Leslie Henson
Encyclopedia
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy
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...
and became a popular music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
comedian who enjoyed a long stage career. He was famous for his bulging eyes, malleable face and raspy voice and helped to form the Entertainments National Service Association
Entertainments National Service Association
The Entertainments National Service Association or ENSA was an organisation set up in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes...
(ENSA) during the Second World War
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...
.
Born in Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, a suburb of London, Henson became interested in the theatre from an early age, writing and producing theatrical pieces while at school. He studied with "the Cairns–James School of Musical and Dramatic Art as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of 19. His first West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
role was in Nicely, Thanks! (1912) and he later starred in several hit West End Edwardian musical comedies, including To-Night's the Night
To-Night's the Night (musical)
To-Night's the Night is a musical comedy composed by Paul Rubens, with lyrics by Percy Greenbank and Rubens, and a book adapted by Fred Thompson. Two songs were composed by Jerome Kern. The story is based on the farce Les Dominos roses .The musical was produced by George Grossmith, Jr. and Edward...
(1915) and Yes, Uncle!
Yes, Uncle!
Yes, Uncle! is a musical comedy by Austen Hurgen and George Arthurs, with music by Nat D. Ayer and lyrics by Clifford Grey...
(1917). After briefly serving with the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
, he was released from active service by the British government to help run a concert party called "The Gaieties", which provided entertainment for the troops during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After the war, he returned to the West End, playing in Kissing Time
Kissing Time
thumb|right|[[Leslie Henson]] and [[Phyllis Dare]] Kissing Time, an earlier version of which was titled The Girl Behind the Gun, is a musical comedy with music by Ivan Caryll, book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, and additional lyrics by Clifford Grey...
(1919) and a series of musical comedies and farces throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
At the start of World War II, together with Basil Dean
Basil Dean
Basil Herbert Dean CBE was an English actor, writer, film producer/director and theatrical producer/director....
, he helped to form ENSA, with which he entertained British troops abroad. Henson's post war stage success continued in revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
s, musicals and plays, including a West End adaptation of The Diary of a Nobody in 1955. Henson's film career was intermittent, and he made 14 films from 1916 to 1956. The most notable of these was Tons of Money
Tons of Money (1924 film)
Tons of Money is a 1924 British comedy film directed by Frank Hall Crane and starring Leslie Henson, Flora le Breton and Mary Brough. It is an adaptation of the 1922 play Tons of Money by Will Evans and Arthur Valentine. Both were co-produced with Tom Walls...
in 1924, which introduced the popular Aldwych Farces to British cinema audiences for the first time. In 1956, Henson's friend Bobbie Hullett
Gertrude Hullett
Gertrude "Bobby" Hullett , a resident of Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, was a patient of the suspected serial killer Dr John Bodkin Adams, who was charged with her murder but never tried for it.-Jack Hullett:...
died under circumstances that struck him as suspicious. Henson anonymously notified the police that her doctor, John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
, should be investigated. Adams was subsequently tried for murder but acquitted.
Biography
Leslie Henson was born in Notting HillNotting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, London, the eldest son of Joseph Lincoln Henson, a tallow chandler
Chandler
A chandler was the head of the chandlery in medieval households, responsible for wax, candles, and soap.Chandler may also refer to:- People :* Chandler , the surname of various people...
, and his wife, Alice Mary nee Squire. Henson was educated at the Emanuel School
Emanuel School
Emanuel School is a co-educational independent school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded by Lady Dacre and Elizabeth I in 1594. Today it has some 710 pupils, aged between ten and eighteen.-History:...
, Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
and Cliftonville College, Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
. Interested in the theatre from an early age, Henson wrote and produced theatrical pieces while at school. He worked briefly in the family business but soon studied with "the Cairns–James School of Musical and Dramatic Art".
Early career
Henson began his professional stage career at age 19 in the provinces with The Tatlers' concert party, soon appearing in London in the pantomimePantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
Sinbad at the Dalston Theatre at Christmas 1910. After concert appearances, he toured in The Quaker Girl
The Quaker Girl
The Quaker Girl is a Edwardian musical comedy in three acts with a book by James T. Tanner, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, and music by Lionel Monckton. In its story, The Quaker Girl contrasts dour Quaker morality with Parisienne high fashion. The protagonist, Prudence, is thrown out...
in 1912 in the role of Jeremiah. His first West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
role was later that year in Nicely, Thanks! at the Royal Strand Theatre
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...
