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right Will Fyffe (16 February 1885 – 14 December 1947) was a Scottish music hall artist, a star of the 1930s and 1940s, on stage, screen and records. Fyffe made his debut in his father's stock company at the age of six. He travelled extensively throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK, playing the numerous music halls of the time, where he performed his sketches and sang his songs in his own inimitable style. During the '30s, he was one of the highest paid musical hall artistes in Britain. In addition, Fyffe appeared in 23 major films of the era (American and British), sometimes starring, and recorded over 30 songs, delivered with his own unique style. His singer-songwriter skills are still well today, particularly his own composition, "I Belong To Glasgow".〔() (I Belong To Glasgow – Animated Footage)〕 This song has been covered by Danny Kaye, Eartha Kitt, Gracie Fields and Kirk Douglas: :"If your money, you spend, : You've nothing to lend, : Isn't that all the better for you" As a result of this song, Fyffe became forever associated with Glasgow, even though he was born away in the east coast city of Dundee, where a street bears his surname. Fyffe left some rare footage of his stage act, which gives us a glimpse of stage life in those times. In the footage, he performs the "Broomielaw" sketch and sings his song "Twelve and a Tanner a Bottle". The footage came about as a result of a screen test, shot for Pathe in New York in 1929. ==Early life and career== Will Fyffe was born, on 16 February 1885, in a tenement at 36 Broughty Ferry Road, Dundee, 〔() University of Glasgow〕 the eldest child of John Fyffe (1864–1928), a ship's carpenter, and a music teacher, Janet Rhynd Cunningham (1858–1949). His father was interested in theatrical entertainment and operated a Penny Geggy, in which the young Will gained valuable experience as a character actor, as he travelled around the Lowlands of Scotland. In his twenties, Fyffe joined Will Haggar Junior's Castle Theatre company, touring the South Wales Valleys from its base in Abergavenny. Fyffe and his wife feature in an advert for the Castle Theatre in the ''Portable Times'' in 1911. Fyffe's screen debut was in 1914 when William Haggar, Will Junior's father and a pioneer silent film producer, made an epic 50-minute version of the classic Welsh Tale, ''The Maid of Cefn Ydfa'', which was first screened in Aberdare in December of that year. Reviewed in ''The South Wales Echo'' in 1938, the film disappeared, but was rediscovered in 1984 in a family cupboard and conserved: 38 minutes survives, in the Welsh Film Archive in Aberystwyth. In the film, Fyffe plays Lewis Bach, the loyal servant of the maid.〔() William Haggar〕 He appealed against conscription in 1918 on grounds of his occupation, serious hardship and ill health.〔(The National Archives of Scotland )〕 As a character actor, he was much in demand in Hollywood and Britain, starring and co-starring in dozens of productions, with the likes of Finlay Currie, Patricia Roc, John Laurie, Duncan MacRae, John Gielgud, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Margaret Lockwood and Charles Hawtrey. His last film was ''The Brothers'', which was released shortly after his death. In ''Owd Bob'', (''To The Victor'' in America), Fyffe plays the 'likeable old carmudgeon', McAdam,. The ''New York Times'' describes Fyffe's performance as fitting "snugly into the mental dossier we have been compiling under the heading, ''great performances''".〔() ''New York Times''〕 Although he became well known as a talented actor for the breadth of his on-screen characterisations, Fyffe was also a successful music hall artist (singer-songwriter and comedian), creating a succession of comic characters, whose story he narrated with his unique form of delivery – Fyffe would start his song, pausing in the middle to give a monologue with further detail of the song's storyline, before resuming the song where he left off. Listen to the stories of the 94-year-old bridegroom and his 3 scheming sons in "I'm 94 Today", and the proud new father in "You Can Come And See The Baby". 'Daft Sandy', the village idiot, was one of Fyffe's most popular characters – the drama critic, James Agate, referred to this as "a masterpiece of tragi-comedy". Will Fyffe had the ability to create a character and then seem to actually be that character. In 1937, Fyffe appeared in the Royal Command Performance at the London Palladium. As one local commentator put it: " … we are sure the lasting thrill for us all was the finale, Will Fyffe, a wonderful Scottish comedian, was top of the bill. To finish, he sang a song. On the second chorus, the scenery changed completely, and down the aisles came Scottish Pipers. The artists all appeared around a rostrum in front of the orchestra, and we filled the stage, in Scout uniform complete with red scarf. It was the greatest thrill of our young lives. As the National Anthem was played, we faced the Royal Box and sang as we had never sang before." For a period, Fyffe developed a successful stage partnership with Harry Gordon, playing opposite him in pantomime for many years. In 1939 Fyffe was the ninth most popular British star at the box office. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Will Fyffe」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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