Stage Characters

CONTENTS

Billo & His Little Bit of Fluff (aka Rusty & Fluffy” / Tibby & Fluffy”)
Bluey & Dopey
Chic & Bert
Chic & Joe
Dinks & Oncus
Hank Dinkumflater (aka Happy Hank)
Ike Cohen & Morris Levi
Lanky & Bulky
Little Hermie
Mutt & Chopp
Percy the Pom & Oscar the Aussie
Spike Murphy
Stiffy
Stiffy & Joe / Stiffy, Joe & Syd
Stiffy & ‘Erb
Stiffy & Mo
Stiffy & Stud
Stiffy, Mo & ‘Erb

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BILLO & HIS LITTLE BIT OF FLUFF

aka Rusty and Fluffy / Tibby and Fluffy

(1926-1927) Having secured a long-term contract with Clay’s Theatres in Sydney in March 1926, Harry Ross and his partner Clara Keating staged their first revusical Count Ivanitch at the Gaiety Theatre, and thereafter toured a new show every four weeks around the company’s circuit. Presented by the Harry Ross Revue Company, most of these one act musical comedies featured the character Fluffy (played by Keating). Her first partnership was with comedian Will Gilbert (as Billo and His Little Bit of Fluff). When Gilbert left the troupe Joe Rox took his place as Rusty. After their Clay’s contract ended Keating and Ross took their Joybringers company to Rockhampton. For this engagement Keating teamed up with Ted Stanley as Tibby and Fluffy.

1: The Clay’s Theatres circuit in 1926 and 1927 saw each of its contracted troupes play a week each at the Gaiety and Princess Theatres, followed by a tour of the Sydney suburbs and several regional centres – primarily Illawarra and the Hunter Valley regions.
2: The first Rusty and Fluffy revusical was likely Christmas Spooks, which premiered at the Gaiety Theatre on 18 December 1926.

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BLUEY & DOPEY

(ca. 1922-1923) The comic characters Bluey and Dopey, portrayed by Nat Hanley and Harry Coyle are believed to have made their public debut on Harry Clay‘s Sydney circuit in 1922. Dopey (played by Coyle), was written into Hanley’s original revusical Cowboys and Cowgirls, with the author playing Arizona Jack. Soon afterwards Hanley conceived the character Bluey, and he and Coyle quickly established another Australian comic partnership in the vein of Stiffy and Mo (below), Ike and Morris (below) and Dinks and Oncus (below). Like Dinks and Oncus, Bluey and Dopey may only have been seen by Harry Clay’s audiences. Another known Bluey and Dopey reveusical was Demons of the Deep (1922).

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CHIC & BERT

Chic & Bert - cu(1920-ca. 1923) “Chic and Bert” are thought to have been introduced to audiences in a military sketch staged by the Famous Diggers during its debut Australian tour for J.C. Williamson’s in 1920. Their initial popularity with audiences led to the pair being featured in a selection of sketches specially written by the troupe’s various writers, including Pat Hanna, Johnny Marks, and George and Joe Breston (aka “Orchid”). Among those identified to date were “Civvies,” Discipline” “Bert’s Gift,” “Chic’s Tabby,” and “Chic and Joe at the Party.” Chic (later Chic Williams) was always played by Pat Hanna. The role of Bert was played by Will Crawford (1920-21), Gus Dawson (1921-22) and Norman French (1922-23). In some instances the sketches included one or more additional characters.

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CHIC & JOE

(1924-ca.1930) After popularising the two soldiers “Chic and Bert” [above], Pat Hanna introduced a new off-sider, Joe Mulga in late-1924. This came about following the  departure of Norman French (aka Bert), and the engagement of comedian Joe Valli. As with the “Chic and Bert” sketches, the new material was produced by various writers, either within the troupe or with close connections to Hanna and his Famous Diggers.  The stories similarly explored, with much humour, the day to day exploits of Australian and New Zealand soldiers at the front, on leave behind the lines, or back home as returned servicemen. Among the more popular sketches were “The New War,” “Chic and Joe in Hospital,” and “Blighty Leave.” In some instances the sketches included one or more additional characters. In Hanna’s two films Diggers (1931) and Diggers in Blighty (1932) the role of Joe was played by George Moon Snr. Joe Valli developed another character, Scottish corporal Joe McTavish, for both films.

Notable writers were Johnny A. Marks, Bert Reid, Eric Donaldson, “Orchid” (aka George Breston), Harold Middleton, Ed Warrington, and Hanna himself.

