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Ida Barr (singer)
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Ida Barr (born Maud Barlow, 17 January 1882 – 17 December 1967) was an English music hall singer.
Key Information
Life and career
[edit]Barr was born at Regent's Park Barracks, London on 17 January 1882. Her father, William Barlow, is believed to have been a soldier, although Maud described him as a retired civil servant on her marriage certificate.[1][2]
She made her stage debut in 1898 as a chorus girl at the Theatre Royal, Belfast.[3] Initially calling herself Maud Laverne, she first used the stage-name Ida Barr in 1908 at London's Bedford Theatre.[4]
Barr married comedian Samuel 'Gus' Harris[5] (billed as "the only Yiddisher Scotsman in the Irish Fusiliers"[6]), but the marriage failed within a few years,[7] with Maud soon sailing to New York.[8] Achieving some success in America, Barr returned to England a premier singer of ragtime songs, popularising in Britain the songs "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" (Ayer & Brown; 1910) and "Everybody's Doing It" (Berlin; 1911).
She toured worldwide, earning good money, but was over-generous and failed to save. She became in her old age reliant on welfare benefits, living in a small flat off the Charing Cross Road in London. Writer and broadcaster Daniel Farson, a music hall enthusiast, took it upon himself to extend a helping hand, bringing Barr to a new (or nostalgic) audience on record and television. It was through Farson, too, that variety entertainer Danny La Rue arranged a benefit concert for Barr.[1]
Death
[edit]Ida Barr died on 17 December 1967 in London.[1]
Film and TV credits
[edit]Barr's screen credits span the years 1936 to 1966.[9]
Film credits
[edit]- Happy Days Are Here Again (1936)
- Laugh It Off (1940)
- Let the People Sing (1942)
TV credits
[edit]- Music Hall Cavalcade (1937)[10]
- Stars and Garters (1965)
- Love Story (1966)
Trivia
[edit]- Actress Elsa Lanchester performed in her youth a snake dancing routine with Ida Barr.[11]
- Ida Barr's name was appropriated more than 40 years after her death by Kit Green for an unrelated, non-tribute character comedy act.[12]
- Ida Barr was (through her marriage to Gus Harris) a great-aunt of actress and singer Anita Harris.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Baker, Richard Anthony (2014). British Music Hall: An Illustrated History. Pen and Sword Books. p. 255. ISBN 978-1783831180.
- ^ Marriage of Maud Barlow and Samuel Harris, 15 January 1910, Fulham Register Office.
- ^ "The Theatre Royal, Arthur Square, Belfast". Arthur Lloyd website. 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "The Bedford Theatre, 93 - 95 Camden High Street, Camden Town". Arthur Lloyd website. 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "Marriage of Samuel Harris and Maud Barlow, Fulham, 1910". FreeBMD. 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ "Sergeant Solomon Isaacstein". Monologues.co.uk website. 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ Gus Harris petitioned for divorce from Maud in 1913, on the grounds of her adultery with one Budd Jupiter. He was granted a decree nice in 1914 (The National Archives, J77/1136/4496).
- ^ a b "Saturday 23rd Jan: Carry On Eastenders!". WordPress. 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "Ida Barr (1882–1967): Actress". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "Music-Hall Cavalcade (1937)". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ Callow, Simon (2012). Charles Laughton: A Difficult Actor. Vintage Books. p. 21. ISBN 978-0099581956.
- ^ "A jeans-clad Adonis, a stripper called Ursula ... I'm sure the circus wasn't this much fun when I was a kid". The Guardian. 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
External links
[edit]- Ida Barr at IMDb
- Photographs of Ida Barr held by the National Portrait Gallery
- Photographs of Ida Barr held by Getty Images
- Photograph of Ida Barr held by the National Library of Australia
- Ida Barr discography on Discogs
- Ida Barr: Everybody's Doing It Now/Oh, You Beautiful Doll on Spotify
- Ida Barr: Everybody's Doing It Now/Oh, You Beautiful Doll on Deezer
- Lyrics to "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" as sung by Ida Barr