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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Released: 1969-06-02

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Around the World in Eighty Days

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Brief Encounter

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Paris When It Sizzles

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Released: 1964-03-16

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Bunny Lake Is Missing

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Released: 1965-10-03

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Blithe Spirit

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Released: 1945-04-05

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In Which We Serve

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Released: 1942-09-17

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Our Man in Havana

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Released: 1960-01-27

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Boom!

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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 first ever feature documentary about one of the most talented, accomplished and...

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Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

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Hearts of the World

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The Scoundrel

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Released: 1935-04-30

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Androcles and the Lion

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Released: 1967-11-15

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Men Are Not Gods

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Released: 1936-11-26

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Surprise Package

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Released: 1960-09-29

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The Astonished Heart

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

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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

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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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Tony Awards

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

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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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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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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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