Lionel Logue
Lionel Logue King George VI | |
---|---|
Spouse |
Myrtle Gruenert
(m. 1907; died 1945) |
Children | 3, incl. Valentine Logue |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Speech and elocution |
Institutions | British Society of Speech Therapists Royal College of Speech Therapists |
Lionel George Logue,
Early life and family
Lionel George Logue was born in
He attended Prince Alfred College between 1889 and 1896. Unable to decide what to study, Logue came across Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha:[4]
Then Iagoo, the great boaster,
He the marvellous story-teller,
He the traveller and the talker,
He the friend of old Nokomis,
Made a bow for Hiawatha
The poem's rhythm inspired Logue to put his interest in voices to good use.
After his father died on 17 November 1902, Logue set up his own practice as a teacher of elocution. By 1904, he had gained a good reputation and was receiving praise from the local newspapers.[6] However, he decided to take a contract with an engineering firm some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) westward in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, installing an electricity supply at a gold mine.[6][7]
Professional career
His professional career began in Perth, where, in addition to teaching elocution, acting, and public speaking, he put on plays and recitations, and also founded a club for public speakers. He was also involved with YMCA Perth and schools such as Methodist Ladies' College, Loreto Convent, Scotch College, Perth Technical School, and Claremont Teachers College.
In 1911, Logue and his wife set out on a tour of the world to study methods of public speaking. Later he developed treatments for Australian
In 1924, Logue took his wife and three sons to England, ostensibly for a holiday. Once there, he took jobs teaching elocution at schools around London, and in 1926 he opened a speech-defect practice at 146
Treatment of George VI
As a speech therapist, Logue was self-taught and was initially dismissed by the medical establishment as a quack, but he worked with the Duke from the late 1920s into the mid-1940s.[11]
Before ascending the throne as George VI, the Duke of York dreaded public speaking because of a severe
Diagnosing poor co-ordination between the Duke's larynx and thoracic diaphragm, Logue prescribed a daily hour of vocal exercises. Logue's treatment gave the Duke the confidence to relax[16] and avoid tension-induced muscle spasms. As a result, he only occasionally stammered. By 1927, he was speaking confidently and managed his address at the opening of the Old Parliament House in Canberra[17] without stammering.[18]
Logue was often called over the years when the king was expected to make a speech, and was regularly invited to the Royal Family's Christmas dinner party in order to assist with the
Honours
In 1944, King George VI appointed Logue a
King George VI died on 6 February 1952. On 26 February 1952, Logue wrote to the late king's wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother:
No man ever worked as hard as he did, and achieved such a grand result. During all those years you were a tower of strength to him and he has often told me how much he has owed to you, and the excellent result could never have been achieved if it had not been for your help. I have never forgotten your gracious help to me after my own beloved girl passed on.[23]
The Queen Mother replied: "I think that I know perhaps better than anyone just how much you helped the King, not only with his speech, but through that his whole life and outlook on life. I shall always be deeply grateful to you for all you did for him."[24][25]
Personal life
Logue married Myrtle Gruenert, a 21-year-old clerk, at
Lionel Logue was a
He lived in a 25-room Victorian villa called Beechgrove in Sydenham from 1932 until 1947,[31] now demolished and part of Sydenham Hill Wood.
Myrtle died suddenly from a heart attack in June 1945,
In popular culture
With Peter Conradi, Logue's grandson Mark wrote a book, The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy, about his grandfather's relationship with the king.[36] In the 2010 British film The King's Speech, written by David Seidler, Logue was played by Geoffrey Rush, his wife by Jennifer Ehle, and his patient by Colin Firth. In the West End stage adaptation of The King's Speech at Wyndham's Theatre, Australian actor Jonathan Hyde played Lionel Logue, and in the US stage premiere, Logue was played by James Frain.
Welsh actor Michael Elwyn played Logue in the 2002 television film Bertie and Elizabeth. Derek Lawson portrayed Logue in the 2015 comedy A Royal Night Out.
