Lucky mascot
Mascot
1930s (made)
1930s (made)
| Artist/Maker |
There are many superstitions associated with black cats, but in the theatre they are considered to be lucky and actor Alan Wheatley ensured that his performances went well by keeping this toy cat in his dressing room as a good luck mascot.
Alan Wheatley (1907-1991) certainly had a long and successsful career on stage and screen. He made his debut in George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House at the Cambridge Festival Theatre in 1928 and went on to appear in fringe and West End productions, notably as Mosca opposite Donald Wolfit's Volpone at the Westminster Theatre in 1938. Well-regarded as a classical actor, he was also known for his roles in films and TV. He played Sherlock Holmes in six adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, broadcast live by the BBC in 1951, and starred as the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham in the popular 1950s ATV series The Adventures of Robin Hood.
Alan Wheatley (1907-1991) certainly had a long and successsful career on stage and screen. He made his debut in George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House at the Cambridge Festival Theatre in 1928 and went on to appear in fringe and West End productions, notably as Mosca opposite Donald Wolfit's Volpone at the Westminster Theatre in 1938. Well-regarded as a classical actor, he was also known for his roles in films and TV. He played Sherlock Holmes in six adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, broadcast live by the BBC in 1951, and starred as the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham in the popular 1950s ATV series The Adventures of Robin Hood.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Lucky mascot (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Artificial fur, kapok, glass beads and ribbon |
| Brief description | Lucky black cat mascot belonging to the actor, Alan Wheatley |
| Physical description | Small toy Manx cat, standing, with its back arched. It is covered in black fur fabric and has large green eyes and a bow round its neck, the bow of red ribbon edged with silver. |
| Gallery label | Actors have a great tradition of superstitions unique to the stage. They believe it is lucky to have a cat in the theatre, but unlucky if one runs across the stage during a performance. The actor Alan Wheatley avoided the problem with this mascot, keeping it in his dressing room wherever his career took him.(2008) |
| Credit line | Given by Erica Head |
| Summary | There are many superstitions associated with black cats, but in the theatre they are considered to be lucky and actor Alan Wheatley ensured that his performances went well by keeping this toy cat in his dressing room as a good luck mascot. Alan Wheatley (1907-1991) certainly had a long and successsful career on stage and screen. He made his debut in George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House at the Cambridge Festival Theatre in 1928 and went on to appear in fringe and West End productions, notably as Mosca opposite Donald Wolfit's Volpone at the Westminster Theatre in 1938. Well-regarded as a classical actor, he was also known for his roles in films and TV. He played Sherlock Holmes in six adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, broadcast live by the BBC in 1951, and starred as the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham in the popular 1950s ATV series The Adventures of Robin Hood. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.462-2021 |
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| Record created | September 20, 2021 |
| Record URL |
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