Who's Who in Musicals: Additional Bios XIII
by John Kenrick
(Copyright 2004-2005)

Hylton, Jack
Producer
b. July 2, 1892 (Bolton, UK) - d. Jan. 29, 1965 (London)
A popular dance band leader, Hylton became a successful West End producer, specializing in imported American musical hits such as Annie Get Your Gun (1947), Kiss Me Kate (1951), Call Me Madam (1952) and Paint Your Wagon (1953). His greatest homegrown success came with the long-running Salad Days (1954). Hylton's final production was the London staging of Camelot (1964). He died of a heart attack the following year at age 72.

Irwin, May
(b. Georgia Campbell)
b. June 22, 1862 (Whitby, Ontario) - d. Oct. 22, 1938 (NYC)
Ample physical proportions and a powerhouse "coon shouter" voice made Irwin one of the most popular comediennes of her time. After getting her start as a child on the variety stage, Irwin toured extensively with her sister Flo. They became the top sister act in early vaudeville, performing with Tony Pastor in 1877. May went solo in 1884, interrupting her vaudeville career for a number of Broadway plays, musical comedies and revues. Her greatest musical hit was The Widow Jones (1895), in which she introduced "The Bully Song," a raucous comedy number that became her signature piece. Irwin and co-star John C. Rice performed a scene from that show for Thomas Edison's early silent film cameras -- widely known as "The Kiss," it ignited a scandalous (and profitable) public response. Irwin starred in several more profitable but now forgotten Broadway musicals, all designed as vehicles for her, but the bulk of her career was spent as a headliner in vaudeville. She retired in the 1920s. A shrewd investor, she owned several homes and was reputed to be one of the wealthiest women in show business up to that time.

Jackson, Ethel
Actress, singer
b. Feb. 3, 1877 (New York City) - d. Nov. 23, 1957 (East Islip, NY)
This attractive American soprano was studying music in Europe when she joined the chorus of the D'Oyly Carte troupe, appearing in the original production of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Grand Duke (1896). She returned to America to appear in such forgettable Broadway musicals as Little Miss Nobody (1898), A Runaway Girl (1900) and Hotel Topsy Turvy (1902). She "retired" in frustration, but returned to the stage in The Blue Moon (1906). Soon afterward, she had the singular fortune to win the title role of "Sonia" in the original Broadway production of Franz Lehar's blockbuster hit The Merry Widow (1907). With handsome co-star Donald Brian, Jackson waltzed into immortality, but she was unable to parlay this success into lasting stardom. In the years that followed, she appeared intermittently in vaudeville, occasionally playing supporting roles in musicals and dramas. She made her final Broadway bow in the stage version of Key Largo (1939).

Eggerth, Marta
Singer, actress
b. April 17, 1912 (Budapest)
Kiepura, Jan
Singer, actor
b. May 6, 1902 (Sonowicz, Poland) - d. Aug. 15, 1966 (Rye, NY)
After early careers in Europe, this husband-wife team found joint stardom in a long-running Broadway revival of Franz Lehar's perennial favorite, The Merry Widow (1943). This Viennese classic struck a nostalgic chord with wartime audiences, and the production raised Eggerth & Kiepura to immediate American stardom. They later co-starred in the Broadway failure Polonaise (1945), a Paris production of Princess Czardas (1950), and Vienna productions of Der Zarewitsch (1954) and Paganini (1956). Eggerth and Kiepura brought their Merry Widow to London for a brief run in 1955. Eggerth also appeared in the short-lived Rodgers & Hart musical Higher and Higher (1940). She made occasional stage appearances in later years, including the Diana Rigg production of Colette (1982) and the Vienna production of Servus Du (1992).

