THE RELEVANT QUEER: British Actor, Composer & Playwright Ivor Novello

Ivor Novello by Paul Tanqueray, 1934

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.”

TRQ: Ivor Novello 

The Lodger, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ivor Novello was released Feb. 14, 1927. 

Named Britain’s handsomest screen idol, Novello was born Jan. 15, 1893 in Wales. He was an actor, composer and playwright. Born David Ivor Davies, he took his stage name from his mother, singer Clara Novello Davies. 

In 1914, Novello composed the patriotic WW1 song, “Keep the Home Fires Burning.” The sentimental song’s popularity instantly made Novello famous. 

Novello starred in both film and stage productions. D.W. Griffith cast him in the silent film The White Rose (1923). Afterwards, Novello began working with Hitchcock. In one of his most well-known works, he wrote the dialogue for Tarzan The Ape Man in 1932. The iconic “Me Tarzan, You Jane” line was originated by Novello. 

Novello made himself at home in the theatre world. His popularity as an actor was matched by the popularity of his musicals, which have been described as escapist, lavish and operetta-like. Novello wrote several plays in which he starred. These include The Rat, Symphony in Two Flats, The Truth Game and Proscenium. Glamorous Night (1937) and Perchance to Dream (1945) were loved by audiences for their romanticism. Drawing comparisons to Andrew Lloyd Webber today, Novello’s musicals are considered by critics to be lush but derivative. 

Novello’s life partner of thirty-five years, actor Bobbie Andrews introduced Novello to Noël Coward. Novello and Coward would go on to write several plays and musicals starring Novello and Andrews together. Vivien Leigh, the British actress later immortalised in the American classic Gone With the Wind, was given her stage name by Novello. 

Redroofs, the country home owned by Novello and Andrews, was known for its lavishness, plentiful supply of drugs and alcohol, and gay activity. 

Ivor Novello by Paul Tanqueray, 1934
Ivor Novello by Paul Tanqueray, 1938
Ivor Novello by Paul Tanqueray, 1928

Sources:

LGBTHistory UK

NPR

VAM

World of Wonder

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