Fred Emney in Colonel Popoff
Caricature
1 September 1949 (dated)
1 September 1949 (dated)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This caricature shows Fred Emney (1899-1980) in Colonel Popoff at the Oxford New Theatre on 1 September 1949. 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 son of the music hall artist of the same name, Fred Emney junior made his first stage appearance as a page boy in Romance with Doris Keane, at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1915. He developed a comedy-at-the-piano routine and went on to appear as a comic character in pantomime, comedies and musicals, becoming so successful as Lord Leatherhead in the 1934 London Hippodrome production of Mr Whittington that Jack Buchanan reduced the size of his part. In 1954 he had his own television show Emney Enterprises and became famous above all for his overweight, monocle-wearing 'silly ass' character. He played his last major role aged seventy, as the photographer in When We Are Married at the Strand Theatre.
The son of the music hall artist of the same name, Fred Emney junior made his first stage appearance as a page boy in Romance with Doris Keane, at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1915. He developed a comedy-at-the-piano routine and went on to appear as a comic character in pantomime, comedies and musicals, becoming so successful as Lord Leatherhead in the 1934 London Hippodrome production of Mr Whittington that Jack Buchanan reduced the size of his part. In 1954 he had his own television show Emney Enterprises and became famous above all for his overweight, monocle-wearing 'silly ass' character. He played his last major role aged seventy, as the photographer in When We Are Married at the Strand Theatre.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Fred Emney in <i>Colonel Popoff</i> (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil on paper |
| Brief description | Pencil caricature by Gilbert Sommerlad (1904-1976) of Fred Emney (1900-1980) in Colonel Popoff, New Theatre Oxford, 1 September 1949 |
| Physical description | Pencil caricature of Fred Emney in Colonel Popoff, New Theatre Oxford, 1 September 1949. From a hard-backed sketch book containing caricatures of theatrical performers and entertainers drawn by Gilbert Sommerlad. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Michael Sommerlad |
| Object history | Gilbert Sommerlad was a member of the resident orchestra at the New Theatre, Oxford when he drew this caricature. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This caricature shows Fred Emney (1899-1980) in Colonel Popoff at the Oxford New Theatre on 1 September 1949. 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 son of the music hall artist of the same name, Fred Emney junior made his first stage appearance as a page boy in Romance with Doris Keane, at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1915. He developed a comedy-at-the-piano routine and went on to appear as a comic character in pantomime, comedies and musicals, becoming so successful as Lord Leatherhead in the 1934 London Hippodrome production of Mr Whittington that Jack Buchanan reduced the size of his part. In 1954 he had his own television show Emney Enterprises and became famous above all for his overweight, monocle-wearing 'silly ass' character. He played his last major role aged seventy, as the photographer in When We Are Married at the Strand Theatre. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.131:101-2002 |
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| Record created | December 17, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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