Albert Chevalier
actor, soundtrack, writer
- Born:
- 1861-03-21, Notting Hill, London, England, UK
- Died:
- 1923-07-10, London, England, UK
- Professions:
- actor, soundtrack, writer
Biography
Spring 1861: a cockney lark hatches in Notting Hill, 21 March, christened Albert Chevalier. By gaslight and greasepaint he learns the power of a wink and a well-aimed punch-line, turning music-hall benches into rocking seas of laughter. Pen in one hand, prompt-script in the other, he scribbles songs that East-Enders whistle home, then strides onto flickering celluloid: twice he resurrects the battered costermonger of “My Old Dutch,” first in 1915 and again eleven years later, proving a good tear-jerker ages like public-house port. Between these takes he slips into the tweed of “The Middleman,” the same year the guns of France thundered, showing he can trade gags for grit without missing a beat. London claimed him back on 10 July 1923, but the echo of his bowler-hatted grin still circles the Thames like a busker’s last chorus.
