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132-498: George Wild Galvin (20 December 1860 – 31 October 1904), better known by the stage name Dan Leno , was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era . He was best known, aside from his music hall act, for his dame roles in the annual pantomimes that were popular at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , from 1888 to 1904. Leno was born in St Pancras , London, and began to entertain as

264-578: A clog dancing double act known as "The Great Little Lenos". This was the first time that Leno used his stepfather's stage name, "Leno", which he never registered legally. The same year, Leno also appeared in his first pantomime, in Liverpool, where he had a supporting part as a juvenile clown in Fortunatus; or, The Magic Wishing Cap alongside his parents, who appeared as "Mr and Mrs Leno – Comic Duettists". On 18 July 1866, Leno, Henry and their parents appeared on

396-411: A ghostwriter , T. C. Elder. Leno's biographer J. Hickory Wood commented: "I can honestly say that I never saw him absolutely at rest. He was always doing something, and had something else to do afterwards; or he had just been somewhere, was going somewhere else, and had several other appointments to follow." That year, Leno performed the role of "waxi omo" (a slang expression for a black-face performer) in

528-621: A music hall double act called "The Singing and Acting Duettists". Known professionally as Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Wild, they did not achieve much success, and the family struggled in poverty. Having had very little schooling, and being raised by performers, Leno learned to entertain as a child. In 1862, Leno's parents and elder brothers appeared at the Surrey Music Hall in Sheffield , then performed in Manchester , Glasgow and Northampton later in

660-417: A Shakespearean season that Leno was willing to fund. On the second visit to her home, Leno brought Collier a diamond brooch. Recognising that Leno was having a mental breakdown, she gently refused his offer, and Leno left distraught. Two days later, he was admitted into Camberwell House Lunatic Asylum, London, where he spent several months under the care of Dr. Savage, who treated Leno with "peace and quiet and

792-652: A brand name for music-halls all over the British Empire. During 1892, the Royal English Opera House, which had been a financial failure in Shaftesbury Avenue , applied for a music hall licence and was converted by Walter Emden into a grand music hall and renamed the Palace Theatre of Varieties , managed by Charles Morton . Denied by the newly created LCC permission to construct the promenade, which

924-600: A child. In 1864, he joined his parents on stage in their music hall act, and he made his first solo appearance, aged nine, at the Britannia Music Hall in Coventry . As a youth, he was famous for his clog dancing , and in his teen years, he became the star of his family's act. He adopted the stage name Dan Leno and, in 1884, made his first performance under that name in London. As a solo artist, he became increasingly popular during

1056-624: A consequence. Nevertheless, between April and October 1889, Leno appeared simultaneously at the Empire Theatre and the Oxford Music Hall , performing his one-man show. By this time, Leno was much in demand and had bookings for the next three years. On 9 May 1889 he starred for George P. Hawtrey in a matinee of Penelope , a musical version of a famous farce The Area Belle , to benefit the Holborn Lodge for Shop Girls. In this benefit, he played

1188-554: A distinction in Britain between bold and scandalous music hall entertainment and subsequent, more respectable variety entertainment differ. Music hall involved a mixture of popular songs, comedy, speciality acts, and variety entertainment. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place. In North America vaudeville was in some ways analogous to British music hall, featuring rousing songs and comic acts. Originating in saloon bars within pubs during

1320-614: A dramatic actor, and he was turned down for Shakespearean roles. Leno began to behave in an erratic and furious manner by 1902, and he suffered a mental breakdown in early 1903. He was committed to a mental asylum, but was discharged later that year. After one more show, his health declined, and he died aged 43. Leno was born in St Pancras , London. He was the youngest of six children, including two elder brothers, John and Henry, and an elder sister, Frances. Two other siblings died in infancy. His parents, John Galvin (1826–1864) and his wife Louisa ( née Dutton; 1831–1891), performed together in

1452-497: A few of the many types of entertainments the audiences could expect to find over the next forty years. The Music Hall Strike of 1907 was an important industrial conflict. It was a dispute between artists and stage hands on one hand, and theatre managers on the other. The halls had recovered by the start of the First World War and were used to stage charity events in aid of the war effort. Music hall entertainment continued after

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1584-562: A fire in 1898. The construction of Weston's Music Hall , High Holborn (1857), built up on the site of the Six Cans and Punch Bowl Tavern by the licensed victualler of the premises, Henry Weston, signalled that the West End was fruitful territory for the music hall. During 1906 it was rebuilt as a variety theatre and renamed as the Holborn Empire . It was closed as a result of German action in

1716-476: A home, having spent their working lives living in digs between performances. Stage and film musicals, however, continued to be influenced by the music hall idiom, including Oliver! , Dr Dolittle and My Fair Lady . The BBC series The Good Old Days , which ran for thirty years, recreated the music hall for the modern audience, and the Paul Daniels Magic Show allowed several speciality acts

1848-464: A legitimate cultural form was established by the first Royal Variety Performance before King George V during 1912 at the Palace Theatre. However, consistent with this new respectability the best-known music hall entertainer of the time, Marie Lloyd , was not invited, being deemed too "saucy" for presentation to the monarchy. The development of syndicates controlling a number of theatres, such as

1980-518: A little water colouring". On his second day, Leno told a nurse that the clock was wrong. When she stated that it was right, Leno remarked, "Well if it's right, then what's it doing here?" Leno made several attempts to leave the asylum, twice being successful. He was found each time and promptly returned. Upon Leno's release from the institution in October 1903, the press offered much welcoming commentary and speculated as to whether he would appear that year in

2112-434: A living. Tired of surviving on little or no money, Henry left the clog dancing act to take up a trade in London, forcing Leno to consider a future as a solo performer. Henry later founded a dance school. Henry was replaced intermittently in the act by the boys' uncle, Johnny Danvers , who was a week older than Leno. Leno and Danvers had been close from an early age. Leno made his debut as a solo performer in 1869, returning to

2244-623: A music hall song consists of a series of verses sung by the performer alone, and a repeated chorus which carries the principal melody, and in which the audience is encouraged to join. Clogging Clogging is the official state dance of Kentucky and North Carolina . In the United States, team clogging originated from square dance teams in Asheville , North Carolina 's Mountain Dance and Folk Festival (1928), organized by Bascom Lamar Lunsford in

