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.

Private life

A homosexual, Coward never married, but he did enjoy a lengthy relationship with the stage and film actor, Graham Payn, for almost thirty years until the end of his life. Payn later edited the collection of his diaries published in 1982. Coward refused to acknowledge his homosexuality, wryly stating, "There is still a woman in Paddington Square who wants to marry me, and I don't want to disappoint her."

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Parodies of him and his style include:

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• Eric Idle's "Penis Song" from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
• Charles and Fiona, (Dame Celia Molestrangler and Aging juvenile Binkie Huckaback) characters in Round the Horne.
• Was a neighbor of James Bond creator Ian Fleming, whom he considered a poseur. When the first film adaptation of a James Bond novel, Doctor No was being produced, Coward was approached for the role of the villain. He is said to have responded, "Doctor No? No. No. No."