John Reed (actor) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

John Lamb Reed, OBE (13 February 1916 – 13 February 2010) was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, dancer and singer, known for his nimble performances in the principal comic roles of the Savoy Operas

Savoy opera

The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...

, particularly with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...

. Reed has been called "the last great exponent" of the Gilbert and Sullivan

Gilbert and Sullivan

Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...

comedy roles.

The son of a butcher from County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, Reed began performing at the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, joining the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1951. After eight years as understudy to Peter Pratt

Peter Pratt

Peter Pratt was an English actor and singer who is best remembered for his comic roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas....

, he became the principal comedian of the company in 1959, remaining for two decades, playing all the famous Gilbert and Sullivan patter roles

Patter song

The patter song is characterized by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note...

, including Sir Joseph in H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...

, the Major-General in The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...

, Bunthorne in Patience
Patience (opera)
Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride, is a comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. First performed at the Opera Comique, London, on 23 April 1881, it moved to the 1,292-seat Savoy Theatre on 10 October 1881, where it was the first theatrical production in the...

, the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe
Iolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....

, Ko-Ko in The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...

, Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...

and the Duke of Plaza Toro in The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances , closing on 30 June 1891...

, among others. He was known for his "fleet-footed clowning", dry and roguish wit, comic timing, "crystal clear diction" in the patter song

Patter song

The patter song is characterized by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note...

s, and his amusing character voice, recording all of his principal roles with the company.

In 1979, Reed left the company but continued performing in and directing Gilbert and Sullivan productions in Britain and America, as well as appearing in other light opera. He retired to Halifax, West Yorkshire

Halifax, West Yorkshire

Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...

, directing amateur Gilbert and Sullivan companies and attending the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival

International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival

The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival is held every summer at the Opera House in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. The three-week Festival of Gilbert and Sullivan performances and fringe events attracts thousands of visitors, including performers, supporters, and G&S enthusiasts from all...

in Buxton

Buxton

Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...

for many years.

Life and career

Reed was born in the village of Close House, near Bishop Auckland

Bishop Auckland

Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...

, County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, the fourth and youngest child of Robert Elliott Reed, a butcher (b. 1874) and his wife, Elizabeth Ann, nee Bridges (b. 1883) "an excellent amateur soprano who rescued the family finances by opening a successful fish shop" after his father's butcher shop failed. He was named after his grandfather, a Wesleyan Methodist minister. His sisters were Christina (b. 1903), Betty (b. 1905) and Anne "Hannah" Reed Hunter (b. 1912) (a younger brother, Cyril, died in infancy). Reed played the piano as a child. From age eleven, he grew up near the much larger town of Darlington

Darlington

Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...

, County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

. He studied elocution, dancing, singing and mime, but worked in builders' and insurance offices. During World War II

World War II

, he enlisted in the auxiliary fire service and worked as an instrument maker.

Reed began his theatrical career, after the war, in plays with a repertory theatre company, and as a dancer, winning medals for dance across the North-East of England. When his father became ill, he returned home to work in his father's business, and performed in musical theatre

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

for a number of years with local amateur companies including the Darlington Operatic Society. He was also a director and dance instructor for the Darlington Education Committee.

D'Oyly Carte years

Reed joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company

in 1951 as the understudy to Peter Pratt

Peter Pratt

Peter Pratt was an English actor and singer who is best remembered for his comic roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas....

, who had recently become the principal comedian of the company. At the time of his audition, he knew little or nothing about Gilbert and Sullivan, but company manager, Frederic Lloyd

Frederic Lloyd

Frederic Lloyd, OBE , was an English theatre manager. Most notably, Lloyd was the General Manager of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1951 until its closure in 1982.-Biography:...

, assured him that the company preferred this so that they could "start you off in the way we mean you to go". The company performed 48 weeks per year, mostly on tour, usually with winter seasons in London. Reed appeared in the chorus and was given several smaller roles: Associate (1952–55) in Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...

, Major Murgatroyd in Patience (1952–59), Second Citizen in The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...

(1952–59), Annibale (1952–59) and Antonio (1953–59) in The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances , closing on 30 June 1891...

(a role that took advantage of his dancing skills), and Mr. Cox in Cox and Box
Cox and Box
Cox and Box; or, The Long-Lost Brothers, is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by F. C. Burnand and music by Arthur Sullivan, based on the 1847 farce Box and Cox by John Maddison Morton. It was Sullivan's first successful comic opera. The story concerns a landlord who lets a room to two...

(1957–59). He was coached in his own roles and those he understudied by Eleanor Evans

Eleanor Evans

Eleanor Evans was a Welsh actress, singer and stage director. She performed in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas for over a span of more than 20 years with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company...

