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Noël Coward

Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 1899 – 26 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".

Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as Hay Fever, Private Lives, Design for Living, Present Laughter, and Blithe Spirit, have remained in the regular theatre repertoire. He composed hundreds of songs, in addition to well over a dozen musical theatre works (including the operetta Bitter Sweet and comic revues), screenplays, poetry, several volumes of short stories, the novel Pomp and Circumstance, and a three-volume autobiography. Coward's stage and film acting and directing career spanned six decades, during which he starred in many of his own works, as well as those of others.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Coward volunteered for war work, running the British propaganda office in Paris. He also worked with the Secret Service, seeking to use his influence to persuade the American public and government to help Britain. Coward won an Academy Honorary Award in 1943 for his naval film drama In Which We Serve and was knighted in 1970. In the 1950s he achieved fresh success as a cabaret performer, performing his own songs, such as "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", "London Pride", and "I Went to a Marvellous Party".

Coward's plays and songs achieved new popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, and his work and style continue to influence popular culture. He did not publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, but it was discussed candidly after his death by biographers including Graham Payn, his long-time partner, and in Coward's diaries and letters, published posthumously. The former Albery Theatre (originally the New Theatre) in London was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in his honour in 2006.

Birth and Death Data: Born December 16, 1899 (Teddington), Died March 26, 1973 (Firefly Estate)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1925 - 1947

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist, baritone vocal, speaker

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 91 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor D7VB-1951 10-in. 10/30/1947 Mad about the boy Beryl Davis ; Russ Case Orchestra Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Columbia W141272 10-in. 11/17/1925 Poor little rich girl Gertrude Lawrence Female vocal solo, with piano composer, lyricist  
Columbia W141273 10-in. 11/17/1925 Russian blues Gertrude Lawrence Female vocal solo, with piano lyricist, composer  
Columbia W141274 10-in. 11/17/1925 Carrie Gertrude Lawrence Female vocal solo, with piano composer, lyricist  
Columbia 147480 10-in. 11/22/1928 A room with a view Arthur Ross and his Westerners [Georgians] ; Marvin Young [Irving Kaufman] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Columbia W147730 10-in. 12/26/1928 A room with a view Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio composer, lyricist  
Columbia W147731 10-in. 12/26/1928 Dance, little lady Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Columbia W149616 10-in. 12/24/1929 If love were all Fred Rich Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Columbia W149617 10-in. 12/24/1929 I'll see you again Fred Rich Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia H31 10-in. approximately 1940 Dear little café Robert Armbruster ; Nelson Eddy Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
Columbia H32 10-in. approximately 1940 Tokay Robert Armbruster ; Nelson Eddy Baritone vocal solo, with chorus and orchestra composer, lyricist  
Columbia H33 10-in. approximately 1940 I'll see you again Robert Armbruster ; Nelson Eddy Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
Columbia H34 10-in. approximately 1940 The call of life Robert Armbruster ; Nelson Eddy Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
OKeh 73730 10-in. Oct. 1925 If love were all Bruce Wallace Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E28892 10-in. 12/14/1928 A room with a view William Wirges Orchestra Orchestra, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take G) composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E2016-E2018 10-in. 12/31/1925 Poor little rich girl Selvin’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick E17756-E17759 10-in. 2/1/1926 Poor little rich girl Gaiety Musical Comedy Chorus Mixed vocal chorus, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
Brunswick 786W-788W 10-in. 5/13/1925 Steppin' in society Selvin’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick [Br (U.K.) cat 178-b] 10-in. May 1928 A room with a view Fred Elizalde Music Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Brunswick [Br (U.K.) cat 178-a] 10-in. May 1928 Dance, little lady Fred Elizalde Music Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Edison 18910 10-in. 11/30/1928 Dance, little lady B. A. Rolfe Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Edison 18911 10-in. 11/30/1928 A room with a view B. A. Rolfe Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Edison N-604 10-in. 11/30/1928 Dance, little lady B. A. Rolfe Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Edison N-605 10-in. 11/30/1928 A room with a view B. A. Rolfe Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Gramophone 0EA654 10-in. 10/25/1934 I travel alone Alberta Hunter ; Jack Jackson's Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo composer  
(Results 26-50 of 91 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Coward, Noël," accessed October 31, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102403.

Coward, Noël. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 31, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102403.

"Coward, Noël." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 31 October 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102403

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