. The actor Stanley Holloway
Stanley Holloway
Stanley Augustus Holloway, OBE was an English stage and film actor, comedian, singer, poet and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady...
dedicated a chapter in his 1967 autobiography to Henson, describing how Henson helped establish his career by signing him to perform in Nicely Thanks! Henson then performed with The Scamps' concerts and starred in the comic roles in hit West End Edwardian musical comedies such as To-Night's the Night
To-Night's the Night (musical)
To-Night's the Night is a musical comedy composed by Paul Rubens, with lyrics by Percy Greenbank and Rubens, and a book adapted by Fred Thompson. Two songs were composed by Jerome Kern. The story is based on the farce Les Dominos roses .The musical was produced by George Grossmith, Jr. and Edward...
(1914 on Broadway and 1915 at the Gaiety Theatre, London
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
), Theodore & Co
Theodore & Co
Theodore & Co is an English musical comedy in two acts with a book by H. M. Harwood and George Grossmith, Jr. , with music by Ivor Novello and Jerome Kern and lyrics by Adrian Ross and Clifford Grey. It was produced by Grossmith and Edward Laurillard, opening at the Gaiety Theatre on 19 September...
(1916), and Yes, Uncle!
Yes, Uncle!
Yes, Uncle! is a musical comedy by Austen Hurgen and George Arthurs, with music by Nat D. Ayer and lyrics by Clifford Grey...
(1917). His malleable features, bulging eyes and raspy voice made him an audience favorite, especially in his own comic sketches. He also appeared in films occasionally, beginning with Wanted: A Widow (1916).
Henson signed up with the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
but was removed from active service to run a concert party group called "The Gaieties" in the 5th Army, to give shows for the troops in 1918. He then returned to the West End in musicals and comedies, including Kissing Time
Kissing Time
thumb|right|[[Leslie Henson]] and [[Phyllis Dare]] Kissing Time, an earlier version of which was titled The Girl Behind the Gun, is a musical comedy with music by Ivan Caryll, book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, and additional lyrics by Clifford Grey...
(1919), Sally
Sally (musical)
Sally is a musical comedy with music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Clifford Grey and book by Guy Bolton , with additional lyrics by Buddy De Sylva, Anne Caldwell and P. G. Wodehouse. It was originally produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, opening on December 21, 1920 at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway...
(1921) and Tons of Money
Tons of Money (play)
Tons of Money is a farcical play by British writers Will Evans and Arthur Valentine. which was first performed in 1922. It was the first of the long-running Aldwych Farces, co-produced by Tom Walls and Leslie Henson and starred Henson as Aubrey Allington...
(1922), in which he starred as as Aubrey Allington. The last of these was the first of the long-running Aldwych Farces, which he co-produced with Tom Walls
Tom Walls
Tom Kirby Walls was a popular English stage and motion-pictures character actor, and film director. He has claim to be one of the most influential figures in British comedy.-Early career:...
. He also starred in a string of comedies at the Winter Garden Theatre
Winter Garden Theatre
The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway in midtown Manhattan.-History:The structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange....
, including A Night Out
A Night Out (musical)
A Night Out is a musical comedy with a book by George Grossmith, Jr. and Arthur Miller, music by Willie Redstone and Cole Porter and lyrics by Clifford Grey. The story is adapted from the 1894 French comedy L'Hôtel du libre échange by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallières...
(1920), The Cabaret Girl
The Cabaret Girl
The Cabaret Girl is a musical comedy in three acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by George Grossmith, Jr. and P. G. Wodehouse. It was produced by Grossmith and J. A. E...
(1922) and The Beauty Prize
The Beauty Prize
The Beauty Prize is a musical comedy in three acts, with music by Jerome Kern, book and lyrics by George Grossmith and P. G. Wodehouse. It was first produced by Grossmith and J A E Malone on 5 September 1923 at the Winter Garden Theatre, Drury Lane, London...