. the company's stage director. In 1955, Reed began to play the Learned Judge in Trial. He also substituted for Pratt occasionally, including when Pratt was ill in March and April 1959.

In 1959, when Pratt left the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Reed became the principal comedian, remaining in that role for the next twenty years. Writer Andrew Lamb

Andrew Lamb

Andrew Lamb , bishop of Brechin and bishop of Galloway, was probably son or relative of Andrew Lamb of Leith, a lay member of the general assembly of 1560...

noted that Reed's "nimble dancing, characterful light-baritone singing, and the business he was able to introduce into encores and elsewhere within the generally rigid D'Oyly Carte constraints, soon helped to establish his own loyal following, and the personal rapport he enjoyed with his fans grew to legendary status." During these two decades, his parts were as follows: Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...

, Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...

(a role that he gave up in 1969), Bunthorne in Patience, the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe
Iolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....

, King Gama in Princess Ida
Princess Ida
Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5, 1884, for a run of 246 performances...

, Ko-Ko in The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...

, Robin Oakapple/Sir Ruthven in Ruddigore
Ruddigore
Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse, originally called Ruddygore, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written together by Gilbert and Sullivan...

, Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard, the Duke of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers, and John Wellington Wells in The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, An Elixir of Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876...

(beginning with the 1971 revival). He dropped from his repertory the role of the Judge in Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...

, in 1959, briefly resuming it for the D'Oyly Carte's centenary celebrations at the Savoy Theatre

Savoy Theatre

The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...

in 1975. For that season, he also played Scaphio in Utopia, Limited
Utopia, Limited
Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a run of 245 performances...

and Grand Duke Rudolph in the company's concert of The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel, is the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on March 7, 1896, and ran for 123 performances...

. The company had not performed these two works since the original productions in the 1890s. Reed also participated in eleven of the company's overseas tours to North America (eight times), Denmark (1970), Rome (1974) and Australia and New Zealand (1979).

In 1977, Reed was honoured as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

(OBE). He played before Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the Royal Family at least eight times, including in 1977 for the queen's Silver Jubilee

Silver Jubilee

A Silver Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, ruling anniversary or anything that has completed a 25 year mark...

Command Performance

Royal Command Performance

For the annual Royal Variety Performance performed in Britain for the benefit of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund, see Royal Variety Performance...

, at Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...

, of H.M.S. Pinafore. Reed told interviewer Colin Prestige that "When the Prince of Wales

Charles, Prince of Wales

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

, aged eleven, saw The Mikado, Ko-Ko afterwards entertained him in the dressing-room." Although Reed loved the family atmosphere of the company during his nearly thirty years there, he later felt that the company's dynamic was changing. He decided to leave the company during the 1979 Australasian tour, and author Ian Bradley

Ian Bradley

Ian Campbell Bradley is a British academic, author, theologian, Church of Scotland minister, journalist and broadcaster.At the University of St Andrews, he is Reader in Practical Theology and Church History and a University chaplain...

relates one of the incidents that served as a tipping point: "At the end of their first rehearsal [in Australia], conductor Fraser Goulding asked the chorus to stay on for a few minutes just to polish the act 2 finale. The Equity representative promptly stood up and said, 'You know that means we'll be going into overtime'. Reed says: ... we used to go on far into the evening working on things to get them right and never thought of overtime. I realized that was the time to go'."

Assessment

Reed said that, of all the Gilbert and Sullivan

Gilbert and Sullivan

roles, he probably best loved Ko-Ko, noting, "Ko-Ko is almost me. There's a lot of me in the character. It lets me bring out my sense of humour and delivery of lines.... [In] the character parts ... you must get your own personality through." On the other hand, Reed said, "Something takes over from me when I go on. I become something different. I'm basically shy, and I go and hide behind my characters." He also said of Ko-Ko, "it's such fun to do... you make people laugh, and the children and everybody enjoy him. And I suppose that's what our job is here anyway. To entertain people." Reed also loved to play Jack Point in Yeomen, a tragicomic character. "Jack Point is me in another age – just a strolling player. I really believe I could die of a broken heart". Reed said that every comedian savours the chance to play a role like Point in which "you like to see if you can make 'em cry a little". He also noted that, generally, "I like anything where the dancing comes in". His least favourite role was Major-General Stanley in Pirates, a role that he gave up in 1969. He also found two drawbacks to playing King Gama: "the heavy make-up ... hid every feature of his face except his eyes, and made it impossible for him to wear his glasses so that he could do his newspaper crossword while waiting to go on". Of the "younger" roles he played even in his later years with the company, Reed said, "I feel I'm so fundamentally a young person.... I'm older than the part I'm playing, for instance, but I feel young." He loved performing for children and delighted in the gala "last nights" of each London season with the D'Oyly Carte, where he would perform for glittering audiences of "Prime Ministers, Lord Chancellors and First Lords of the Admiralty."

