Ida Barr (singer)
Ida Barr | |
|---|---|
| Born | Maud Barlow 17 January 1882 Regent's Park Barracks, London, England |
| Died | 17 December 1967 (aged 85) London |
| Occupation | Music hall singer |
| Known for | "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" (1910) "Everybody's Doing It" (1911) |
| Spouses |
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Ida Barr (born Maud Barlow, 17 January 1882 – 17 December 1967) was an English music hall singer.
Life and career
Barr was born at Regent's Park Barracks, London on 17 January 1882. Her father, William Barlow, is believed to have been a soldier, although Maud described him as a retired civil servant on her marriage certificate.[1][2]
She made her stage debut in 1898 as a chorus girl at the Theatre Royal, Belfast.[3] Initially calling herself Maud Laverne, she first used the stage-name Ida Barr in 1908 at London's Bedford Theatre.[4]
Barr married comedian Samuel 'Gus' Harris[5] (billed as "the only Yiddisher Scotsman in the Irish Fusiliers"[6]), but the marriage failed within a few years,[7] with Maud soon sailing to New York.[8] Achieving some success in America, Barr returned to England a premier singer of ragtime songs, popularising in Britain the songs "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" (Ayer & Brown; 1910) and "Everybody's Doing It" (Berlin; 1911).
She toured worldwide, earning good money, but was over-generous and failed to save. She became in her old age reliant on welfare benefits, living in a small flat off the Charing Cross Road in London. Writer and broadcaster Daniel Farson, a music hall enthusiast, took it upon himself to extend a helping hand, bringing Barr to a new (or nostalgic) audience on record and television. It was through Farson, too, that variety entertainer Danny La Rue arranged a benefit concert for Barr.[1]
Death
Ida Barr died on 17 December 1967 in London.[1]
Film and TV credits
Barr's screen credits span the years 1936 to 1966.[9]
Film credits
- Happy Days Are Here Again (1936)
- Laugh It Off (1940)
- Let the People Sing (1942)
TV credits
- Music Hall Cavalcade (1937)[10]
- Stars and Garters (1965)
- Love Story(1966)
Trivia
- Actress Elsa Lanchester performed in her youth a snake dancing routine with Ida Barr.[11]
- Ida Barr's name was appropriated more than 40 years after her death by Christopher Green for an unrelated, non-tribute drag act.[12]
- Ida Barr was (through her marriage to Gus Harris) a great-aunt of actress and singer Anita Harris.[8]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1783831180.
- ^ Marriage of Maud Barlow and Samuel Harris, 15 January 1910, Fulham Register Office.
- ^ "The Theatre Royal, Arthur Square, Belfast". Arthur Lloyd website. 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "The Bedford Theatre, 93 - 95 Camden High Street, Camden Town". Arthur Lloyd website. 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "Marriage of Samuel Harris and Maud Barlow, Fulham, 1910". FreeBMD. 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ "Sergeant Solomon Isaacstein". Monologues.co.uk website. 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ Gus Harris petitioned for divorce from Maud in 1913, on the grounds of her adultery with one Budd Jupiter. He was granted a decree nice in 1914 (The National Archives, J77/1136/4496).
- ^ a b "Saturday 23rd Jan: Carry On Eastenders!". WordPress. 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "Ida Barr (1882–1967): Actress". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "Music-Hall Cavalcade (1937)". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ISBN 978-0099581956.
- ^ "A jeans-clad Adonis, a stripper called Ursula ... I'm sure the circus wasn't this much fun when I was a kid". The Guardian. 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
External links
- Ida Barr at IMDb
- Photographs of Ida Barr held by the National Portrait Gallery
- Photographs of Ida Barr held by Getty Images
- Photograph of Ida Barr held by the National Library of Australia
- Ida Barr discography on Discogs
- Ida Barr: Everybody's Doing It Now/Oh, You Beautiful Doll on Spotify
- Ida Barr: Everybody's Doing It Now/Oh, You Beautiful Doll on Deezer
- Lyrics to "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" as sung by Ida Barr