2376-405: A mythologised version of Leno – the first comic paper to take its name from, and base a central character on, a living person. Published by C. Arthur Pearson , Issue No. 1 appeared on 26 February 1898, and the paper sold 350,000 copies a year. Leno wrote most of the paper's comic stories and jokes, and Tom Browne contributed many of the illustrations. The comedian retained editorial control of

2508-766: A pantomime written by Leno's father: Old King Humpty; or, Harlequin Emerald Isle and Katty of Killarney (1869), for which Leno was praised by Charles Dickens , who was in the audience and told him: "Good little man, you'll make headway!" In 1870, the Lenos appeared in another pantomime by Leno's father, Jack the Giant Killer; or, Harlequin Grim Gosling, or the Good Fairy Queen of the Golden Pine Grove , in which Leno played

2640-451: A pedestal; he danced on a slab of slate; he was encored over and over again; but throughout his performance, he never uttered a word". In 1878, Leno and his family moved to Manchester. There he met Lydia Reynolds, who, in 1883, joined the Leno family theatre company, which already consisted of his parents, Danvers and Leno. The following year, Leno and Reynolds married; around this time, he adopted

2772-445: A piping voice – in short it is none other than Dan Leno whom we all know". Mother Goose provided Leno with one of the most challenging roles of his career, in which he was required to portray the same woman in several different guises. Wood's idea, that neither fortune nor beauty would bring happiness, was illustrated by a series of magical character transformations. The poor, unkempt and generally ugly Mother Goose eventually became

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2904-452: A police officer, a Spanish bandit and a hairdresser. One such character was Mrs. Kelly, a gossip. Leno would sing a verse of a song, then begin a monologue, often his You know Mrs. Kelly? routine, which became a well-known catchphrase : "You see we had a row once, and it was all through Mrs. Kelly. You know Mrs. Kelly, of course. ... Oh, you must know Mrs. Kelly; everybody knows Mrs. Kelly." For his London acts, Leno purchased songs from

3036-410: A railway station guard dressed in an ill-fitting uniform, with an unkempt beard and a whistle. The character was created by exaggerating the behaviour that Leno saw in a real employee at Brixton station who concerned himself in other people's business while, at the same time, not doing any work. "The Shopwalker" was full of comic one-liners and was heavily influenced by pantomime . Leno played the part of

3168-408: A result professional songwriters were enlisted to provide the music for a plethora of star performers, such as Marie Lloyd , Dan Leno , Little Tich , and George Leybourne . All manner of other entertainment was performed: male and female impersonators, lions comiques , mime artists and impressionists, trampoline acts, and comic pianists (such as John Orlando Parry and George Grossmith ) were just

3300-452: A rich and beautiful but tasteless parvenu , searching for a suitor. The production was one of Drury Lane's most successful pantomimes, running until 28 March 1903. In 1896, the impresario Milton Bode approached Leno with a proposal for a farcical musical comedy vehicle devised for him called Orlando Dando, the Volunteer , by Basil Hood with music by Walter Slaughter . Leno's agent declined

3432-503: A sense of grim humour ("When they wipe my face with sponges / and they feed me on blancmanges / I'm glad I've got a bit of a blighty one"). Tilley became more popular than ever during this time, when she and her husband, Walter de Frece , managed a military recruitment drive. In the guise of characters like 'Tommy in the Trench' and 'Jack Tar Home from Sea', Tilley performed songs such as "The army of today's all right" and "Jolly Good Luck to

3564-417: A shop assistant, again of manic demeanour, enticing imaginary clientele into the shop before launching into a frantic selling technique sung in verse. Leno's depiction of "The Waiter", dressed in an oversized dinner jacket and loose-fitting white dickey, which would flap up and hit his face, was of a man consumed in self-pity and indignation. Overworked, overwrought and overwhelmed by the number of his customers,

3696-537: A show called La Revue Nègre at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées . She became an immediate success for her erotic dancing , and for appearing practically nude on stage. After a successful tour of Europe, she returned to France to star at the Folies Bergère . Baker performed the 'Danse sauvage,' wearing a costume consisting of a skirt made of a string of artificial bananas. The music-halls suffered growing hardships in

3828-582: A stage carpenter, Lydia, as she was known professionally, was already an accomplished actress as a teenager: of her performance in Sinbad the Sailor in 1881, one critic wrote that she "played Zorlida very well for a young artiste. She is well known at this theatre and with proper training will prove a very clever actress." She and Leno married in 1884 in a discreet ceremony at St. George's Church, in Hulme , Manchester, soon after

3960-561: A telegram from the King congratulating him on his performance. Leno's stage partner Herbert Campbell died in July 1904, shortly after the pantomime, following an accident at the age of fifty-seven. The death affected Leno deeply, and he went into a decline. At that time, he was appearing at the London Pavilion , but the show had to be cancelled owing to his inability to remember his lines. So harsh were

4092-458: A television presence from 1979 to 1994. Aimed at a younger audience, but still owing a lot to the music hall heritage, was the late-1970s’ television series, The Muppet Show . The music hall was first imported into France in its British form in 1862, but under the French law protecting the state theatres, performers could not wear costumes or recite dialogue, something only allowed in theaters. When

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4224-617: A theatre rather than a music hall, this establishment later hosted music-hall variety acts. The establishment often regarded as the first true music hall was the Canterbury , 143 Westminster Bridge Road , Lambeth built by Charles Morton , afterwards dubbed "the Father of the Halls", on the site of a skittle alley next to his pub, the Canterbury Tavern. It opened on 17 May 1852 and was described by

4356-464: A tribute to Leno and presented him, on behalf of the Drury Lane Theatre's management, with an expensive silver dinner service. Leno rose to his feet and said: "Governor, it's a magnificent present! I congratulate you and you deserve it!" Frustrated at not being accepted as a serious actor, Leno became obsessed with the idea of playing Richard III and other great Shakespearean roles, inundating

4488-402: Is not known. His death and funeral were national news. The Daily Telegraph wrote in its obituary: "There was only one Dan. His methods were inimitable; his face was indeed his fortune ... Who has seen him in any of his disguises and has failed to laugh?" Max Beerbohm later said of Leno's death: "So little and frail a lantern could not long harbour so big a flame". Leno is commemorated by

