Noël Coward

Born: 1899-12-15

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 1899 – 26 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise". Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as Hay Fever, Private Lives, Design for Living, Present Laughter and Blithe Spirit, have remained in the regular theatre repertoire. He composed hundreds of songs, in addition to well over a dozen musical theatre works (including the operetta Bitter Sweet and comic revues), poetry, several volumes of short stories, the novel Pomp and Circumstance, and a three-volume autobiography. Coward's stage and film acting and directing career spanned six decades, during which he starred in many of his own works. At the outbreak of World War II, Coward volunteered for war work, running the British propaganda office in Paris. He also worked with the Secret Service, seeking to use his influence to persuade the American public and government to help Britain. Coward won an Academy Honorary Award in 1943 for his naval film drama, In Which We Serve, and was knighted in 1969. In the 1950s he achieved fresh success as a cabaret performer, performing his own songs, such as "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", "London Pride" and "I Went to a Marvellous Party". His plays and songs achieved new popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, and his work and style continue to influence popular culture. Coward did not publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, but it was discussed candidly after his death by biographers including Graham Payn, his long-time partner, and in Coward's diaries and letters, published posthumously. The former Albery Theatre (originally the New Theatre) in London was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in his honour in 2006. Description above from the Wikipedia article Noël Coward, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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as Mr. Bridger
Released: 1969-06-02

Charlie's got a 'job' to do. Having just left prison he finds one of his friends has attempted a...

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See!

Brief Encounter

as Train Station Announcer (uncredited)
Released: 1945-11-24

Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is...

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In Which We Serve

as Captain E. V. Kinross R.N. / Captain 'D'
Released: 1942-09-17

The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during...

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Around the World in Eighty Days

as Roland Hesketh-Baggott
Released: 1956-10-17

Based on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the...

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Blithe Spirit

as Narrator (uncredited)
Released: 1945-04-05

An English mystery novelist invites a medium to his home, so she may conduct a séance for a...

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Paris When It Sizzles

as Alexander Meyerheim
Released: 1964-03-01

Hollywood producer Alexander Meyerheimer has hired drunken writer Richard Benson to write his...

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Bunny Lake Is Missing

as Horatio Wilson
Released: 1965-10-03

A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she...

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Our Man in Havana

as Hawthorne
Released: 1960-01-27

Jim Wormold is an expatriate Englishman living in pre-revolutionary Havana with his teenage...

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Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

as actor 'Bunny Lake Is Missing' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1991-10-28

This documentary, hosted by actor Burgess Meredith, explores the life and career of movie...

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Boom!

as The Witch of Capri
Released: 1968-05-26

Explores the confrontation between the woman who has everything, including emptiness, and a...

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Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2023-06-02

The extraordinary life of playwright, singer, actor, composer, and director Noël Coward, who...

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Hearts of the World

as The Man with the Wheelbarrow / A Villager in the Streets
Released: 1918-03-11

A group of youngsters grow up and love in a peaceful French village. But war intrudes and peace...

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The Astonished Heart

as Dr. Christian Faber
Released: 1950-03-17

Several years after graduation, best friends Barbara (Celia Johnson) and Leonora (Margaret...

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Surprise Package

as King Pavel II
Released: 1960-09-29

Comic crime caper, set on a Greek island, starring Yul Brynner and Mitzi Gaynor.

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The Scoundrel

as Anthony Mallare
Released: 1935-04-30

A ruthless, cynical, hated publisher is killed in a plane crash, doomed to be a "restless"...

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Ken Russell's ABC of British Music

as Self (archive)
Released: 1988-02-04

An irreverent survey of British Music.

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Men Are Not Gods

as Passer-by (uncredited)
Released: 1936-11-26

Actor Edmund Davey becomes a star overnight when his wife and co-star teams up with the...

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Androcles and the Lion

as Caesar
Released: 1967-11-15

The story of Androcles, the simple-hearted Christian tailor whose friendship with a lion saves...

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Blithe Spirit

as Charles Condomine
Released: 1956-01-14

Television adaptation of Noël Coward's famous play about an unhappily married man plagued by the...

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Le Journal de la Résistance

as Himself - Narrator (English version)
Released: 1945-01-01

Shot primarily by twelve French cameramen (led by filmmakers Jean Painlevé and Jean Grémillon),...

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The Dick Cavett Show

as Self - Guest
First aired: 1968-06-06

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various...

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What's My Line?

as Self - Mystery Guest
First aired: 1950-02-02

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...

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Tony Awards

as Self - Recipient
First aired: 1956-04-01

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award,...

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The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self
First aired: 1948-06-20

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...

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A Choice of Coward

as Himself
First aired: 1964-08-10

Series of four Noël Coward plays from ITV's 1964 "Play of the Week" slot.

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