Shaun Glenville

Shaun Glenville (born John Browne; 16 May 1884 – 28 December 1968) was an Irish actor who specialised in pantomime performances; he would play the dame while his wife Dorothy Ward would play the principal boy. The music hall historian Christopher Pulling called him one of the 'grand comedians of the music-halls'. He had a successful 62-year career and played in over 40 pantomimes.

Early life

He was born as John Browne in Little Denmark Street, Dublin in Ireland where his mother Mary Browne ( Lynch) was the manager of the Mechanics' Theatre, a theatre and music hall that stood on the site later occupied by the Abbey Theatre. Mary Concepta Lynch (Sister Mary Concepta) was a maternal cousin. His father, Henry Browne, was an accountant. He took the stage name 'Glenville' from Glenville House in County Wicklow. His first stage appearance was aged two weeks at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham when he was carried on in Dion Boucicault's play Arrah-na-Pogue.

By 1895, as Shaun Glenville-Luck he had joined the music hall entertainers, burlesque and sketch artists The Six Brothers Luck. By 1906 he was appearing in Variety, and made his London début at the Holborn Empire in 1907. In 1907 with The Six Brothers Luck he toured the United States in their 'farcical sketch' 'The Demon of the Cellar' and a number of other variety acts. The critic of Variety wrote:"Shaun Glenville Luck makes a capital grotesque comedian and might, under more kindly circumstances, be really funny, but the seltzer-bottle-bladder-slapstick mess that makes up 'The Demon in the Cellar' leaves him stranded. The audience hopes for a minute that the introduction of acrobatics of some sort might enliven the proceedings, but they hoped in vain. It was just childish horseplay and buffoonery, almost without a redeeming virtue."

For a period Glenville was with the company of Fred Karno, and by 1909 he was appearing in pantomimes across Britain.

After Dorothy converted to Catholicism they held a Catholic marriage ceremony in Dublin the following year. Their son was actor/director Peter Glenville (1913–1996). For 50 years they played mother and son. The American critic Dorothy Parker was savage in her criticism of Ward's performance in Quality Street - and Glenville fared little better, with Parker writing: 'They have also imported a comedian named Shaun Glenville to add a touch of humor to the proceedings. It is better to say nothing of Mr. Glenville's methods of comedy. One cannot speak of these whiffs of the dead past without breaking down'.

Glenville was in the pantomime Mother Goose at the Palace Theatre, Manchester (1922); with his wife in Jenny at the Empire Theatre, London (1922) and The Apache at the London Palladium and subsequently on tour (1926–27); The Blue Train at the Grand Theatre, Hull with his wife (1927); he was in America (1929); in De La Folie Pure (1930); in La Poupée at Daly's Theatre (1932); in Frivolity (1933); in Private Road at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle (1934); in No, No Nanette at the Hippodrome, London (1936); Mrs. Hubbard in the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (1936); in Venus In Silk and Maritza (1938); in Roses of Piccadilly at the Palace Theatre of Varieties (1944); and in the touring revue Do You Remember? with George Robey and Buster Keaton (1951).

Pantomime

His pantomime appearances, with and without his wife, included: Humpty Dumpty at the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh (1910); Jack Horner (Ward & Glenville) Theatre Royal, Newcastle (1910); Jack Horner (Ward & Glenville) Theatre Royal, Glasgow (1911); Tommy Tucker (Ward & Glenville) Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool (1912); Humpty Dumpty (Ward & Glenville) Theatre Royal, Manchester (1913); Humpty Dumpty (Ward & Glenville) Prince's Theatre, Bristol (1914); Old King Cole (Ward & Glenville) Grand Theatre, Leeds (1915); Boy Blue (Ward & Glenville) Theatre Royal, Birmingham (1916); Babes in the Wood (Ward & Glenville) Palace Theatre, Manchester (1917); Jack and the Beanstalk (Ward & Glenville) Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow (1918); Jack and the Beanstalk (Ward & Glenville) Liverpool Olympia (1919); Jack and the Beanstalk (Ward & Glenville) Palace Theatre, Manchester (1920); Mother Goose Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow (1921); Mother Goose (Ward & Glenville) Palace Theatre, Manchester (1922); Mother Goose (Ward & Glenville) Liverpool Olympia (1923); Mother Goose (Ward & Glenville) Hippodrome, London (1924); Mother Goose (Ward & Glenville) Theatre Royal, Newcastle (1925); The Apache (Ward & Glenville) on tour - playing the Christmas Season at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle (1926); Mother Goose (Ward & Glenville) Hippodrome, Sheffield (1927); Cinderella (Ward & Glenville) Liverpool Empire Theatre (1928), and Robinson Crusoe (Ward & Glenville) Palace Theatre, Manchester (1929).

Later years Glenville was a heavy drinker, and various stories are told of his mishaps while under the influence. These include occasional 'memory lapses' during performances including one occasion when as Dame Trott he forgot the words to a song he had sung numerous times on previous performances and had to be prompted by one of the actors in the cow costume.

Shaun Glenville died in 1968, following his and his wife's joint retirement to London in 1957. He was survived by his wife and their son Peter Glenville (1913–96), an actor, film director and producer of Broadway shows.