4620-481: Is sketched as the galvanic baroness in the wonderfully amusing dance which sets the house in a roar. The substantial "babes", Mr. Herbert Campbell and Mr. Harry Nicholls, would have no excuse if they did not vie in drollery with the light footed Dan Leno. Babes in the Wood was a triumph: the theatre reported record attendance, and the run was extended until 27 April 1889. Leno considerably reduced his music-hall engagements as

4752-642: The Appalachian region . The Soco Gap Dancers performed at the White House in 1939, which caused an uptick in the popularity of team clogging. American Clogging is associated with the predecessor to bluegrass — "old-time" music , which is based on English, and Irish fiddle tunes as well as African American banjo tunes. Clogging primarily developed from Irish step dancing called Sean-nós dance ; there were also English, Scottish, German, and Cherokee step dances, as well as African rhythms and movement influences too. It

4884-590: The Bristol Canterbury, which was built in 1850s as the first purpose-built music hall in the city. Another early music hall was The Middlesex, Drury Lane (1851). Popularly known as the 'Old Mo', it was built on the site of the Mogul Saloon. Later converted into a theatre it was demolished in 1965. The New London Theatre stands on its site. Several large music halls were built in the East End . These included

5016-538: The Champs-Élysées , was frequented by the upper and lower classes alike. He persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness. Leplée taught her the basics of stage presence and told her to wear a black dress, which became her trademark apparel. Leplée ran an intense publicity campaign leading up to her opening night, attracting the presence of many celebrities, including Maurice Chevalier. Her nightclub appearance led to her first two records produced that same year, and

5148-628: The Gramophone and Typewriter Company label . He also made 14 short films towards the end of his life, in which he portrayed a bumbling buffoon who struggles to carry out everyday tasks, such as riding a bicycle or opening a bottle of champagne. On 26 November 1901, Leno, along with Seymour Hicks and his wife, the actress Ellaline Terriss , was invited to Sandringham House to take part in a Royal Command Performance to entertain King Edward VII , Queen Alexandra , their son George and his wife, Mary ,

5280-480: The interwar period from the most popular new form of entertainment, the cinema . They responded by offering more complex and lavish shows. In 1911, the Olympia had introduced the giant stairway as a set for its productions, an idea copied by other music halls. Gaby Deslys rose in popularity and created, with her dance partner Harry Pilcer , her most famous dance The Gaby Glide . The singer Mistinguett made her debut

5412-485: The interwar period , no longer the single dominant form of popular entertainment in Britain. The improvement of cinema, the development of radio, and the cheapening of the gramophone damaged its popularity greatly. It now had to compete with jazz , swing and big band dance music. Licensing restrictions also changed its character. In 1914, the London County Council (LCC) enacted that drinking be banished from

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5544-587: The legitimate theatre . Their styles and appeal were very different: Leno's characters were gritty working-class realists, while Chevalier's were overflowing in romanticism, and his act depicted an affluent point of view. According to Leno's biographer Barry Anthony, the two "represented the opposite poles of cockney comedy". For his music hall acts, Leno created characters that were based on observations about life in London, including shopwalkers , grocer's assistants, beefeaters , huntsmen, racegoers, firemen, fathers, henpecked husbands, garrulous wives, pantomime dames,

5676-401: The 1830s, music hall entertainment became increasingly popular with audiences. So much so, that during the 1850s some public houses were demolished, and specialised music hall theatres developed in their place. These theatres were designed chiefly so that people could consume food and alcohol and smoke tobacco in the auditorium while the entertainment took place, with the cheapest seats located in

5808-424: The 1850s a distinct musical style. Subject matter became more contemporary and humorous, and accompaniment was provided by larger house-orchestras, as increasing affluence gave the lower classes more access to commercial entertainment, and to a wider range of musical instruments, including the piano. The consequent change in musical taste from traditional to more professional forms of entertainment, arose in response to

5940-583: The 1850s and were built in and on the grounds of public houses. Such establishments were distinguished from theatres by the fact that in a music hall you would be seated at a table in the auditorium and could drink alcohol and smoke tobacco whilst watching the show. In a theatre, by contrast, the audience was seated in stalls and there was a separate bar-room. An exception to this rule was the Britannia Theatre , Hoxton (1841) which somehow managed to evade this regulation and served drinks to its customers. Though

6072-455: The 1888 musical burlesque of the ancient Greek character Atalanta at the Strand Theatre , directed by Charles Hawtrey . It was written by Hawtrey's brother, George P. Hawtrey, and it starred Frank Wyatt , Willie Warde and William Hawtrey. The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News praised Leno's singing and dancing and reported that: "He brings a good deal of fun and quaintness to

6204-562: The 1930s. The Olympia was converted into a movie theater, and others closed. Others however continued to thrive. In 1937 and 1930, the Casino de Paris presented shows with Maurice Chevalier , who had already achieved success as an actor and singer in Hollywood . In 1935, a twenty-year old singer named Édith Piaf was discovered in the Pigalle by nightclub owner Louis Leplée , whose club, Le Gerny, off

6336-475: The Blitz on the night of 11–12 May 1941 and the building was pulled down in 1960. Significant West End music halls include: Other large suburban music halls included: A noted music hall entrepreneur of this time was Carlo Gatti who built a music hall, known as Gatti's, at Hungerford Market in 1857. He sold the music hall to South Eastern Railway in 1862, and the site became Charing Cross railway station . With

6468-676: The Britannia music hall in Hoxton, where he became known as "The Great Little Leno, the Quintessence of Irish Comedians". The name was suggested by his stepfather, William, who thought the Irish connection would appeal to audiences on their upcoming visit to Dublin . Arriving in Ireland the same year, the Lenos were struggling financially and stayed with William's relatives. In addition to his performances as part of

6600-602: The Casino de Paris in 1895, and continued to appear regularly in the 1920s and 1930s at the Folies Bergère , Moulin Rouge and Eldorado. Her risqué routines captivated Paris, and she became one of the most highly-paid and popular French entertainers of her time. One of the most popular entertainers in Paris during the period was the American singer Josephine Baker . Baker sailed to Paris, France. She first arrived in Paris in 1925 to perform in

6732-453: The Dainties continued to play matches across London. Two films of action from the matches were produced in 1900 for audiences of the new medium of cinema. In September 1901, at a major charity match, the press noted the carnival atmosphere. The comedians wore silly costumes – Leno was dressed as an undertaker and later as a schoolgirl riding a camel. Bands played, and clowns circulated through