In its obituary, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

asserted: Reed's "comic timing, nimble footwork and clarity of diction made him the acknowledged master of the "patter" roles, at once the most challenging and defining of all Gilbert and Sullivan's creations. His biographer, Cynthia Morey, praised his "feet that hardly seemed to touch the floor as he danced across the stage; the sly glance and raised eyebrow that could bring the house down." The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

called his stage personality "impish", writing: "He was, quite simply, a phenomenon. For 48 gruelling weeks of each of those 20 years he effortlessly negotiated the tongue-twisting patter songs." The latter paper judged Reed a success in his desire to play pathos: "His Jack Point, the lovelorn jester in The Yeomen of the Guard, and the role which he dubbed 'the one apart, the Hamlet of Gilbert and Sullivan', could easily bring a tear to the eye, as did his spoken rendition of 'Iolanthe, thou livest?'" Of his Ko-Ko, The Times stated, "The brightest performance of the evening comes from Mr. John Reed, a spirited Ko-Ko with exactly the right stature and crystal clear diction". The same paper commented, regarding his Sir Joseph Porter, "Mr. Reed's impersonation, prim, dry, roundly articulated (and sung in tune, as some of his illustrious predecessors never attempted to do), was eminently likeable." Of his Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, it said, "Reed, in particular, chose understatement as his main weapon, and in his dryness, at once naive and sophisticated, produced a Murgatroyd very much in the authentic D'Oyly Carte tradition. Critic Alan Blyth

Alan Blyth

Geoffrey Alan Blyth was an English music critic, author, and musicologist who was particularly known for his writings within the field of opera. He graduated from the Rugby School before attending the University of Oxford where he studied with Jack Westrup...

commented that in his Bunthorne, "Reed ... remains a past master of keeping the text fresh and articulated". Blyth also wrote that "The Lord Chancellor is one of John Reed's most appropriate roles, with plenty of scope for his fleet-footed clowning, and in the Nightmare-Song he gives an object-lesson in projecting one of Gilbert's most complex texts."

Reed's fans eagerly anticipated his "business" in the many encores that followed some of his songs, in which "his antics would become ever more outrageous.... Reed's Sir Joseph Porter would jump overboard only to re-enter clutching a rubber life-ring, while ... his Ko-Ko would be found furiously – and anachronistically – pedalling across the stage in a toy car." On the other hand, he was sometimes criticized for these instances of dropping character and adding anachronisms. He explained, "An encore is a different thing – a bit of fun between me and the audience – then I come right back into character again."

After the D'Oyly Carte

After he left the D'Oyly Carte organisation in 1979, Reed continued to perform in, and direct, Gilbert and Sullivan productions for the rest of his career, also occasionally appearing in other theatre. He appeared as a guest artist numerous times with D'Oyly Carte after his retirement, including their "last night" concert. The solo show A Song to Sing O
A Song to Sing O
A Song to Sing O is a one-man musical play by Melvyn Morrow, with music by Arthur Sullivan and George Grossmith, and lyrics by W. S. Gilbert and Grossmith, about the life of comedian and actor George Grossmith, who originated the principal comic roles for the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas...

was created for and premiered by him at the Savoy Theatre in 1981. The reviewer for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

disliked the piece, commenting, "The attraction is almost entirely the talented twisting of Mr. Reed's tongue around familiar patter."

Reed performed and directed, through the 1980s, with many Gilbert and Sullivan companies, both professional and amateur, flying back and forth from Europe to North America. These theatre companies included the Brussels Gilbert and Sullivan Society, the CU

University of Colorado at Boulder

The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...

Opera Company in Boulder, Colorado

Boulder, Colorado

Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...

(which awarded him an honorary doctorate) and the Colorado Music Theatre Festival there, and The Lyric Opera of Dallas. In 1983, he performed as Menelaus in Offenbach

Jacques Offenbach

Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....

's La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène , opéra bouffe in three acts, is an operetta by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...

, and in a double bill of Trial by Jury (as the Learned Judge) and Offenbach's M. Choufleuri
M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . .
M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le... is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, in one act by Jacques Offenbach and the Duc de Morny...

(as M. Balandard), with the Washington Opera at the Kennedy Center. He continued to direct in the U.S. into the early 1990s.

He appeared, from 1984 until 1989, with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players

New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players

New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players is a professional repertory theatre company, based in New York City that has specialized in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan for over 35 years...

