Walter Passmore

Walter Henry Passmore (10 May 1867 – 29 August 1946) was an English singer and actor best known as the first successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.

Passmore began performing professionally at the age of fourteen in the

In 1903 Passmore left the company and began a career in musical comedies, plays and pantomimes in the West End and on tour that lasted for thirty years. His West End appearances included roles in such productions as The Earl and the Girl (1903), The Talk of the Town (1905). He often appeared on stage with his second wife, Agnes Fraser.

Life and career

Early career

Passmore was born in London, the son of Louisa Emma née Bullock (1829–1902) and Alfred Passmore (1825–1889), a coffee house keeper.

In 1889 in Wigan, Lancashire, he married Kathleen Naomi P. Nanton (1869–1901) and with her had four children: Naomi Kathleen Eugenie Passmore (1889–1889); Josephine Doris Passmore (born 1892); Mirette Louisa Passmore (1894–1970) (named after the opera Mirette he was appearing in at the time of her birth); and Walter Frederick Passmore (1896–1974).^[4] The following year, Passmore made his London debut in a revival of Dion Boucicault's drama The Flying Scud at the Standard Theatre, Bishopsgate.^[3]

Rudolph, The Grand Duke

Mr Wells, The Sorcerer

Sir Joseph, H.M.S. Pinafore

Passmore joined the

Passmore continued to play at the Savoy as the Usher in Trial by Jury, John Wellington Wells in The Sorcerer (1898) and King Ouf I in The Lucky Star (1899).^[3] After seeing Passmore's performance in The Lucky Star, Sullivan noted in his diary, "The fun of the whole piece lies in Passmore. Take him out and nothing's left. He worked splendidly and carried the opera through. I wish though he could drop his 'cockney' accent and manners at times."^[10] Passmore next played Sir Joseph in a revival of H.M.S. Pinafore (1899). While rehearsing the role, Passmore suggested to W. S. Gilbert that he might walk around with his nose in the air "as though raising it above an unpleasant smell". Gilbert quipped, "Unpleasant smell? Well, you're the best judge of that, Passmore."^[11]

Passmore then created the role of Hassan in

Later years

Passmore stayed in London when the D'Oyly Carte company went on tour in 1903. There he began a career in

Lyric Theatre as Jerry Snipe in The Talk of the Town (1905) and as Private Charlie Taylor in The Blue Moon (1905).^[13] His pantomimes at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane included Cinderella (1905, as the Baroness), Sinbad (1906, in the title role), and Babes in the Wood (1907, as Reggie, the boy babe).^[13] At the Apollo Theatre, he appeared in The Dairymaids (1906) and The Three Kisses (1907), and at the Queen's Theatre he played Baptiste Boubillon in The Belle of Brittany (1908).^[13]

In 1909–10 Passmore toured as John Smith/Simplicitatis in

His Majesty's Theatre. The production – one of the few works in the season not to lose money – "depended for its popularity in part upon Walter Passmore, the celebrated D'Oyly Carte droll".^{[14][n 2]} He appeared as Nikola in Baron Trenck at the Strand Theatre (1911).^[13] At the Woolwich Hippodrome in July 1914 he played Private Adam Blinder in The Soldiers' Mess, of which he was also the composer.^[13]

Passmore continued to appear in the West End and on tour throughout the 1920s. In 1922 he toured in Titbits, which was billed as "a somewhat different revue", of which he was co-author.

First World War Passmore appeared in a variety of comedy parts in the West End and on tour,^[13] and at the Gaiety Theatre in April 1924 he played Jericho Mardyke in Our Nell. Later in that year he went on tour playing Cahoot in Madame Pompadour.^[13] A late Gilbert and Sullivan performance was in Trial by Jury at a benefit matinée for Courtice Pounds in 1927, when Passmore was joined by stars including Leslie Henson and Derek Oldham. During 1928, with his daughter Nancie in the cast, he appeared on tour as Albert Chuff in Princess Charming. A reviewer commented, "Few comedians have a more sonorous voice, few dance so well, and few have a larger experience".^[16]

In 1929 Passmore toured as Count Theodore Volny in "The Damask Rose" a Ruritanian romance with music adapted from Chopin. The production was brought into the West End in March 1930, when one reviewer wrote "Walter Passmore and Amy Augarde played into each others' hands with an easy competence that was a delight to watch".^[17] This was his last West End production, and he retired in 1933.^[18]

