Walter Laburnum (born George Walter Davis; 15 June 1847 – 28 March 1902) was an English music hall performer.
Walter Laburnum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | George Walter Davis 15 June 1847 |
| Died | 28 March 1902 (aged 54) London, England |
| Occupation | Comic entertainer |
| Years active | 1870s–c.1900 |
Biography
editBorn in Hendon, Laburnum worked as a beer and wine seller before becoming a professional performer in the 1870s. He became well known as a singer of "coster songs",[1] and for parodying the style of popular lions comiques, in particular George Leybourne, with songs such as "Fashionable Fred".[2] Leybourne was known for driving around the capital in a carriage drawn by four white ponies; Laburnum used a cart drawn by four donkeys. Laburnum also sang "Dr. De Jongh's Cod Liver Oil", mocking the use of fashionable new medical remedies.[3] He was known as "The Star of the East", a reference to the East End of London.[4]
Also billed as "The Royal Comic", Laburnum toured with his concert party in later years.[3] He died in London in 1902, aged 54, and was buried at Abney Park Cemetery.[5]
References
edit- ^ Harold Scott, The Early Doors: Origins of the Music Hall, Nicholson & Watson, 1946, p.214
- ^ "Fashionable Fred", Monologues.co.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2021
- ^ a b "Cod Liver Oil", Folk Song and Music Hall. Retrieved 7 March 2021
- ^ Michael Kilgarriff, Grace, Beauty and Banjos: Peculiar Lives and Strange Times of Music Hall and Variety Artistes, Oberon Books, 1998, ISBN 1-84002-116-0, p.151
- ^ "Music Hall Artistes In Abney Park Cemetery", Spitalfields Life, 10 June 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2021
External links
edit
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