(1923). In 1924, he played Aubrey Allington again when he and Walls made his most notable film, Tons of Money
Tons of Money (1924 film)
Tons of Money is a 1924 British comedy film directed by Frank Hall Crane and starring Leslie Henson, Flora le Breton and Mary Brough. It is an adaptation of the 1922 play Tons of Money by Will Evans and Arthur Valentine. Both were co-produced with Tom Walls...
, which introduced the Aldwych Farces to British cinema audiences for the first time. In 1926, he starred in Kid Boots
Kid Boots
Kid Boots is a musical with a book by William Anthony McGuire and Otto Harbach, music by Harry Tierney, and lyrics by Joseph McCarthy. The show was staged by Edward Royce....
in London and then toured the English provinces in Betty Lee in 1926. In 1927, he appeared in a musical, Lady Luck at the Carlton Theatre, London, followed by Funny Face, 1928.
In 1930, Henson and his business partner Firth Shephard co-leased the Novello Theatre
Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
and presented a series of farces, It's a Boy! (1930, also starring Henson), It's a Girl! (1930), Lady Luck, Funny Face, Follow Through, Nice Goings On! (1933), Lucky Break and Aren't Men Beasts! (1936), which starred a young John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
. In 1935, he and Shephard took over the Gaiety Theatre, London
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
and produced four successful shows, Seeing Stars (1936), Swing Along (1937), Going Greek (1937) and Running Riot (1938). During the run of the last of these, the aged theatre was condemned and was required to be closed. Henson also returned to film work in the 1930s, appearing in A Warm Corner
A Warm Corner
A Warm Corner is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Leslie Henson, Heather Thatcher and Austin Melford. It was based on a successful play by Franz Arnold...
(1930), The Sport of Kings
The Sport of Kings (film)
The Sport of Kings is a 1931 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Leslie Henson, Hugh Wakefield and Gordon Harker. A stern Justice of the Peace takes over a firm of bookmakers...
(1931), It's a Boy
It's a Boy (film)
It's a Boy is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Leslie Henson, Albert Burdon and Edward Everett Horton. It is a farce about a blackmailer who attempts to demand money from a young woman on the brink of marriage...
(1933), The Girl from Maxim's
The Girl from Maxim's
The Girl from Maxim's is a 1933 British musical comedy film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Frances Day, Leslie Henson, Lady Tree and Stanley Holloway. A Doctor tries to pass off a singer as his wife in Paris in 1904...
(1933) and Oh, Daddy!
Oh, Daddy!
Oh, Daddy! is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Graham Cutts and Austin Melford and starring Leslie Henson, Frances Day, Robertson Hare and Barry MacKay.-Cast:* Leslie Henson - Lord Pye* Frances Day - Benita de Lys* Robertson Hare - Rupert Boddy...
(1935). His later films were The Demi-Paradise
The Demi-Paradise
The Demi-Paradise is a 1943 comedy film made by Two Cities Films and distributed in the U.S. by Universal Pictures. It starred Laurence Olivier as a Soviet inventor who travels to England to have his revolutionary propeller manufactured, and Penelope Dudley Ward as the woman who falls in love with...
(1943) and Home and Away
Home and Away (1956 film)
Home and Away is a 1956 British drama film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison. It depitcts the life of an ordinary working-class man after he wins the football pools. The film reunited Warner and Harrison who had previously appeared together in the Huggetts...
(1956). In 1938, Henson was appointed president of the Royal Theatrical Fund.
Later career
At the outbreak of World War IIWorld 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...
, he returned to the UK from a tour of South Africa and, together with Basil Dean
Basil Dean
Basil Herbert Dean CBE was an English actor, writer, film producer/director and theatrical producer/director....
, formed the Entertainments National Service Association
Entertainments National Service Association
The Entertainments National Service Association or ENSA was an organisation set up in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes...
, also known as the "ENSA
ENSA
ENSA may refer to:* ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association* ENSA * École Nationale des Sciences Appliquées d'Oujda, an engineering school in Morocco* EC-Council Network Security Administrator...
", a government-sponsored organization with which he entertained British troops in Europe, the Near East and the Far East. He was in London in 1940, however, for the revue Up and Doing and in 1942 for Fine and Dandy (at which the King
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
and Queen
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
were surprise guests), both at the Saville Theatre
Saville Theatre
The Saville Theatre is a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s, finally being converted to a cinema in 1970.-Theatre years:...