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6864-588: The Dan Leno Gardens on Patmos Road in London, situated behind St John the Divine, Kennington , which are designated for use by disabled people. Music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era , beginning around 1850, through the Great War . It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of

6996-562: The Doo-da-Day Minstrels, an act that included Danvers, Campbell, Bransby Williams , Joe Elvin and Eugene Stratton . The troupe's only performance was at the London Pavilion on 29 May 1899 as part of a benefit. Leno's song "The Funny Little Nigger" greatly amused the audience. His biographer Barry Anthony considered the performance to be "more or less, the last gasp of black-face minstrelsy in Britain". Between 1901 and 1903, Leno recorded more than twenty-five songs and monologues on

7128-508: The Drury Lane pantomime, scheduled to be Humpty Dumpty . Concerned that Leno might suffer a relapse, Arthur Collins employed Marie Lloyd to take his place. By the time of rehearsals, however, Leno persuaded Collins that he was well enough to take part, and the cast was reshuffled to accommodate him. Leno appeared with success. Upon hearing his signature song, the audience reportedly gave him a standing ovation that lasted five minutes. He received

7260-490: The English essayist and caricaturist Max Beerbohm stated that "Leno does not do himself justice collaborating with the public". He noted, however, that Leno "was exceptional in giving each of his dames a personality of her own, from extravagant queen to artless gossip". In Sleeping Beauty , Leno and Campbell caused the audience to laugh even when they could not see them: they would arrive on stage in closed palanquins and exchange

7392-485: The Girl who Loves a Soldier". This is how she got the nickname Britain's best recruiting sergeant  – young men were sometimes asked to join the army on stage during her show. She also performed in hospitals and sold war bonds . Her husband was knighted in 1919 for his own services to the war effort, and Tilley became Lady de Frece. Once the reality of war began to sink home, the recruiting songs all but disappeared –

7524-557: The Greatest Hits collection for 1915 published by top music publisher Francis and Day contains no recruitment songs. After conscription was brought in 1916, songs dealing with the war spoke mostly of the desire to return home. Many also expressed anxiety about the new roles women were taking in society. Possibly the most notorious of music hall songs from the First World War was " Oh! It's a lovely war " ( 1917 ), popularised by male impersonator Ella Shields . Music hall continued during

7656-597: The London Music Hall, otherwise known as The Shoreditch Empire, 95–99 Shoreditch High Street , (1856–1935). This theatre was rebuilt during 1894 by Frank Matcham , the architect of the Hackney Empire . Another in this area was the Royal Cambridge Music Hall, 136 Commercial Street (1864–1936). Designed by William Finch Hill (the designer of the Britannia theatre in nearby Hoxton), it was rebuilt after

7788-631: The Music Hall Benevolent Fund, of which he became the president. He was an early member of the entertainment charity Grand Order of Water Rats , which helps performers who are in financial need, and served as its leader, the King Rat, in 1891, 1892 and 1897. Near the end of his life, Leno co-founded The Music Hall Artistes Railway Association, which entered a partnership with the Water Rats to form music hall's first trade union. Some of Leno's charity

7920-622: The Premises". After a run of nearly two years the novelty wore off, and Leno lost interest. The paper shut down on 2 December 1899. A journalist wrote, in the late 1890s, that Leno was "probably the highest paid funny man in the world". In 1898, Leno, Herbert Campbell and Danvers formed a consortium to build the Granville Theatre in Fulham , which was demolished in 1971. Leno published an autobiography, Dan Leno: Hys Booke , in 1899, possibly assisted by

8052-614: The Prince and Princess of Wales. Leno performed a thirty-five-minute solo act that included two of his best-known songs: "How to Buy a House" and "The Huntsman". After the performance, Leno reported, "The King, the Queen and the Prince of Wales all very kindly shook hands with me and told me how much they had enjoyed it. The Princess of Wales was just going to shake hands with me, when she looked at my face, and couldn't do it for some time, because she laughed so much. I wasn't intending to look funny – I

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8184-588: The Stoll circuit, increased tensions between employees and employers. On 22 January 1907, a dispute between artists, stage hands and managers of the Holborn Empire worsened. Strikes in other London and suburban halls followed, organised by the Variety Artistes' Federation. The strike lasted for almost two weeks and was known as the Music Hall War . It became extremely well known, and was advocated enthusiastically by

8316-667: The Twins", "When Rafferty Raffled his Watch" and "The Railway Guard". His dancing had earned him popularity in the provinces, but Leno found that his London audiences preferred these sketches and his comic songs. Leno's other London venues in the late 1880s included Collins's Music Hall in Islington , the Queen's Theatre in Poplar and the Standard in Pimlico . Leno was a replacement in the role of Leontes in

8448-414: The Varieties Theatre in Sheffield and the Star Music Hall in Manchester. At the same time, Leno's clog dancing continued to be so good that in 1880 he won the world championship at the Princess's Music Hall in Leeds , for which he received a gold and silver belt weighing 44.5 oz (1.26 kg). His biographer, the pantomime librettist J. Hickory Wood , described his act: "He danced on the stage; he danced on

8580-498: The West End was the Empire, Leicester Square , built as a theatre in 1884 but acquiring a music hall licence in 1887. Like the nearby Alhambra this theatre appealed to the men of leisure by featuring alluring ballet dancers, and had a notorious promenade which was the resort of courtesans. Another spectacular example of the new variety theatre was the Tivoli in the Strand built 1888–90 in an eclectic neo-Romanesque style with Baroque and Moorish-Indian embellishments. " The Tivoli " became

8712-452: The Wood (1897) and the Forty Thieves (1898). Leno considered the dame roles in two of his last pantomimes, Bluebeard (1901) and Mother Goose (1902), written by J. Hickory Wood, to be his favourites. He was paid £200 (£27,426 in 2024 adjusted for inflation) for each of the pantomime seasons. Leno appeared at Drury Lane as Sister Anne in Bluebeard , a character described by Wood as "a sprightly, somewhat below middle aged person who

8844-434: The actor–manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree with his proposals. After his final run of Mother Goose at the Drury Lane Theatre in early 1903, Leno's delusions overwhelmed him. On the closing evening, and again soon afterwards, he travelled to the home of Constance Collier , who was Beerbohm Tree's leading lady at His Majesty's Theatre , and also followed her to rehearsal there. He attempted to persuade her to act alongside him in

