Noël Coward
Birthday:
16 December 1899, Teddington, Middlesex, England, UK
Birth Name:
Noël Peirce Coward
Height:
183 cm
Noel Coward virtually invented the concept of Englishness for the 20th century. An astounding polymath - dramatist, actor, writer, composer, lyricist, painter, and wit -- he was defined by his Englishness as much as he defined it. He was indeed the first Brit pop star, the first ambassador of "cool Britannia." Even before his 1924 drugs-a...
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Noel Coward virtually invented the concept of Englishness for the 20th century. An astounding polymath - dramatist, actor, writer, composer, lyricist, painter, and wit -- he was defined by his Englishness as much as he defined it. He was indeed the first Brit pop star, the first ambassador of "cool Britannia." Even before his 1924 drugs-and-sex scandal of The Vortex, his fans were hanging out of their scarves over the theater balcony, imitating their idol's dress and repeating each "Noelism" with glee. Born in suburban Teddington on 16 December 1899, Coward was on stage by the age of six, and writing his first drama ten years later. A visit to New York in 1921 infused him with the pace of Broadway shows, and he injected its speed into staid British drama and music to create a high-octane rush for the jazz-mad, dance-crazy 1920s. Coward's style was imitated everywhere, as otherwise quite normal Englishmen donned dressing gowns, stuck cigarettes in long holders and called each other "dahling"; his revues propagated the message, with songs sentimental ("A Room With A View," "I'll See You Again") and satirical ("Mad Dogs and Englishmen," "Don't Put Your Daughter On the Stage, Mrs. Worthington"). His between-the-wars celebrity reached a peak in 1930 with "Private Lives," by which time he had become the highest earning author in the western world. With the onset of World War II he redefined the spirit of the country in films such as This Happy Breed (1944), In Which We Serve (1942), Blithe Spirit (1945) and, perhaps most memorably, Brief Encounter (1945). In the postwar period, Coward, the aging Bright Young Thing, seemed outmoded by the Angry Young Men, but, like any modern pop star, he reinvented himself, this time as a hip cabaret singer: "Las Vegas, Flipping, Shouts "More!" as Noel Coward Wows 'Em in Cafe Turn" enthused Variety. By the 1960s, his reappraisal was complete -- "Dad's Renaissance", called it -- and his "Hay Fever" was the first work by a living author to be produced at the National Theatre. He was knighted -- at last -- in 1970, and died in his beloved Jamaica on 26 March 1973. Since his death, his reputation has grown. There is never a point at which his plays are not being performed, or his songs being sung. A playwright, director, actor, songwriter, filmmaker, novelist, wit . . . was there nothing this man couldn't do? Born into a musical family he was soon treading the boards in various music hall shows where he met a young girl called Gertrude Lawrence, a friendship and working partnership that lasted until her death. His early writings were mainly short songs and sketches for the revue shows popular in the 1920s, but even his early works often contained touches of the genius to come ("Parisian Pierrot" 1923). He went on to write and star (with Gertie) in his own revues, but the whiff of scandal was never far away, such as that from the drug addict portrayed in "The Vortex." Despite his obvious homosexual lifestyle he was taken to the hearts of the people and soon grew into one of the most popular writer/performers of his time. Show less «
Having to read a footnote resembles having to go downstairs to answer the door while in the midst of making love.
Having to read a footnote resembles having to go downstairs to answer the door while in the midst of making love.
[About Oscar Wilde] It is extraordinary indeed that such a posing, artificial old queen should have written one of the greatest comedies in ...Show more »
[About Oscar Wilde] It is extraordinary indeed that such a posing, artificial old queen should have written one of the greatest comedies in the English language! Show less «
[To Peter O'Toole] If you'd been any prettier, it would have been "Florence of Arabia".
[To Peter O'Toole] If you'd been any prettier, it would have been "Florence of Arabia".
Comedies of manners swiftly become obsolete when there are no longer any manners.
Comedies of manners swiftly become obsolete when there are no longer any manners.
Everybody worships me, it's nauseating.
Everybody worships me, it's nauseating.
Extraordinary how potent cheap music is
Extraordinary how potent cheap music is
Don't put your daughter on the stage, Mrs. Worthington.
Don't put your daughter on the stage, Mrs. Worthington.
I never care who scored the goal, or which side won the silver cup--I never learned to bat or bowl--But I heard the curtain going up.
I never care who scored the goal, or which side won the silver cup--I never learned to bat or bowl--But I heard the curtain going up.
[asked what he thought about his Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) co-star Keir Dullea] Keir today, gone tomorrow.
[asked what he thought about his Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) co-star Keir Dullea] Keir today, gone tomorrow.
Wit is like caviar - it should be served in small portions and not spread about like marmalade.
Wit is like caviar - it should be served in small portions and not spread about like marmalade.
Certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs.
Certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs.
My importance to the world is relatively small. On the other hand, my importance to myself is tremendous. I am all I have to work with, to p...Show more »
My importance to the world is relatively small. On the other hand, my importance to myself is tremendous. I am all I have to work with, to play with, to suffer and to enjoy. It is not the eyes of others that I am wary of, but of my own. I do not intend to let myself down more than I can possibly help, and I find that the fewer illusions I have about myself or the world around me, the better company I am for myself. Show less «
[In a telegram to Gertrude Lawrence upon her marriage to Richard Aldrich] Dear Mrs. A: Hooray! Hooray! You finally are de-flowered. I love y...Show more »
[In a telegram to Gertrude Lawrence upon her marriage to Richard Aldrich] Dear Mrs. A: Hooray! Hooray! You finally are de-flowered. I love you now and every day. Sincerely, Noel Coward. Show less «
[His last words] Good night my darlings. I'll see you in the morning.