. In 1945, he starred in The Gaieties at the Winter Garden Theatre and a revival of the musical adaptation of 1066 and All That
1066 and All That
1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates is a tongue-in-cheek reworking of the history of England. Written by W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman and illustrated by John Reynolds, it first...
at the Palace Theatre, London
Palace Theatre, London
The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...
. The next year he was in the provinces in The Sport of Kings.
In 1948 he starred in Bob's Your Uncle. Later performances included "straight" roles, though with less success, such as Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey (1950), in which he toured, and as Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
in a musical composed by Vivian Ellis
Vivian Ellis
Vivian Ellis was an English musical comedy composer best known for the song "Spread a Little Happiness" and the theme "Coronation Scot".-Life and work:...
And So to Bed by J. B. Fagan
J. B. Fagan
James Bernard Fagan was an Irish-born actor, theatre manager, producer and playwright in England. After turning from the law to the stage, Fagan began an acting career, including four years from 1895 to 1899 with Herbert Beerbohm Tree's company at Her Majesty's Theatre. He then began writing...
(1951). He had another hit in the title role of the musical farce Bob's Your Uncle (1948) by Austin Melford
Austin Melford
Austin Melford was a British screenwriter and film director. He was the brother of the actor Jack Melford.-Selected filmography:Director* Car of Dreams * Oh, Daddy! * Radio Lover Screenwriter...
and later starred in Relations Are Best Apart at the Theatre Royal, Bath (1953), as Mr Pooter in a stage adaptation of The Diary of a Nobody (Duchess Theatre
Duchess Theatre
The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....
, 1955), and as Old Eccles in a musical version of Tom Robertson's Caste (1955). Henson continued to act up to the time of his death.
Family and death
Henson was married three times, in each case to actresses: Madge Saunders (b. 1891/2–1967) whom he married at St. George's church, Hanover Square, MaryleboneMarylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
, London in 1919, Gladys Gunn
Gladys Henson
Gladys Henson was a British actress whose career lasted from 1932 to 1976 and included roles on stage, radio, films and television series...
in 1926 and Harriet "Billie" Dell (b. 1909/10) in 1944. His sons from his third marriage are Nicky
Nicky Henson
Nicholas Victor Leslie "Nicky" Henson is an English actor who has portrayed many roles since 1963. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1977. He was born in London.-Early life:...
, an actor, and Joe, a farmer. Nicky's sons, with ex-wife Una Stubbs
Una Stubbs
Una Stubbs is an English actress and former dancer who has appeared extensively on British television and in the theatre, and less frequently in films. She is particularly known for her roles in the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part and Aunt Sally in the children's series Worzel Gummidge.-Film and...
, are composers Christian and Joseph; and another son, with wife Marguerite Porter
Marguerite Porter
Marguerite Porter is an English former principal ballet dancer, turned actress and choreographer.Born in Doncaster, Porter trained in Yorkshire and at the Royal Ballet School in London, where she was taught by Dame Ninette De Valois.After two years training she joined The Royal Ballet, where she...
, is Keaton, an artist. Joe's son (Henson's grandson) is TV presenter and farmer Adam Henson
Adam Henson
Adam Henson is an English farmer and television presenter.Henson's grandfather Leslie, was a comedian and actor. His farmer father Joe Henson, presented a countryside TV programme with Angela Rippon and Phil Drabble; while his actor uncle Nicky Henson has appeared in films and TV programmes...
.
Henson died at his home in Harrow Weald
Harrow Weald
Harrow Weald is an area in north-west London, England. It includes a suburban development and forms part of the London Borough of Harrow.-Locale, geography and history:...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, in 1957, aged 66. His body was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
John Bodkin Adams
On 23 July 1956, while in Dublin performing, Henson heard that his close friend Bobbie HullettGertrude Hullett
Gertrude "Bobby" Hullett , a resident of Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, was a patient of the suspected serial killer Dr John Bodkin Adams, who was charged with her murder but never tried for it.-Jack Hullett:...
had died in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
. He was suspicious because her husband had died just four months earlier, and their doctor was John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
, about whom there had been many rumours. He phoned the Eastbourne police anonymously to warn them of his fears, instigating an investigation that would lead to the trial of Adams on two counts of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. Adams was controversially acquitted on 11 April 1957, but the Home Office pathologist at the time, Dr Francis Camps
Francis Camps
Francis Edward Camps, FRCP, FRCpath was a famous English pathologist notable for his work on the cases of serial killer John Christie and suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams.-Early life and training:...