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DINKS & ONCUS

(1920-1923) The most popular knockabout acrobatic comedy partnership ever to work for variety entrepreneur Harry Clay, Dinks and Oncus (Jack Paterson and George Wallace) came together in 1920. The act, a hit from the start, involved a knock-about style of comedy, comprising lots of falling around, impersonations of drunks, spoofs on other variety acts, and outrageous boxing displays. Paterson later formed an act with his wife Trixie Ireland that found much success in Great Britain, while Wallace went on to become one of Australia’s most popular revusical and film comedians.

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HANK DINKUMFLATER

aka Happy Hank

Bruce-Dinkumflater - EoL [DSB 13 Dec. 1919, 2]American producer/writer Al Bruce, “the hobo comedian,” came to Australasia for Fullers’ Theatres in 1918, bringing with him a number of one act musical comedies based around the exploits of a tramp character named Hank. Bruce is believed to have adapted these productions for Australian audiences right from the start, with the most immediate localisation being his stage persona’s last name – Dinkumflater. Not all the shows portrayed Hank as a tramp, however (as in The King of Patagonia, 1919,in which he is presented Happy Hank, a major’s orderly). The “Hank” shows identified to date also include The Elixir of Love, The Back to Nature Club (1918) and Two Peas in a Pod (1919).

In The Elixir of Love Hank later turns out to be Duke Felix O’Shaughnessy.
Image: From The Elixir of Love. Source: Daily Standard (Brisbane) 13 Dec. 1919, 2.

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IKE COHEN & MORRIS LEVI

(1915-1924) After coming together in 1915 Bert Le Blanc (Ike) and Jake Mack (Morris) spent more than a decade working off each as the principal comedians in various troupes – notably Bert Le Blanc’s Travesty Stars (aka Who’s Who Costume Revue Entertainers). Along with Stiffy and Mo [below], Ike and Morris were Australia’s most popular wartime revusical comedy duos. Interestingly, while Le Blanc was acknowledged as both the company leader and a very fine comedian in his own right it was Mack as Morris Levi who took on the lead comic role.

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LANKY & BULKY

Lanky & Bulky [NA 25 Mar 1918, 2](1918) Comedians George Pagden and Will Gilbert put together a series of revusicals featuring the characters Lanky (Gilbert) and Bulky (Pagden) for Harry Clay in early 1918. In reviewing Lanky and Bulky at the Fair, the Theatre Magazine‘s critic praised Gilbert but was not so kind with his or her assessment of Pagden, who seemed to be “wasting his time.” The two men nevertheless had well-established reputations with Clay audiences. The productions were likely staged first at the Bridge Theatre, in Newtown, Sydney, before being taken on the road. In addition to his weekly suburban circuit Clay was also operating a fortnightly south-western circuit that included towns such as Katoomba, Bathurst, Goulburn, Wollongong, Port Kembla.

To date only three works have been identified – the others being  Lanky and Bulky as Farmers and Lanky and Bulky in Paris.
Image source: National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW) 25 Mar. 1918, 2.

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LITTLE HERMIE

aka Little Hermie Shultz

Little Hermie [AA 14 July 1934, 2](1921-1944) American comedian George Ward introduced his quaint Dutchman, Little Hermie Shultz, to Australian audiences in 1921 while touring for Fullers’ Theatres with the American Revue Company. Although Ward had presented Hermie in America prior to coming to Australia, he developed the character for Australian audiences through the 1920s, largely in association in partnership with Charles L. Sherman and Bert Le Blanc. The character’s popularity was such that it became infused with Ward’s own professional persona and remained a part of his billing until the end of his career. In the 1940s, for example, he presented his own radio show in Hobart as “Uncle Hermie.”

Image source: Advertiser (Adelaide) 14 July 1934, 2.

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MUTT & CHOPP

(1919/1922) Mutt and Chopp first appear as characters in at least one revusical staged by the Ted Tutty Vaudeville Company in early 1919 – In Tokio [sic]. Although the names of the performers have not been identified, one is likely to have been Tutty, with the other played by either Denis Carney or Eus Bronson. It is not until 1922 that the characters reappear on the variety stage, this time in revusicals presented by Harry Clay. In these, Bill Mutt (Harry Mansfield) and Mick Chopp (Ted Stanley) muddle their way through various predicaments (as jockeys, detectives or hospital warders etc), and in the process create much hilarity, and usually a good deal of mayhem.

