George Robey

George Robey (1869-1954), English music-hall comedian, known as the “Prime Minister of Mirth”, recognizable by his heavy, black, expressive eyebrows, his bowler hat, and cane. Born in south London, he was educated in Germany and at Cambridge, and worked on the Birmingham cable tramway before becoming an entertainer, making his first London appearance in 1891. He was immediately popular, with his wide range of characters and individual style. He proved versatile, performing in pantomime, revue, operetta, musicals, radio, television, film, and Shakespeare, playing Falstaff on stage and in the non-speaking role in Olivier’s film of Henry V. He developed a high-status comic persona, characteristically requesting his audience to “desist”, and always maintaining an air of exaggerated dignity. His best-known song is “If You Were The Only Girl in the World”. He continued to perform into his eighties and was knighted in the year of his death.