[His last words] Good night my darlings. I'll see you in the morning.
I don't much care for Hollywood, I'd rather have a nice cup of cocoa.
I don't much care for Hollywood, I'd rather have a nice cup of cocoa.
My life really has been one long extravaganza.
My life really has been one long extravaganza.
The day when I shall begin to worry is when the critics declare: 'This is Noël Coward's greatest play.' But I know they bloody well won't.
The day when I shall begin to worry is when the critics declare: 'This is Noël Coward's greatest play.' But I know they bloody well won't.
I can accept anything in the theatre provided it amuses me or moves me. But if it does neither, I want to go home.
I can accept anything in the theatre provided it amuses me or moves me. But if it does neither, I want to go home.
[MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer] ordered Nelson Eddy to marry. Eddy agreed, but he didn't want a virgin bride or some insatiable creature, ...Show more »
[MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer] ordered Nelson Eddy to marry. Eddy agreed, but he didn't want a virgin bride or some insatiable creature, and Mayer understood. Sometimes the least sexual marriages last the longest, so long as it's mutual . . . Mayer found him an older divorcée who'd been married to a movie director--she was wise to the ways of Tinseltown, she was not sexually demanding or needful, and she was well-pleased to live the comfortable life of a movie star's wife. Show less «
[on Sophia Loren] She should have been sculpted in chocolate truffles so that the world could devour her.
[on Sophia Loren] She should have been sculpted in chocolate truffles so that the world could devour her.
[on A.E. Matthews] He bumbled through the play like a charming retriever who has buried a bone and can't quite remember where.
[on A.E. Matthews] He bumbled through the play like a charming retriever who has buried a bone and can't quite remember where.
[talking about the diaeresis (two dots) over the "e" in his first name] I didn't put the dots over the "e" in Noël. The language did. Other...Show more »
[talking about the diaeresis (two dots) over the "e" in his first name] I didn't put the dots over the "e" in Noël. The language did. Otherwise it's not Noël but Nool! Show less «
[on one of his most famous love songs, "I'll See You Again"] I have heard it played in all parts of the world. Brass bands have blared it, s...Show more »
[on one of his most famous love songs, "I'll See You Again"] I have heard it played in all parts of the world. Brass bands have blared it, string orchestras have swooned it, Palm Court quartets have murdered it, barrel organs have ground it out in London squares, and swing bands have tortured it beyond recognition. I am still fond of it and very proud of it. Show less «
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.
[on the Duke of Windsor's abdication to in order to marry a divorced woman] A statue should be erected to Mrs. Simpson in every town in Engl...Show more »
[on the Duke of Windsor's abdication to in order to marry a divorced woman] A statue should be erected to Mrs. Simpson in every town in England for the blessing she has bestowed upon the country. Show less «
[In 1940, on coping with air raids] When the warning sounds I gather up some pillows, a pack of cards and a bottle of gin, tuck myself benea...Show more »
[In 1940, on coping with air raids] When the warning sounds I gather up some pillows, a pack of cards and a bottle of gin, tuck myself beneath the stairs and do very nicely with the consolations of a drink and solitaire until "all clear" sounds. Show less «
A bout of influenza laid me low in Shanghai, and I lay, sweating gloomily, in my bedroom in the Cathay Hotel for several days. The ensuing c...Show more »
A bout of influenza laid me low in Shanghai, and I lay, sweating gloomily, in my bedroom in the Cathay Hotel for several days. The ensuing convalescence, however, was productive, for I utilized it by writing 'Private Lives'. The idea by now seemed ripe enough to have a shot at it, so I started it, propped up in bed with a writing-block and an Eversharp pencil, and completed it, roughly, in four days. It came easily, and with the exception of a few of the usual 'blood and tears' moments, I enjoyed writing it. I thought it a shrewd and witty comedy, well constructed on the whole, but psychologically unstable. Show less «
I have a slight reforming urge, but have rather cunningly kept it down.
I have a slight reforming urge, but have rather cunningly kept it down.
I was a brazen, odious little prodigy, over-pleased with myself and precocious to a degree. I was a talented boy, God knows, and when washed...Show more »
I was a brazen, odious little prodigy, over-pleased with myself and precocious to a degree. I was a talented boy, God knows, and when washed and smarmed down a bit, passably attractive. Show less «
The world has treated me very well. But then I haven't treated it so badly, either.
The world has treated me very well. But then I haven't treated it so badly, either.
I behaved through most of the [Second World] war with gallantry tinged, I suspect, by a strong urge to show off.
I behaved through most of the [Second World] war with gallantry tinged, I suspect, by a strong urge to show off.
[on Method actors who believed they needed to know a character's motivation to portray a role] If you must have motivation, think of your pa...Show more »
[on Method actors who believed they needed to know a character's motivation to portray a role] If you must have motivation, think of your pay packet on Friday. Show less «
[on the first of the Ian Fleming novels to be filmed; Ian had asked Noël to play "Dr. No"] No, no, no, a thousand times no!
[on the first of the Ian Fleming novels to be filmed; Ian had asked Noël to play "Dr. No"] No, no, no, a thousand times no!
[on Arthur Miller] The cruelest blow life has dealt him is that he hasn't a grain of humour.
[on Arthur Miller] The cruelest blow life has dealt him is that he hasn't a grain of humour.
Mr. Bridger