8976-549: The arches of the elevated railway line leading to Charing Cross station. He opened it as another music hall, known as " Gatti's-in-The-Arches ". After his death his family continued to operate the music hall, known for a period as the Hungerford or Gatti's Hungerford Palace of Varieties. It became a cinema in 1910, and the Players' Theatre in 1946. By 1865, there were 32 music halls in London seating between 500 and 5,000 people plus an unknown, but large, number of smaller venues. Numbers peaked in 1878, with 78 large music halls in

9108-412: The attention of an often jaded and unruly urban audience. In America, from the 1840s, Stephen Foster had reinvigorated folk song with the admixture of Negro spiritual to produce a new type of popular song. Songs like " Old Folks at Home " (1851) and " Oh, Dem Golden Slippers " (James Bland, 1879]) spread round the globe, taking with them the idiom and appurtenances of the minstrel song. Typically,

9240-422: The auditorium into a separate bar and, during 1923, the separate bar was abolished by parliamentary decree. The exemption of the theatres from this latter act prompted some critics to denounce this legislation as an attempt to deprive the working classes of their pleasures, as a form of social control, whilst sparing the supposedly more responsible upper classes who patronised the theatres (though this could be due to

9372-419: The back of his house in Clapham Park , producing cabbages, potatoes, poultry, butter and eggs. In 1898, Leno and his family moved to 56 Akerman Road, Lambeth , where they lived for several years. A blue plaque was erected there in 1962 by the London County Council . The Terriers Association was established in 1890 to help retired artists in need of financial help. Leno was an active fundraiser in this and in

9504-512: The beginning of her career. Competition from movies and television largely brought an end to the Paris music hall. However, a few still flourish, with tourists as their primary audience. Major music halls include the Folies-Bergere , Crazy Horse Saloon , Casino de Paris , Olympia , and Moulin Rouge . The musical forms most associated with music hall evolved in part from traditional folk song and songs written for popular drama, becoming by

9636-410: The best examples are: A new era of variety theatre was developed by the rebuilding of the London Pavilion in 1885. Contemporary accounts noted: Hitherto the halls had borne unmistakeable evidence of their origins, but the last vestiges of their old connections were now thrown aside, and they emerged in all the splendour of their new-born glory. The highest efforts of the architect, the designer and

9768-434: The birth of their first daughter, Georgina. A second child died in infancy, and John was born in 1888. Their three youngest children – Ernest (b. 1889), Sidney (b. 1891) and May (b. 1896) – all followed their father onto the stage. Sidney later performed as Dan Leno, Jr. After Leno's mother and stepfather retired from performing, Leno supported them financially until their deaths. Leno owned "an acre or so" of land at

9900-552: The bottom of St Martin's Lane . This was followed by the London Palladium (1910) in Argyll Street . Both were designed by the prolific Frank Matcham . As music hall grew in popularity and respectability, and as the licensing authorities exercised ever firmer regulation, the original arrangement of a large hall with tables at which drink was served, changed to that of a drink-free auditorium . The acceptance of music hall as

10032-583: The critics that Leno wrote a statement, published in The Era , to defend the show's originality. On 20 October 1904, Leno gave his last performance in the show. Afterwards, he stopped at the Belgrave Hospital for Children in Kennington , of which he was vice-president, to leave a donation. Leno died at his home in London on 31 October 1904, aged 43, and was buried at Lambeth Cemetery , London. The cause of death

10164-672: The crowd. The rival team of professional Surrey cricketers were persuaded to wear tall hats during the match. 18,000 spectators attended, contributing funds for music hall and cricketers' charities, among others. Leno began to drink heavily after performances, and, by 1901, like his father and stepfather before him, he had become an alcoholic. He gradually declined physically and mentally and displayed frequent bouts of erratic behaviour that began to affect his work. By 1902, Leno's angry and violent behaviour directed at fellow cast members, friends and family had become frequent. Once composed, he would become remorseful and apologetic. His erratic behaviour

10296-411: The decorator were enlisted in their service, and the gaudy and tawdry music hall of the past gave way to the resplendent "theatre of varieties" of the present day, with its classic exterior of marble and freestone, its lavishly appointed auditorium and its elegant and luxurious foyers and promenades brilliantly illuminated by myriad electric lights One of the most famous of these new palaces of pleasure in

10428-486: The entertainment provided in the new style saloon bars of pubs during the 1830s. These venues replaced earlier semi-rural amusements provided by fairs and suburban pleasure gardens such as Vauxhall Gardens and the Cremorne Gardens . These latter became subject to urban development and became fewer and less popular. From the mid-19th century music halls spread to the provincial cities, such as Bristol. The saloon

10560-466: The family act, young Leno appeared as a solo act under an Irish-sounding stage name, "Dan Patrick". This allowed him to earn a separate fee of 23 shillings per performance plus living expenses. The name "Dan" may have been chosen to honour Dan Lowery, a northern music hall comedian and music hall proprietor whom the Lenos had met a few months earlier. During this tour of Ireland, the Lenos appeared in Dublin in

10692-581: The federation in whatever steps are taken. World War I may have been the high-water mark of music hall popularity. The artists and composers threw themselves into rallying public support and enthusiasm for the war effort. Patriotic music hall compositions such as "Keep the Home Fires Burning" ( 1914 ), "Pack up Your Troubles" ( 1915 ), " It's a Long Way to Tipperary " ( 1914 ) and " We Don't Want to Lose You (But We Think You Ought To Go) " ( 1914 ), were sung by music hall audiences, and sometimes by soldiers in

10824-513: The foremost music hall writers and composers. One such composer was Harry King, who wrote many of Leno's early successes. Other well-known composers of the day who supplied Leno with numbers included Harry Dacre and Joseph Tabrar . From 1890, Leno commissioned George Le Brunn to compose the incidental music to many of his songs, including "The Detective", "My Old Man", "Chimney on Fire", "The Fasting Man", "The Jap", "All Through A Little Piece of Bacon" and "The Detective Camera". Le Brunn also provided

10956-696: The gallery. This differed from the conventional type of theatre, which seats the audience in stalls with a separate bar-room. Major music halls were based around London. Early examples included: the Canterbury Music Hall in Lambeth , Wilton's Music Hall in Tower Hamlets , and The Middlesex in Drury Lane , otherwise known as the Old Mo. By the mid-19th century, the halls cried out for many new and catchy songs. As

