W. J. MacQueen-Pope

Walter James Macqueen-Pope (11 April 1888 – 27 June 1960), known familiarly as Popie, was an English theatre historian and publicist. From a theatrical family which could be traced back to contemporaries of Shakespeare, he was in management for the first part of his career, but switched to publicity, in which field he became well known. He was a prolific writer of books about the theatre, and in particular its more glamorous aspects. He also described himself as an "authority on pantomime".

Beginning in 1955, Macqueen-Pope gave a series of fifteen-minute talks about the theatre on BBC television, in a show called "Popie".

Biography Macqueen-Pope, always known by his initials or, familiarly, as "Popie", was the eldest son of Walter George Pope and Frederica Macqueen. He was educated privately and at Tollington School. Sir Alfred Butt appointed him business manager at the Queen's Theatre, and after holding similar posts at other West End theatres, and holding the post of manager and secretary of Alexandra Palace from 1922 to 1925, There was one daughter of the marriage, In 1940, Moya married William A. Sutton at St Pancras, London.

Pope died at St George's Hospital, Westminster aged 72, his home address being given as 9, Oakdale, East Barnet, Hertfordshire, leaving a modest estate valued at £1,664. His widow died in 1973.

Publications Macqueen-Pope expounded his views in many books between World War II and 1960. These included:

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 1945 Carriages at Eleven, 1947 Haymarket, Theatre of Perfection, 1948 Twenty Shillings in the Pound, 1948 Indiscreet Guide to Theatreland, 1947 Gaiety, Theatre of Enchantment, 1949 The Melodies Linger On, 1950 Ghosts and Greasepaint, 1951 Ivor, The Story of an Achievement, 1951 Ladies First, 1952 Shirt Fronts and Sables, 1953 Fortune's Favourite: The Life and Times of Franz Lehár, 1953 (with D. L. Murray) Back Numbers, 1954 Pillars of Drury Lane, 1955 Nights of Gladness, 1956 Give Me Yesterday, 1957 St James's: Theatre of Distinction, 1958 The Footlights Flickered, 1959 Goodbye Piccadilly, 1960, his autobiography, posthumously published