mallaby-Deeley
Sir Harry Mallaby-Deeley, 1st Baronet
Sir Harry Deeley Mallaby-Deeley, 1st Baronet was a British Conservative politician.Harry Deeley was educated at Shrewsbury School and Trinity College, Cambridge. His brother was the theatrical producer Frank Curzon.Deeley was elected Member of Parliament for Willesden East in 1918, resigning in...
. He took the name Curzon by deed poll
Deed of Change of Name
A deed of change of name is a legal document in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, which enables a single person or a family to officially change his or her name...
in 1896. His first wife was the Irish-born actress Caroline Julia Cronyn (1867-1955), whom he married in 1893 in Dublin, Ireland, and who divorced him in 1909. They had one child, Suzanne, born in 1906. His second wife was the actress and singer Isabel Jay
Isabel Jay
Isabel Jay was an English opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and in musical comedies...
, one of his stars, whom he married on 28 July 1910.
Theatre career
After working briefly in his father's oil company, Curzon went on the stage, touring with Frank Benson's company. He made his London debut at the age of 24 in a play called Queer Street, at Terry's TheatreTerry's Theatre
Terry's Theatre was a West End theatre on Strand, in the City of Westminster, London. Built in 1887, it became a cinema in 1910 before being demolished in 1923.-History:...
. In 1899, he and Charles Hawtrey leased the Avenue Theatre
Playhouse Theatre
The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt in 1907 and still retains its original substage machinery...
, where they had a series of successes. After this, Curzon concentrated on his managerial career, though he made a brief return to acting in 1923 in The Inevitable, a play written by and starring his wife, Isabel Jay.
Curzon was a founder member of the Society of West End Theatre Managers, along with Helen Carte, George Edwardes
George Edwardes
George Joseph Edwardes was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond....
, Arthur Bourchier
Arthur Bourchier
Arthur Bourchier was an English actor and theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh....
and sixteen others. At one point in his theatre career he had nine London theatres under his management. Some of his biggest successes as a producer and theatre manager included Monsieur Beaucaire
Monsieur Beaucaire (operetta)
Monsieur Beaucaire is a romantic opera in three acts, composed by André Messager. The libretto, based on the 1900 novel by Booth Tarkington, is by Frederick Lonsdale, with lyrics by Adrian Ross...
(1902), A Chinese Honeymoon
A Chinese Honeymoon
A Chinese Honeymoon is a musical comedy in two acts by George Dance, with music by Howard Talbot and additional music by Ivan Caryll and others, and additional lyrics by Harry Greenbank and others...
(1903), Sergeant Brue (1904), The White Chrysanthemum
The White Chrysanthemum
The White Chrysanthemum is an English musical in three acts by Arthur Anderson and Leedham Bantock, with lyrics by Anderson and music by Howard Talbot). It opened at the Criterion Theatre, produced by Frank Curzon, on 31 August 1905 and ran for 179 performances, closing on 10 February 1906...
(1905), The Girl Behind the Counter
The Girl Behind the Counter
The Girl Behind the Counter is an Edwardian musical comedy with a book by Arthur Anderson and Leedham Bantok, music by Howard Talbot and lyrics by Arthur Anderson , produced by Frank Curzon....
(1906), See-See (1906), Mr. Hopkinson (1906), Miss Hook of Holland
Miss Hook of Holland
Miss Hook of Holland is an English musical comedy in two acts, with music and lyrics by Paul Rubens with a book by Austen Hurgon and Rubens. The show was produced by Frank Curzon and opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on 31 January 1907, running for a very successful 462 performances...
(1907), King of Cadonia
King of Cadonia
King of Cadonia is an English musical in two acts with a book by Frederick Lonsdale, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Arthur Wimperis and music by Sidney Jones and Frederick Rosse. It opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London on 3 September 1908, produced by Frank Curzon, and ran for 333...
(1908), My Mimosa Maid (1908), Dear Little Denmark (1909), and The Balkan Princess
The Balkan Princess
The Balkan Princess is a British musical in three acts by Frederick Lonsdale and Frank Curzon, with lyrics by Paul Rubens and Arthur Wimperis, and music by Paul Rubens. It opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on 19 February 1910. The cast included Isabel Jay and Bertram Wallis...
(1910; co-written by Curzon). Many of Curzon's shows were filled with spectacle, using exotic sets, elaborate costumes and beautiful chorus girls. He also produced a number of plays starring Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
, including Enter Kiki (1923), The Firebrand (1926) and Downhill (1926).
One of Curzon's few miscues was to turn down the opportunity to produce The Maid of the Mountains
The Maid of the Mountains
The Maid of the Mountains, called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W...
(1916), which became a huge success.
Court cases
Curzon was involved in several legal cases. In 1894 his financial failure was the subject of a successful court action against him. In 1901 he and Charles Hawtrey were jointly sued for slander by a disgruntled actor; they won the case. In 1910 Curzon appeared in court in two separate cases, a dispute with the lessor of his theatre over tax liabilities and in another slander case, this time as plaintiff, against an acquaintance who falsely alleged that Curzon left his first wife penniless after their divorce in 1909. Curzon, who in fact allowed his ex-wife £25 a week (equivalent to about £2,000 in 2007 values), won the case but was awarded only nominal damages.Also in 1910 was the most famous legal case in which Curzon was involved. The press called it "The Matinée Hat Incident." He was charged with assault by a woman named Blanche Eardley. She had refused to remove her hat despite vociferous protests from a male spectator, and Curzon had physically prevented her from re-entering the auditorium after the interval
Intermission
An intermission or interval is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening....
. According to Mrs Eardley, her refusal was on a point of feminist principle. The magistrate ruled in favour of Curzon and dismissed the case amid applause from the gallery. As the actress Eva Moore
Eva Moore
Eva Moore was an English actress. Her career on stage and in film spanned six decades, and she was active in the women's suffrage movement.-Early life and career:...
noted, "everyone heard of the fight to the death between Frank Curzon and the matinée hat."
Racing
Later in life, Curzon bred racehorses, with successes at courses including AintreeAintree Racecourse
Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England.It was served by Aintree Racecourse railway station until the station closed in the 1960s....
, Warwick
Warwick Racecourse
Warwick Racecourse is a horse racing course in Warwick, England. It is a leading flat racing and steeple chasing course, and has a programme of 25 meetings throughout the year, many of which are televised. The first stand was built in 1808, it has recently undergone a major refurbishment of its...
and Epsom
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course is best known for hosting the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half...
. He commanded high prices for his best horses, selling one in 1917 for 1,500 guineas
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
. The pinnacle of his racing career was in 1927, when his horse Call Boy
Call Boy (horse)
Call Boy was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career which lasted from July 1926 to June 1927, he ran seven times winning four races. His most notable success came in the 1927 Epsom Derby, which he won in record time...
won the Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
. Curzon made his last public appearance at Epsom, against medical advice, to see Call Boy win. He was personally congratulated by George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
. By the time of his death, he was as noted for his racing activities as for his theatrical career.
After a long illness, Curzon died at his country home in Newmarket, Suffolk, England, near the famous Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse
The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...
. He was buried at Newmarket.