11088-432: The huge theatre were known for their extravagance and splendour. Each one had a cast of over a hundred performers, ballet dancers, acrobats, marionettes and animals, and included an elaborate transformation scene and an energetic harlequinade . Often they were partly written by Harris. Herbert Campbell and Harry Nicholls starred with Leno in the next fifteen Christmas productions at Drury Lane. Campbell had appeared in

11220-423: The incidental music for three of Leno's best-known songs that depicted life in everyday occupations: "The Railway Guard" (1890), "The Shopwalker" and "The Waiter" (both from 1891). The songs in each piece became instantly distinctive and familiar to Leno's audiences, but his occasional changes to the characterisations kept the sketches fresh and topical. "The Railway Guard" featured Leno in a mad characterisation of

11352-413: The late 1880s and 1890s, when he was one of the highest-paid comedians in the world. He developed a music hall act of talking about life's mundane subjects, mixed with comic songs and surreal observations, and created a host of mostly working-class characters to illustrate his stories. In 1901, still at the peak of his career, he performed his "Huntsman" sketch for Edward VII at Sandringham . The monarch

11484-563: The law changed in 1867, the Paris music hall flourished, and a half-dozen new halls opened, offering acrobats, singers, dancers, magicians, and trained animals. The first Paris music hall built specially for that purpose was the Folies-Bergere (1869); it was followed by the Moulin Rouge (1889), the Alhambra (1866), the first to be called a music hall, and the Olympia (1893). The Printania (1903)

11616-529: The licensing restrictions brought about due to the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 , which also applied to public houses). Even so, the music hall gave rise to such major stars as George Formby , Gracie Fields , Max Miller , Will Hay , and Flanagan and Allen during this period. In the mid-1950s, rock and roll , whose performers initially topped music hall bills, attracted a young audience who had little interest in

11748-540: The lines, "Have you anything to do this afternoon, my dear?" – "No, I have nothing on", before being carried off again. Leno and Campbell's pantomimes from 1889 were Jack and the Beanstalk (1889 and 1899), Beauty and the Beast (1890 and 1900), Humpty Dumpty (1891 and 1903), Little Bo-Peep (1892), Robinson Crusoe (1893), Dick Whittington and His Cat (1894), Cinderella (1895), Aladdin (1896), Babes in

11880-591: The main spokesmen of the trade union and Labour movement – Ben Tillett and Keir Hardie for example. Picket lines were organized outside the theatres by the artistes, while in the provinces theatre management attempted to oblige artistes to sign a document promising never to join a trade union. The strike ended in arbitration, which satisfied most of the main demands, including a minimum wage and maximum working week for musicians. Several music hall entertainers such as Marie Dainton , Marie Lloyd , Arthur Roberts , Joe Elvin and Gus Elen were strong advocates of

12012-505: The manner of the Indians. Another source states that the word bockorau can be traced to the "Angolan" word "buckra', and was used to refer to white people, which is disputed. Eventually the term came to describe Irish immigrant sailors whose jig dance was known as 'the buck'." One source states that buck dancing was the earliest combination of the basic shuffle and tap steps performed to syncopated rhythms in which accents are placed not on

12144-526: The metropolis and 300 smaller venues. Thereafter numbers declined due to stricter licensing restrictions imposed by the Metropolitan Board of Works and London County Council , and because of commercial competition between popular large suburban halls and the smaller venues, which put the latter out of business. A few of the UK's music halls have survived and have retained many of their original features. Among

12276-473: The music hall acts, while driving the older audience away. The final demise was competition from television, which grew popular after the Queen's coronation was televised. Some music halls tried to retain an audience by putting on striptease acts. In 1957, the playwright John Osborne delivered this elegy: The music hall is dying, and with it, a significant part of England. Some of the heart of England has gone; something that once belonged to everyone, for this

12408-425: The musician and author Benny Green as being "the most significant date in all the history of music hall". The hall looked like most contemporary pub concert rooms, but its replacement in 1854 was of then unprecedented size. It was further extended in 1859, later rebuilt as a variety theatre and finally destroyed by German bombing in 1942. The Canterbury Hall became a model for music halls in other cities too, such as

12540-416: The nineteenth century, the first purpose-built music halls were being built in London. The halls created a demand for new and catchy popular songs, that could no longer be met from the traditional folk song repertoire. Professional songwriters were enlisted to fill the gap. The emergence of a distinct music hall style can be credited to a fusion of musical influences. Music hall songs needed to gain and hold

12672-414: The not very important part of Leontes." Leno accepted the role at short notice, with no opportunity to learn the script. But his improvised comedy helped to extend the life of the show. When Leno and another leading actor left a few months later, the production closed. During the 1890s, Leno was the leading performer on the music hall stage, rivalled only by Albert Chevalier , who moved into music hall from

12804-524: The offer, as his client was solidly booked for two years. Bode offered Leno £625 (£116,081 in 2024 adjusted for inflation) for a six-week appearance in 1898. Upon hearing this, the comedian overrode his agent and accepted the offer. Leno toured the provinces in the piece and was an immediate success. So popular was his performance that Bode re-engaged him for a further two shows: the musical farce In Gay Piccadilly! (1899), by George R. Sims , in which Leno's uncle, Johnny Danvers appeared ( The Era said that Leno

12936-736: The opening night of the Cambridge Music Hall in Toxteth , Liverpool, under the billing "Mr. and Mrs. Leno, the Great, Sensational, Dramatic and Comic Duettists and The Brothers Leno, Lancashire Clog, Boot and Pump Dancers". The following year, the brothers made their first appearance without their parents at the Britannia music hall in Hoxton . Although initially successful, the pair experienced many bouts of unemployment and often busked outside London pubs to make

13068-497: The pantomimes. In their pantomimes, the diminutive Leno and the massive Campbell were a visually comic duo. They would often deviate from the script, improvising freely. This was met with some scepticism by producers, who feared that the scenes would not be funny to audiences and observed that, in any event, they were rarely at their best until a few nights after opening. George Bernard Shaw wrote of one appearance: "I hope I never again have to endure anything more dismally futile", and

