Re: Tom Clare??

On Saturday, April 19, 1997 at 8:00:00 AM UTC+1, [email protected] wrote:
> Author query! For a forthcoming book on comedy...
> anyone know whatever became of TOM CLARE?
> He was born September 26, 1876. I had no date for his death,
> which probably happened in England and, I assume, probably happened.
> Anyone with a good British reference book or obit book, help! Please!
> Clare was the first man to record "Cohen on the Telephone." He
> did it July 25, 1911 and issued it (on Gramophone 01047) in London.
> Aside from this, or in spite of it, Clare was a well-respected
> performer in England and would be for some time to come. The son of George
> and Henrietta Augell Clare, he was born in Holloway and made his stage
> debut on his eighth birthday, joining the Mohawk Minstrels at Agricultural
> Hall in Islington.
> Six years later, Clare made his London debut at the Tivoli. A
> performer adept at both songs and monology, he recorded many singles in
> his time and even wrote a goodly amount of them.
> His later years seem to be a mystery...he just seems to have
> disappeared with no listings of club dates, recordings, or even his
> demise.
> -------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
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Hi there! I know this is 20 years late, and probably no use to you however I can help.
After the First World War, Tom Clare continued his society entertaining at the piano. One of the most proficient of his time, he recorded and composed well into the 1930s. His last song was A Little Cup of Tea by Tom Clare, circa 1927. Despite that, he still entertained with other people's songs. He was filmed for a Pathetone in 1932 singing at the piano "My Bally Eyeglass", a song by Harold Montague (1874-1932), another piano entertainer. His longevity is seen with his Reminiscences of Piano Humour, where he would tell stories and sing songs of entertainers gone by, including John Parry (1810-1879), Henry Russell (1812-1900) to more modern examples such as Mel B. Spurr, Corney Grain to George Grossmith. Clare has his house blown up during WW2, but survived this. Clare died on the 29th January 1946 at the age of sixty-nine, after taking ill a few days before in the Savage Club. Clare's long career was filled with merriment and song and makes for interesting reading.

Probably no use to you now, but I hope this answers your question.

Thanks!

Very best wishes.

-Ross