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Sydney Howard in Oh! You Letty
Sommerlad, Gilbert, born 1904 - died 1976 - Enlarge image
Sydney Howard in Oh! You Letty
- Object:
Caricature
- Place of origin:
Oxford, England (made)
- Date:
1 December 1937 (dated)
- Artist/Maker:
Sommerlad, Gilbert, born 1904 - died 1976 (artist)
- Materials and Techniques:
Pencil on paper
- Credit Line:
Given by Michael Sommerlad
- Museum number:
S.131:70-2002
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This caricature shows Sydney Howard (1885-1946) as Mr Simmons in Oh! You Letty at the Oxford New Theatre on 1 December 1937. It was drawn by Gilbert Sommerlad (1904-1976), a rehearsal pianist and orchestral violinist at the Brighton Theatre Royal from 1932 until 1936, and at the Oxford New Theatre from 1936 for over forty years. Sommerlad sketched the stars on stage when he wasn't needed in the orchestra pit, compiling the sketches in a series of albums.
The comedian Sydney Howard made his first professional appearance with a concert party in 1912 and went on to tour in revue and musical theatre and appear in West End productions including Hit The Deck, London Hippodrome (1927), and Funny Face, Prince's (1928). Oh! You Letty, the sole musical written by its composer Paul Sharon, opened in London at the Palace Theatre on 8 December, the week after its try-out in Oxford, and closed after 71 performances. Sydney Howard played the man trying to woo the affections of the film star Letty Lithe, played by Phyllis Stanley. Sydney Howard is perhaps best remembered now as the drunken photographer in the 1942 film of J.B. Priestley's play When We Are Married.