13200-553: The paper, deciding which items to omit. The Journal was known for its slogans, including "One Touch of Leno Makes the Whole World Grin" and "Won't wash clothes but will mangle melancholy". The cover always showed a caricature of Leno and his editorial staff at work and play. Inside, the features included "Daniel's Diary", "Moans from the Martyr", two yarns, a couple of dozen cartoons and "Leno's Latest – Fresh Jokes and Wheezes Made on

13332-620: The proceeds from selling his first music hall, Gatti acquired a restaurant in Westminster Bridge Road , opposite The Canterbury music hall. He converted the restaurant into a second Gatti's music hall, known as "Gatti's-in-the-Road", in 1865. It later became a cinema. The building was badly damaged in the Second World War, and was demolished in 1950. In 1867, he acquired a public house in Villiers Street named "The Arches", under

13464-465: The rapid industrialisation and urbanisation of previously rural populations during the Industrial Revolution . The newly created urban communities, cut off from their cultural roots, required new and readily accessible forms of entertainment. Music halls were originally tavern rooms which provided entertainment, in the form of music and speciality acts, for their patrons. By the middle years of

13596-415: The role of Pitcher opposite the seasoned Gilbert and Sullivan performer Rutland Barrington . The Times considered that his performance treated the piece "too much in the manner of pantomime". During Leno's long association with the Drury Lane pantomimes , he appeared chiefly as the dame . After Harris died in 1896, Arthur Collins became the manager of the theatre and oversaw (and often helped to write)

13728-569: The stage name "Dan Leno". On 10 March 1884, the Leno family took over the running of the Grand Varieties Theatre in Sheffield. The Lenos felt comfortable with their working-class Sheffield audiences. On their opening night, over 4,000 patrons entered the theatre, paying sixpence to see Dan Leno star in Doctor Cut 'Em Up . In October 1884, facing tough competition, the Lenos gave up the lease on

13860-413: The straight beat, as with the jigs, clogs, and other dances of European origin, but on the downbeat or offbeat, a style derived primarily from the rhythms of African tribal music. Yet another etymology of the word argues that it derives from the word "buck", used as a pejorative term for African American men in the 19th century. Buck dancing was popularized in the United States by minstrel performers in

13992-479: The strike, though they themselves earned enough not to be concerned personally in a material sense. Lloyd explained her advocacy: We (the stars) can dictate our own terms. We are fighting not for ourselves, but for the poorer members of the profession, earning thirty shillings to £3 a week. For this they have to do double turns, and now matinées have been added as well. These poor things have been compelled to submit to unfair terms of employment, and I mean to back up

14124-432: The theatre's previous five pantomimes and was a favourite of the writer of those productions, E. L. Blanchard . Blanchard left the theatre when Leno was hired, believing that music hall performers were unsuitable for his Christmas pantomimes. This was not a view shared by audiences or the critics, one of whom wrote: I am inclined to think "the cake" for frolicsome humour is taken by the dapper new-comer, Mr. Dan Leno, who

14256-690: The theatre. In 1885, Leno and his wife moved to Clapham Park , London, and Leno gained new success with a solo act that featured comedy patter, dancing and song. On the night of his London debut, he appeared in three music halls: the Foresters' Music Hall in Mile End , Middlesex Music Hall in Drury Lane and Gatti 's-in-the-Road, where he earned £5 a week in total (£682 in 2024 adjusted for inflation). Although billed as "The Great Irish Comic Vocalist and Clog Champion" at first, he slowly phased out his dancing in favour of character studies, such as "Going to Buy Milk for

14388-437: The title character and featured in the variety entertainment that preceded the pantomime. Throughout the 1870s, Leno and his parents performed as "The Comic Trio (Mr. & Mrs. Leno and Dan Patrick) In Their Really Funny Entertainments, Songs and Dances". In the family act with his parents and Johnny Danvers, young Leno often took the leading role in such sketches as his stepfather's The Wicklow Wedding . Another of their sketches

14520-403: The trenches. Many songs promoted recruitment ("All the boys in khaki get the nice girls", 1915); others satirised particular elements of the war experience. "What did you do in the Great war, Daddy" ( 1919 ) criticised profiteers and slackers; Vesta Tilley 's "I've got a bit of a blighty one" ( 1916 ) showed a soldier delighted to have a wound just serious enough to be sent home. The rhymes give

14652-674: The unique title of Sinbad and the Little Old Man of the Sea; or, The Tinker, the Tailor, the Soldier, the Sailor, Apothecary, Ploughboy, Gentleman Thief . After these pantomime performances proved popular with audiences, Leno was hired in 1888 by Augustus Harris , manager at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , to appear in that year's Christmas pantomime, Babes in the Wood . Harris's pantomime productions at

14784-456: The waiter gave out excuses for the bad service faster than the customers could complain: Yes, sir! No, sir! Yes, sir! When I first came here these trousers were knee-breeches. Legs worn down by waiting. Sir! What did you say? How long would your steak be? Oh, about four inches I should say, about four inches. No, sir! sorry sir. Can't take it back now, sir. You've stuck your fork in and let the steam out! Leno's first London appearance in pantomime

14916-527: The war, but became less popular due to upcoming jazz , swing , and big-band dance music acts. Licensing restrictions had also changed, and drinking was banned from the auditorium. A new type of music hall entertainment had arrived, in the form of variety, and many music hall performers failed to make the transition. They were deemed old-fashioned, and with the closure of many halls, music hall entertainment ceased and modern-day variety began. Music-halls had their origins in 18th century London. They grew with

15048-573: The year. In 1864, at the age of four, Leno joined his parents on stage for the first time, at the Cosmotheca Music Hall in Paddington , under the billing "Little George, the Infant Wonder, Contortionist, and Posturer". When Leno was four years old, his alcoholic father died, aged 37; the family then moved to Liverpool , where his mother married William Grant (1837–1896), on 7 March 1866. Grant

15180-643: Was Evans Music-and-Supper Rooms , 43 King Street, Covent Garden , established in the 1840s by W.H. Evans. This venue was also known as 'Evans Late Joys' – Joy being the name of the previous owner. Other song and supper rooms included the Coal Hole in The Strand , the Cyder Cellars in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden and the Mogul Saloon in Drury Lane . The music hall as we know it developed from such establishments during

15312-546: Was Torpedo Bill , in which Leno played the title role, an inventor of explosive devices. His parents played a "washerwoman" and a "comic cobbler". This was followed by another sketch, Pongo the Monkey . Opening at Pullan's Theatre of Varieties in Bradford on 20 May 1878, this burlesque featured Leno as an escaped monkey; it became his favourite sketch of the period. The teenage Leno's growing popularity led to bookings at, among others,

