Walter Laburnum
English music hall performer
About Walter Laburnum
Lived 1847 – 1902 (aged 54).
Walter Laburnum (born George Walter Davis; 15 June 1847 – 28 March 1902) was an English music hall performer.
Biography Born 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", and for parodying the style of popular lions comiques, in particular George Leybourne, with songs such as "Fashionable Fred". 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. He was known as "The Star of the East", a reference to the East End of London.
Also billed as "The Royal Comic", Laburnum toured with his concert party in later years.
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Important facts
People in Walter Laburnum's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Walter Laburnum's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Walter Laburnum?
English music hall performer
When was Walter Laburnum born?
Walter Laburnum was born on 15 June 1847 in Hendon, Middlesex.
When did Walter Laburnum die?
Walter Laburnum died on 28 March 1902.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Walter Laburnum. https://biography.guide/walter-laburnum/
MLA: "Walter Laburnum." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/walter-laburnum/.
Chicago: "Walter Laburnum." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/walter-laburnum/.
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