, noted 163 suspicious deaths among Adams's patients between 1946 and 1956.
Recordings
- Meet Me 'Round the Corner, with Moya Mannering 1912 (streaming audio/HTTP download)
- Sally: original 1921 London cast recordings Monmouth-Evergreen MES-7053 (LP)
- Primrose: original 1924 London cast recordings World Records SH-214 (LP), Pearl 113 (CD)
- Cole Porter in London: original cast recordings from London productions of Nymph Errant”. “Anything Goes”, “Wake Up and Dream”, “Kiss Me Kate” etc. World Records SHB-26 (2xLP)
- Careless Talk. Monologue by Stanley Holloway with Leslie Henson (MP3 download)
- A Few Drinks with Sydney Howard, Columbia (Australia) DOX9
Filmography
- Wanted: A Widow (1916)
- The Lifeguardsman (1916) ... as Lt Spiff
- The Real Thing at LastThe Real Thing at LastThe Real Thing at Last is a satirical silent movie based on the play Macbeth. It was written in 1916 by Peter Pan creator and playwright J. M. Barrie as a parody of the American film industry...
(1916) ... as Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I... - Broken BottlesBroken BottlesBroken Bottles is a 1920 British silent comedy film directed by Leslie Henson and starring Henson, Nora Howard and Stanley Brightman. It is a parody of the film Broken Blossom by D.W. Griffith.-Cast:* Leslie Henson - Bottling Barrows...
(1920) ... as Bottling Barrows (also writer and director) - Alf's Button (1920) ... as Alf Higgins
- Tons of MoneyTons of Money (1924 film)Tons of Money is a 1924 British comedy film directed by Frank Hall Crane and starring Leslie Henson, Flora le Breton and Mary Brough. It is an adaptation of the 1922 play Tons of Money by Will Evans and Arthur Valentine. Both were co-produced with Tom Walls...
(1924) ... as Aubrey Allington (also producer) - On with the Dance (1927, short)
- A Warm CornerA Warm CornerA Warm Corner is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Leslie Henson, Heather Thatcher and Austin Melford. It was based on a successful play by Franz Arnold...
(1930) ... as Mr Corner - The Sport of KingsThe Sport of Kings (film)The Sport of Kings is a 1931 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Leslie Henson, Hugh Wakefield and Gordon Harker. A stern Justice of the Peace takes over a firm of bookmakers...
(1931) ... as Amos Purdie - It's a BoyIt's a Boy (film)It's a Boy is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Leslie Henson, Albert Burdon and Edward Everett Horton. It is a farce about a blackmailer who attempts to demand money from a young woman on the brink of marriage...
(1933) ... as James Skippett - The Girl from Maxim'sThe Girl from Maxim'sThe Girl from Maxim's is a 1933 British musical comedy film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Frances Day, Leslie Henson, Lady Tree and Stanley Holloway. A Doctor tries to pass off a singer as his wife in Paris in 1904...
(1933) ... as Dr Petypon - Oh, Daddy!Oh, Daddy!Oh, Daddy! is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Graham Cutts and Austin Melford and starring Leslie Henson, Frances Day, Robertson Hare and Barry MacKay.-Cast:* Leslie Henson - Lord Pye* Frances Day - Benita de Lys* Robertson Hare - Rupert Boddy...
(1935) ... as Lord Pye - The Demi-ParadiseThe Demi-ParadiseThe Demi-Paradise is a 1943 comedy film made by Two Cities Films and distributed in the U.S. by Universal Pictures. It starred Laurence Olivier as a Soviet inventor who travels to England to have his revolutionary propeller manufactured, and Penelope Dudley Ward as the woman who falls in love with...
(1943) ... as Himself - Home and AwayHome and Away (1956 film)Home and Away is a 1956 British drama film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison. It depitcts the life of an ordinary working-class man after he wins the football pools. The film reunited Warner and Harrison who had previously appeared together in the Huggetts...
(1956) ... as Uncle Tom - The Vise: Six Months to Talk (#5.19) (1958) (TV Episode) - Police Sergeant
Note: Clips of Henson may be viewed online.