Following the death of his first wife in 1901 Passmore married another D'Oyly Carte artist, Agnes Fraser, in 1902 at Wandsworth, London,^[19] who frequently appeared with him on stage. They had four children: Henry Fraser Passmore (1905–1987, a general manager of Hammer films 1935–37); John Fraser Passmore (1908–1973); Nancie A. Passmore (1910–1990), who married the tenor Joseph Hislop; and Isobel Mary Fraser Passmore (1913–1992).^[20] In 1939 he was living with his wife and unmarried stockbroker son John in a modest retirement at Heath Mews at The Mount in Hampstead, London.^[21]

Passmore died at Golders Green, London, at the age of 79.^[3]

Gallery

Sergeant
The Pirates of Penzance

Bunthorne
Patience

Ko-Ko
The Mikado

General Boom
The Grand Duchess

Hassan
The Rose of Persia

Walter Wilkins
Merrie England

Bertrand Bouillon
The Belle of Brittany

Recordings

My name is John Wellington Wells

Passmore sings "My name is John Wellington Wells" from The Sorcerer, 1900

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As some day it may happen

Passmore sings "As some day it may happen" from The Mikado, 1908

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Between 1900 and 1913, Passmore recorded over a dozen individual songs from the Gilbert and Sullivan operas for Odeon. Many of these have been re-issued by Pearl on LP and CD ("The Art of the Savoyard", Pearl GEMM CD 9991).^[3]

In a historic 1908 recording of The Mikado for Odeon that was reissued by Pearl on LP (GEMM 198), Passmore sang the role of Ko-Ko. This recording is nearly complete and is a rare opportunity to hear an artist who recorded a role that he played under Gilbert's and Sullivan's personal direction.^[22]

Notes

1. ^ The production was variously billed as The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein or just The Grand Duchess.^[9]
2. ^ Sullivan's Ivanhoe was also staged by Beecham during this season, but Passmore was not in the cast.^[14]

References

1. ^ Walter H Passmore, 1871 England Census for London, Paddington, St Mary Paddington, Ancestry.com (subscription required)
2. ^ "Gilbertian Gossip No. 43 – 1995". Gsarchive.net. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Stone, David. Walter Passmore, Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 25 November 2020
4. ^ 1891 England Census Record for Walter Henry Passmore
5. ^ Rollins and Witts, p. 14
6. ^ Rollins and Witts, p. 87
7. ^ Rollins and Witts, pp. 15 and 16
8. ^ ^{a b} Rollins and Witts, p. 16
9. ^ "Savoy", The Times, 1 December 1897, p. 8, and "Savoy" (column 5) and "Savoy Theatre" (column 6), The Times 6 December 1897, p. 10
10. ^ ^{a b} "Walter Passmore", Memories of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
11. ^ Ayre, p. 260
12. ^ Rollins and Witts, pp. 18−19
13. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Parker, pp. 1166–1167
14. ^ ^{a b} Reid, p. 107
15. ^ "The Variety Stage", The Stage, 25 May 1922, p. 10
16. ^ "Princess Charming", Surrey Mirror, 22 February 1929, p. 3
17. ^ "The Stage of the Day", Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 5 April 1930, p. 24
18. ^ "Mr Walter Passmore", The Times, 30 August 1946, p. 7
19. ^ Agnes Fraser E Smith, England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837–1915, Ancestry.com (subscription required)
20. ^ Agnes F E Passmore, 1911 England Census for London, Hampstead, Ancestry.com (subscription required)
21. ^ Agnes E F Passmore, 1939 England and Wales Register for London, Hampstead, Ancestry.com (subscription required)
22. ^ "Article about the 1907 Odeon Mikado recording at The G&S Discography". Cris.com. Retrieved 25 July 2020.

Sources

• Ayre, Leslie (1972). The Gilbert & Sullivan Companion. London: W. H. Allen.
  OCLC 614438640
  .
• Reid, Charles (1961). Thomas Beecham – An Independent Biography. London: Victor Gollancz.
  OCLC 1016272508
  .
• Rollins, Cyril; R. John Witts (1962). The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas: A Record of Productions, 1875–1961. London: Michael Joseph.
  OCLC 504581419
  .
• Parker, John, ed. (1936). Who's Who in the Theatre (eighth ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons.
  OCLC 10013159
  .

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