(NYGASP), earning warm reviews for his "subtle facial gesture and small comic touch" and clear diction. Of his 1986 Bunthorne with the company, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

wrote, "Mr. Reed does not overdo. He sings and speaks in a moderate tone of voice, never moves more than fairly quickly, and never hits the audience over the head with a joke. As a result, when he strikes a pose of even mild ridiculousness, the result is hilarity. He makes Bunthorne a good-natured poseur, and admits his dependency on adulation with endearing simplicity." At a NYGASP gala at Symphony Space

Symphony Space

Symphony Space is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre or the 160-seat Leonard Nimoy Thalia theater. Programs include music, dance, theater, film, and literary readings...

in 1987, Reed proposed on stage to noted sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer. He also performed in concerts in North America and Britain, including at The Berkshire Choral Institute as The Duke of Plaza Toro (with Kenneth Sandford

Kenneth Sandford

Kenneth Sandford was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan....

as Don Alhambra) in The Gondoliers (1985). In reviewing a 1988 concert, The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...

wrote that Reed "is near to perfect in his chosen field. Reed's acting, his command of patter and everything he does (which is a lot) to convince you that what he's emitting could really be mellifluous, all-out singing – all these are freshly and tirelessly amusing".

After retiring from the stage, Reed moved to Halifax, West Yorkshire

Halifax, West Yorkshire

, England, with his life partner (since 1958), John Nicholas Kerri, who also acted as his business manager. There he directed local amateur Gilbert and Sullivan societies, including the Harrogate

Harrogate

Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...

Gilbert and Sullivan Society (1980–1994) and the West Yorkshire Savoyards, among others. Reed continued to direct, and to sing occasionally in concerts, until at least 2004, including at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival

International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival

, where he also gave talks and participated in events, often with other former members of the D'Oyly Carte. Neil Smith, a director of that Festival, commented, "Reed had an unrivalled ability to imbue his performances with both madcap humour and deep pathos, a quality which, combined with the acrobatic agility of a trained dancer, brought him worldwide acclaim."

Throughout his life, Reed had many hobbies, including oil painting, crafts and cooking, and he loved the ballet. He published his autobiography, Nothing Whatever to Grumble At: His Story, as told to Cynthia Morey, in 2006

Reed died on 13 February 2010 at the Calderdale

Calderdale

The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, through which the upper part of the River Calder flows, and from which it takes its name...

Royal Hospital, Halifax, England, on his 94th birthday, after suffering a stroke. He had lost most of his eyesight through macular degeneration

Macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration is a medical condition which usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of damage to the retina. It occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. It is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in older adults...

and had been diagnosed with dementia

Dementia

Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...

just before Christmas 2009. Reed's remains were cremated, after a funeral service on 23 February, at Park Wood Crematorium, Elland

Elland

Elland is a market town in Calderdale, in the county of West Yorkshire, England, south of Halifax, by the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The area of Elland was called Elant in the Domesday Book...

Recordings

John Reed recorded all of his major roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company for Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

between 1960 and 1979, some of them twice, and several of them complete with dialogue. In 1976, he participated in the only D'Oyly Carte recordings of Utopia, Limited and The Grand Duke, playing, respectively, Scaphio and Grand Duke Rudolph. These recordings are still available either on the Decca label or under licence from Decca on Sounds on CD, a private label specialising in Gilbert and Sullivan recordings. Reed also appeared in the 1966 film version of The Mikado and the 1973 video of H.M.S. Pinafore as Ko-Ko and Sir Joseph Porter, respectively. A 1965 BBC television broadcast of Patience with Reed as Bunthorne is apparently lost. He was also the voice of Robin Oakapple in the 1967 Halas and Batchelor

Halas and Batchelor

Halas and Batchelor was an animation company founded by John Halas and his wife, Joy Batchelor. The company started as a small animation unit that created commercials for theatrical distribution...

Ruddigore cartoon.

A collection of Reed's patter songs, entitled "Gilbert & Sullivan: Great Patter Songs", compiled to celebrate his 25-year anniversary with D'Oyly Carte, was re-released on CD in 2007. Sounds on CD also released Tète à Tète, a two-hour long recording, from sessions from the 1970s, of Reed reminiscing with his friend and fellow D'Oyly Carte performer Peggy Ann Jones

Peggy Ann Jones

Peggy Ann Jones is an English opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in the mezzo-soprano roles of the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company...

. In addition, the official live recording of the final performance of the original D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from February 1982, in which John Reed was a guest artist, is available from Sounds on CD.

External links

General

John Reed at the IMDB database
John Reed at the IBDB database
Excerpt from Reed's autobiography
Reed's middle name confirmed in Supplement to The London Gazette, 11 June 1977, p. 7093
Obituary in The Stage, 14 June 2010

Interviews and photos

Video and audio performances

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