1: It is possible that Mutt and Chopp were an Australianised version or spoof of the American comic strip Mutt and Jeff (1907-). In 1911 Nestor Comedies (USA) began tuning out a weekly one-reel live-action shorts based on the two mismatched tinhorns, and in 1916 the cartoon’s creator Bud Fisher licensed Mutt and Jeff for a series of animated films. The Mutt and Jeff films were first seen by Australians in 1912.
2: The 1922 Mutt and Chopp revusicals included Nighty Night Nurse, Nell Wynne Wins, On the Beach, and The Adventures of Mutt and Chopp. These were staged during the Harry Clay Vaudeville and Revue Company’s Queensland tour (Aug-Sept) and also on the entrepreneur’s Hunter Valley circuit. Nell Wynne Wins is known to have been staged on Clay’s Sydney circuit in 1925 but no details regarding its cast or characters has yet been identified. It is therefore unknown if Mutt and Chopp were included in the storyline, and if so whether Stanley and/or Mansfield were involved.

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PERCY THE POM & OSCAR THE AUSSIE

(1925-1926) Harry Huley (Percy) and Nat Phillips (Oscar)

Two weeks after Roy Rene departed Nat Phillips’ Stiffy and Mo Company, Phillips convinced English comedian Harry Huley to partner him in the one act musical comedies to be staged by his new company The Whirligigs. Where Rene had drawn on his Jewish heritage to create ‘Mo,’ Huley developed his own character, a “new chum” named Percy the Pom. While little information about the nature of the pair’s on-stage relationship is currently known, it appears that the vastly experienced Huley similarly worked as a joint-comedian, and not just as a straightman. ‘Percy’ replaced ‘Mo’ in several of the Stiffy and Mo revuviscals, notably Manicure, Sir (aka Beauty Parlour, 1916); Policemen and Waiters (1917); In Mexico (1917);  In a Harem (1919); Bankers (1920); The Club (1921); and At the Grand (1924); as well as several newly-written shows. The pair entertained audiences in Adelaide (1925), Sydney (1925), and Perth (1926) before Huley and his wife were transferred to Melbourne by Fullers’ Theatres management.

1. Huley and his stage partner/wife Bessie Bent (aka Brenda Bent) had been touring Australasia under contract to Fullers’ Theatres since mid-1920. A former seaman with the Royal Navy and aeronaut (who specialised in parachuting and hot air ballooning), Huley’s variety career in England reportedly dated back to 1914, albeit with an enforced break during the war years.
2. Reviews from the Percy the Pom and Oscar the Aussie period were routinely positive in their assessment of the pair. Seemingly free from comparison (either negative or positive) with Roy Rene, Huley’s contributions were invariably praised by critics. That said, many reviews do tend to highlight Phillips as chief laughter-maker, which is not surprising given his greater experience and his more instinctive knowledge of local audiences.
3. The first revusical to feature Percy and Oscar was Flying High (1925) at the Majestic Theatre, Adelaide on 30 July-5 Aug. 1925. Their final show together was The Beauty Parlour (Luxor Theatre, Perth, 12-18 June). Phillips and Huley were cast in the Fullers’ 1925/26 Sydney pantomime Robinson Crusoe (written by Phillips) but did not assume their Percy and Oscar characters. That production also played for a week in Newcastle.
4. Among the new revusicals to feature Percy and Oscar were Kill and Cure, Dirty Doings, Cheerio, Fares, Please and Biff Bang.
Image: L – Harry Huley (Sun 29 May 1921, 21); R – Nat Phillips (Nat Phillips Collection, Fryer Library, The University of Qld)

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SPIKE MURPHY

(1914-ca.1921) Paul Stanhope came to Australia in 1913 with the American Burlesque Company. After the troupe disbanded in 1914 he formed the Paul Stanhope Musical Burlesque Company, presenting a series of one act musical comedies based around the wild Irishman “Spike Murphy.” In revusicals such as This is the Life, Pardon Me (1915), Roley Poley and Dilly Dally (1917), “Spike” appeared in a variety of professions, including a piano mover and burlesque musician, sending audiences into convulsions with his quaint sayings and antics. Stanhope’s off-siders over the years included Reg Herbert, Les Bates and Charles Delavale.

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STIFFY

Phillips as Stiffy [close-up](1914-1932) Stiffy the Rabbitoh was an Irish-Australian larrikin developed by Nat Phillips as early as 1914. Initially appearing in a series of sketches worked up by Phillips and his wife Daisy Phillips, Stiffy represented the type of character many Australians identified with larrikinism. When Phillips teamed up with Roy Rene in 1916 – as Stiffy and Mo [below] – the pair played their characters with mannerisms, thoughts, and expressions that found huge support with audiences during the war years. Phillips later presented Stiffy opposite Jack Kellaway (‘Erb), Joe Lawman (Joe), Syd Beck (Syd) and Stan Foley (Stud).