15444-467: Was "attracting huge houses" and called him "excruciatingly funny"); and the musical comedy Mr. Wix of Wickham (1902). Both toured after their original runs. In 1897, Leno went to America and made his debut on 12 April of that year at Hammerstein's Olympia Music Hall on Broadway, where he was billed as "The Funniest Man on Earth". Reviews were mixed: one newspaper reported that the house roared its approval, while another complained that Leno's English humour

15576-601: Was "the father and mother, the dry and wet nurse of the Music Hall". Later known as the Grecian Theatre, it was here that Marie Lloyd made her début at the age of 14 in 1884. It is still famous because of an English nursery rhyme, with the somewhat mysterious lyrics: Up and down the City Road In and out The Eagle That's the way the money goes Pop goes the weasel . Another famous "song and supper" room of this period

15708-568: Was a comedian of Lancastrian and Irish descent, who performed in music halls throughout the British provinces under the stage name of William Leno. He was a seasoned actor and had been employed by Charles Kean in his theatre company at the Princess's Theatre in London. In 1866, the family home in Marylebone was demolished to make way for St Pancras railway station , and as a result Leno's sister Frances

15840-566: Was a music-garden, open only in summer, with a theater, restaurant, circus, and horse-racing. Older theaters also transformed themselves into music halls, including the Bobino (1873), the Bataclan (1864), and the Alcazar (1858). At the beginning, music halls offered dance reviews, theater and songs, but gradually songs and singers became the main attraction. Paris music halls all faced stiff competition in

15972-660: Was a room where for an admission fee or a greater price at the bar, singing, dancing, drama or comedy was performed. The most famous London saloon of the early days was the Grecian Saloon , established in 1825, at The Eagle (a former tea-garden), 2 Shepherdess Walk, off the City Road in east London. According to John Hollingshead , proprietor of the Gaiety Theatre, London (originally the Strand Music Hall), this establishment

16104-575: Was as Dame Durden in Jack and the Beanstalk , which he performed at London's Surrey Theatre in 1886, having been spotted singing "Going to Buy Milk" by the Surrey Theatre manager, George Conquest. Conquest also hired Leno's wife to star in the production. The pantomime was a success, and Leno received rave reviews; as a result, he was booked to star as Tinpanz the Tinker in the following year's pantomime, which had

16236-443: Was discreet and unpublicised. In the late 1890s, Leno formed a cricket team called the "Dainties", for which he recruited many of the day's leading comedians and music hall stars. They played for charity against a variety of amateur teams willing to put up with their comedic mayhem, such as London's Metropolitan Police Force ; Leno's and his teammates' tomfoolery on the green amused the large crowds that they drew. From 1898 to 1903,

16368-464: Was from clogging that tap dance eventually evolved. Now, many clogging teams compete against other teams for prizes such as money and trophies. The term "buck", as in buck dancing , is traceable to the West Indies and is derived from a Tupi Indian word denoting a frame or hurdle for drying and smoking meat; the original po bockarau or buccaneers were sailors who ate smoked meat and fish after

16500-399: Was of a coming on disposition and who had not yet abandoned hope" The Times drama critic noted: "It is a quite peculiar and original Sister Anne, who dances breakdowns and sings strange ballads to a still stranger harp and plays ping-pong with a frying-pan and potatoes and burlesques Sherlock Holmes and wears the oddest of garments and dresses her hair like Miss Morleena Kenwigs, and speaks in

16632-415: Was often a result of his diminishing ability to remember his lines and inaudibility in performance. Leno also suffered increasing deafness, which eventually caused problems on and off stage. In 1901, during a production of Bluebeard , Leno missed his verbal cue and, as a result, was left stuck up a tower for more than twenty minutes. At the end of the run of Mother Goose in 1903, producer Arthur Collins gave

16764-434: Was out of date. His American engagement came to an end a month later, and Leno said that it was "the crown of my career". Despite his jubilation, Leno was conscious of the few negative reviews he had received and rejected all later offers to tour the United States and Australia. The same year, the comedian lent his name and writing talents to Dan Leno's Comic Journal . The paper was primarily aimed at young adults and featured

16896-520: Was really trying to look dignified and courtly; but I suppose I couldn't help myself." As a memento, the King presented Leno with a jewel-encrusted royal tie pin , and thereafter, Leno became known as "the King's Jester". Leno was the first music hall performer to give a Royal Command Performance during the King's reign. In 1883, Leno met Sarah Lydia Reynolds (1866–1942), a young dancer and comedy singer from Birmingham , while both were appearing at King Ohmy's Circus of Varieties, Rochdale . The daughter of

17028-510: Was sent to live with an uncle, while his brother John, who had occasionally performed with his parents, took full-time employment. Leno, his mother, stepfather and brother Henry moved north and settled in Liverpool, where they performed in various halls and theatres, including the Star Music Hall, but they often returned to London to perform in the capital's music halls. In 1865, Leno and his brother Henry, who first taught Leno to dance, formed

17160-553: Was so impressed that Leno became publicly known as "the king's jester". Leno also appeared in burlesque and, every year from 1888 to 1904, in the Drury Lane Theatre's Christmas pantomime spectacles. He was generous and active in charitable causes, especially to benefit performers in need. Leno continued to appear in musical comedies and his own music hall routines until 1902, although he suffered increasingly from alcoholism. This, together with his long association with dame and low comedy roles, prevented him from being taken seriously as

17292-605: Was such a popular feature of the Empire and Alhambra, the Palace compensated in the way of adult entertainment by featuring apparently nude women in tableaux vivants , though the concerned LCC hastened to reassure patrons that the girls who featured in these displays were actually wearing flesh-toned body stockings and were not naked at all. One of the grandest of these new halls was the Coliseum Theatre built by Oswald Stoll in 1904 at

17424-470: Was truly a folk art. Moss Empires , the largest British music hall chain, closed the majority of its theatres in 1960, closely followed by the death of music hall stalwart Max Miller in 1963, prompting one contemporary to write that: "Music-halls ... died this afternoon when they buried Max Miller". Miller himself had sometimes said that the genre would die with him. Many music hall performers, unable to find work, fell into poverty; some did not even have

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