Harry Relph, known on the stage as "Little Tich", was an English 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

Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

. He was noted for the characters of The Spanish Señora, The Gendarme and The Tax Collector, but his most popular routine was his Big Boot dance, which involved a pair of 28-inch boots, commonly called "slapshoes" in the days of vaudeville. He was also popular as a pantomime dame

Pantomime dame

A pantomime dame is a traditional character in British pantomime. It is a continuation of en travesti portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. They are often played either in an extremely camp style, or else by men acting 'butch' in women's clothing...

; in one season he appeared with Marie Lloyd

Marie Lloyd

Matilda Alice Victoria Wood was an English music hall singer, best known as Marie Lloyd. Her ability to add lewdness to the most innocent of lyrics led to frequent clashes with the guardians of morality...

 and Dan Leno

Dan Leno

Dan Leno , born George Wild Galvin, was an English comedian and actor, famous for appearing in music hall and dozens of comic plays, pantomimes, Victorian burlesques and musical comedies during the Victorian era...

 also in the cast.

Biography

The surviving film of the Big Boot dance, made by Clément-Maurice for the Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre in 1900, was described by Jacques Tati

Jacques Tati

Jacques Tati was a French filmmaker, working as a comedic actor, writer and director. In a poll conducted by Entertainment Weekly of the Greatest Movie Directors Tati was voted the 46th greatest of all time...

 as "a foundation for everything that has been realised in comedy on the screen".

Relph was born at Cudham

Cudham

Cudham is a village in the London Borough of Bromley in London, UK. It is located south-southeast of Charing Cross and about northwest of Sevenoaks....

, now in the London Borough of Bromley

London Borough of Bromley

The London Borough of Bromley is a London borough of south east London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in the borough is Bromley.-Geography:...

, one of 15 children to the landlord of the Blacksmith's Arms. He made his first stage appearance at the age of twelve at Rosherville Gardens

Rosherville Gardens

-The Gardens:The gardens were laid out in 1837 by George Jones in one of the disused chalk pits in Northfleet, covering an area of 17 acres...

, Gravesend

Gravesend, Kent

Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...

. Relph, only four feet six inches (1.37 m) in height but also very stout as a child (though he later slimmed down), took his stage name "Little Tich" from the Tichborne claimant

Tichborne Case

The affair of the Tichborne claimant was the celebrated 19th-century legal case in the United Kingdom of Arthur Orton , an imposter who claimed to be Sir Roger Tichborne , the missing heir to the Tichborne Baronetcy....

, the corpulent Arthur Orton.

He performed internationally, and at the age of 42 was made an officer of the French Academy, for his performances at the Folies Bergère. His final performance was at the London Alhambra Theatre

Alhambra Theatre

The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as The Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was...

 in 1927, with Jack Hylton's Band, and he died at Hendon

Hendon

Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...

 after a long illness in 1928.

He was a polydactyl

Polydactyly

Polydactyly or polydactylism , also known as hyperdactyly, is a congenital physical anomaly in humans, dogs, and cats having supernumerary fingers or toes....

, having five fingers and a thumb on each hand, and six toes on both feet. Mementoes of his life are still preserved at the public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

 in which he was born.

The second of Igor Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....

's "Three Pieces for String Quartet" (1914) was inspired by one of Little Tich's performances.

In the Ministry of Silly Walks sketch in Monty Python's Flying Circus

Monty Python's Flying Circus

Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...

a parody of old 20th-century silent film is shown. In this film Michael Palin

Michael Palin

Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....

 is dressed like Little Tich in his "Big Boots" sketch, complete with high hat and large shoes.

Little Tich's son Paul followed him onto the stage.

External links

• Anthony, Barry. Little Tich (Harry Relph)
• Irving, Gordon. Little Tich
• Knapp, Lawrence. (2000) Sax Rohmer and Little Tich
• Blue plaque by the London Borough of Bromley