See also
- Speech and language pathology
- British Stammering Association
References
Notes
- ISBN 978-0-85738-110-1.
- ^ a b Logue and Conradi, p. 16.
- The Late Late Show, Friday, 27 May 2011 [1]
- ^ Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1876). The poetical works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Boston: Osgood & Co. p. 148.
- ^ Logue and Conradi, p. 18.
- ^ a b Logue and Conradi, p. 19.
- ^ Edgar, Suzanne. "Logue, Lionel George (1880–1953)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ^ "Stuttering and The King's Speech". The Stuttering Foundation. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ^ Logue and Conradi, p. 39.
- . Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ a b The Daily Telegraph The King's Speech: how Lionel Logue cured King George VI's stammer
- ^ Drabble, Margaret. "Public Speech and Public Silence". The British Stammering Association. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ISBN 978-1-55002-391-6.
- ^ a b "Mr. Lionel Logue". The Times. No. 52, 594. London. 13 April 1953. p. 8. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
- ^ BBC, Note reveals story behind King's speech film, 1 March 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-312-33938-8.
- ^ "Official Opening of Canberra by His Royal Highness the Duke of York". Australian National Film and Sound Archive. 1927.
- ISBN 978-1-4000-4304-0.
- Sunday Pictorial. No. 1, 925. 10 February 1952. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 34396". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 May 1937. p. 3084.
- ^ "No. 36544". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1944. p. 2571.
- ^ David Seidler (screenwriter) (2010). The King's Speech (Motion picture). UK: See-Saw Films. Event occurs at 1:51:43.
- ^ Logue to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, 26 February 1952, The National Archives (U.K.)
- ^ The Queen Mother to Lionel Logue, 28 February 1952, The National Archives (U.K.)
- ^ Walker, Tim (6 December 2010). "Queen Elizabeth's posthumous endorsement of Lionel Logue". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- ^ Logue and Conradi, p. 20.
- ^ Logue and Conradi, p. 35.
- ^ "Logue, Valentine Darte (1913 - 2000)". livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk.
- ^ "Film "The King's Speech"". Mastermason.com Forums. 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- ^ "The King's Freemasonry". Freemasonry Today magazine. March 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ Logue and Conrad pp 94 and 212.
- ^ "Lionel Logue and His Wife Myrtle". Awesome Stories. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ "Forgotten archive reveals true story behind 'King's Speech'".
- ^ "Deaths". The Times. London. 14 April 1953. p. 1.
- ^ "Court Circular". The Times. London. 18 April 1953. p. 8.
- ISBN 978-0-85738-110-1.
Sources
- Australian Dictionary of Biography
- BBC Interview with Mark Logue (4 January 2011), about finding Lionel Logue's notes
- "Chance Meeting Led to Cure of King's Stutter", The Sydney Morning Herald (Monday, 11 February 1952), p. 3.
- Darbyshire, T., The Duke of York: an intimate and authoritative life story of the second son of Their Majesties the King and Queen by one who has had special facilities, and published with the approval of His Royal Highness, Hutchinson, (London), 1929
- Logue, Mark; ISBN 978-0-85738-110-1(Note: co-author Mark Logue is a grandson of the subject, Lionel Logue).
- Moses, E., & E. M. Foley, "The King's Speech", The Sydney Morning Herald, (Thursday, 24 December 1936), p. 5.
- ISBN 978-0-316-64765-6
- St. Claire, M. "An Australian Cures Defect in King's Speech", The Australian Women's Weekly, (Saturday, 2 January 1937), p. 12
External links
- "Lionel Logue 'never swore in front of King George VI'", BBC Radio Leicester
- Bowen, Caroline (2002). Lionel Logue: Pioneer speech therapist. Retrieved 1 January 2011
- Hutchinson, Norman C. (2010). Lionel Logue: the King's Mentor, self-published, Box Hill South, Victoria, Australia
- * "King Honors Australian Who Alleviated Stammer", New York Times, (11 May 1937)
- Letter sent by Logue to George VI, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists archives
- Rare photo of Lionel Logue near the end of his life, from the UK National Archives