Noel Coward

Sir Noel Peirce Coward (spelling his forename Noël with the diaeresis was an affectation of later life, and "Peirce" is the correct spelling) (December 16, 1899 - March 26, 1973) was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music.

Later works

Coward's popularity as a playwright declined sharply in the 1950s, but he still managed to maintain a high public profile, continuing to write (and occasionally starring in) moderately successful West End plays, performing an acclaimed solo cabaret act in Las Vegas (recorded for posterity and still available on CD), and starring in films such as Bunny Lake is Missing, Around the World in 80 Days and The Italian Job. After starring in a number of American TV specials in the late 50s alongside Mary Martin, Coward left the U.K. for tax reasons in the late 1950s and moved to the Caribbean, settling first in Bermuda and then to Jamaica, where he remained for the rest of his life. The late 1960s saw a revival in his popularity, with several new productions of his 1920s plays and a number of revues celebrating his music; Coward himself dubbed this comeback "Dad's Renaissance". He was knighted in 1970, and died in Jamaica in 1973 of natural causes at the age of 73. He is buried in Firefly Hill, Jamaica.

Related Topics:
Las Vegas - The Italian Job - Mary Martin - Bermuda - Jamaica

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As well as over fifty published plays and many albums' worth of original songs, Coward also wrote comic revues, poetry, several volumes of short stories, a novel (Pomp and Circumstance, 1960), and three volumes of autobiography. Books of his song lyrics, diaries and letters have also been published.

Related Topics:
Short stories - Novel - Autobiography - Song

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