King, Charles
Actor, singer, vaudevillian
b. Oct. 31, 1889 (New York) - d. Jan. 11, 1944 (London)
This song and dance man got his start in minstrel shows and vaudeville, making his Broadway debut in the chorus of The Yankee Prince (1908). He was featured opposite Elsie Janis in The Slim Princess (1911), then appeared in A Winsome Widow (1912) and such revues as The Passing Show (1913) and Watch Your Step (1914). Stardom came when he played Jerry Conroy in Little Nellie Kelly (1922), introducing George M Cohan's nostalgic "Nellie Kelly, I Love You." As Bilge Smith in Hit the Deck (1927), he sang Vincent Youmans's "Sometimes I'm Happy." He also starred in Present Arms (1928).

King was tapped by MGM to star in the landmark musical film Broadway Melody (1929), where he introduced "You Were Meant For Me," and sang the jaunty title tune surrounded by some well-fed chorines. King introduced "Happy Days Are Here Again" in Chasing Rainbows (1930), then returned to Broadway to appear in Cole Porter's The New Yorkers (1930). He made his last stage appearance in the short lived Sea Legs (1937), and was in London when he died from pneumonia.

Kirk, Lisa
(b. Elsa Marie Kirk)
Actress, singer, dancer
b. Feb. 25, 1926 (Brownsville, PA) - d. Nov. 11, 1990 (NYC)
This versatile comic actress won fame introducing Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Gentleman is a Dope" in Allegro (1947). As the original Lois Lane/Biana in Kiss Me Mate (1948), she was the first to sing Cole Porter's "Why Can't You Behave," "Always True to You in My Fashion" and "Tom, Harry or Dick." Kirk remained active in nightclubs and regional theatre, returning periodically to musicals. She dubbed the songs for Rosalind Russell in the film version of Gypsy (1963),  took over the female lead in Broadway's Here's Love (1964), and played "Lottie" in Mack and Mabel (1974) where she introduced Jerry Herman's "Tap You Troubles Away." She was featured in the musical Home Again, Home Again, which closed before reaching Broadway in 1979. A longtime smoker, Kirk died of lung cancer at age 62.

Klaw, Marcus
Producer, theatre owner
b. May 29, 1858 (Paducah, KY) - d. June 14, 1936 (Bracken Fell, Hassocks, UK)
An experienced attorney, Klaw formed a partnership with Abe Erlanger, owning and managing a nationwide chain of theatres. In 1896, they formed the Theatrical Syndicate, which gave them monopolistic control of the bookings for almost every theater in the USA. Over the next sixteen years, they set the rates and handled access to more than 700 houses. Klaw and Erlanger's shameless greed and ruthless business practices made them countless enemies among fellow managers as well as actors, musicians, etc. The duo also produced dozens of Broadway musicals, including George M Cohan's Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway (1906), Victor Herbert's Little Nemo (1908) and The Pink Lady (1911). They also financed the early editions of Florenz Ziegfeld's Follies, Broadway's first important revue series. After Klaw and Erlanger's partnership fell apart over the Actor's Equity strike of 1919, Klaw focused primarily on producing dramas until his retirement in 1926. He spent his final years in England.

Lane, Lupino
(b. Henry George Lupino)
Actor, singer, dancer
b. June 16, 1892 (Hackney, London) - d. Nov. 10, 1959 (London)
This popular comic actor got his start in music halls, and made his West End debut as a dancer in Watch Your Step and other revues. He was featured in the London and New York casts of Afgar (1919), and made revue appearances in both cities -- including the Ziegfeld Follies of 1924. He appeared in approximately 40 silent films, and thanks to his stage backgroung had no difficulty making the transition to talkies, playing Maurice Chevalier's valet in the early screen musical Love Parade (1929). Back in London, Lane directed and appeared in numerous films. He also produced and starred in Twenty to One (1935), a 383 performance West End hit in which he originated the character of cockney tout Bill Snibson. He played this street smart cockney again in a series of popular sequels, beginning with the long-running Me and My Girl (1937), in which Lane introduced Noel Gay's "The Lambeth Walk." He repeated the role in the film Lambeth Walk (1939), as well as in the stage sequels La-Di-Da-Di-Da (1943), Meet Me Victoria (1944) and Sweetheart Mine (1946). Lane spent his later years appearing in occasional revivals of Me and My Girl. Part of a large theatrical family, his niece was Hollywood star Ida Lupino.