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STIFFY & ‘ERB

(1925-27, 1928-29) Three weeks after Roy Rene departed Nat Phillips’ Stiffy and Mo Company, the troupe was renamed Nat Phillips’ Whirligigs. Phillips initially forged partnerships with Joe Mullvaney (Stiffy and Joe) and Harry Huley (as Oscar the Aussie and Percy the Pom), but when Jack Kellaway joined the company in June 1926 he formed a new partnership – Stiffy and ‘Erbie (later ‘Erb). The pair featured in many of Phillips’ old Stiffy and Mo revusicals, along with newly-written ones by Phillips. When Rene re-joined his old partner in Brisbane in February 1927, Kellaway co-starred with Stiffy and Mo for the remainder of the season, but was then relegated to the ensemble cast. Rene and Phillips’ final parting in December the following year allowed the Stiffy and ‘Erb partnership to be revived. Kellaway remained in this role until October 1929.

1. Roy Rene’s final performance with the Stiffy and Mo company in 1925 was at Adelaide’s Majestic Theatre on 17 July.
2. Jack Kellaway’s first appearance as “‘Erbie” was at the Luxor Theatre, Perth, on 3 July 1926. His earlier Whirligigs debut on 12 June was also his first-ever appearance at the Luxor. Interestingly Stiffy and ‘Erb occasionally featured in first part vaudeville sketches during their time together. These were somewhat akin to Phillips’ performances with Daisy Merritt between 1913 and 1916.
3. The Whirligigs, as well as Stiffy and ‘Erb, were temporarily retired after the conclusion of the 1929 Christchurch (NZ) season, when Nat Phillips took up an offer to produce and direct the Fullers’ New Vaudeville and Revue Co (headed by Hector St Clair). Kellaway was no longer a member of the Whirligigs when it was revived in 1930 [see ‘Stiffy and Stud’]
Image: Brisbane Courier 16 Feb. 1929, 2.

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STIFFY & JOE / STIFFY, JOE & SYD

(1931-32)  In early-1931 Nat Phillips teamed up with Joe Lawman as Stiffy and Joe. A little over a month later the pair became a trio when they were joined by Syd Beck. Although the shows were later billed as being staged by Nat Phillips and Syd Beck’s Snapshots Revue Company, Lawman was still with the troupe and working in partnership with the other two. After Beck departed in early 1932, Phillips and Lawman (along with Stan Foley) continued working together as members of the Follies of 1932.

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STIFFY & MO

(1916-1925, 1927-1928) One of the most popular and influential comedy duos in Australian entertainment history, Stiffy and Mo (Nat Phillips and Roy Rene) were the first truly urban Australian larrikin characters to be developed on the variety stage. The pair came together in mid-1916 following the dissolution of Albert and Maud Bletsoes’ company (of which Rene was a member). Given the task of producing and directing the shows for his own Tabloid Musical Comedy company, Phillips took a chance on partnering with the ten years-younger Rene and together they found immediate success. Stiffy and Mo toured Australasia for Fullers’ Theatres between 1916 and 1925 appearing in a series of revusicals and pantomimes written by Phillips. After an 18 month break they reunited in 1927 and after a sold-out tour of New Zealand in late-1928 returned to Australia playing their final shows in Sydney in early-December. Phillips’ death in 1932 ended their plan to reunite that year.

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STIFFY & STUD

(1930) Following the departure of Jack Kellaway (‘Erb) from Nat Phillips’ Whirligigs, Stan “Stud” Foley joined the troupe. As with Stiffy and Mo [above], and Stiffy and ‘Erb [above], this partnership also appears to have operated with the two comedians playing for laughs as opposed to the comic/straightman format. Foley remained with Phillips until late 1930. Early the following year Phillips teamed up with Joe Lawman, and later with Syd Beck (as Stiffy, Joe and Syd).

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STIFFY, MO & ‘ERB

(1927) Although this combination was only together for three weeks, it is an historically important, albeit long-forgotten aspect of the Stiffy and Mo partnership. The trio came together in mid-February as a result of Roy Rene having resigned with Fullers’ Theatres. Nat Phillips’ Whirligigs, featuring Stiffy and ‘Erb (Phillips and Jack Kellaway) had been playing Brisbane’s Empire Theatre since October the previous year, and Rene’s return coincided with the approaching season end. With Kellaway still a principal member of the troupe, the initial shows featured Stiffy, Mo and ‘Erb, even though advertising promoted them as Stiffy and Mo. Phillips announced that he planned for the trio format to continue, but when the company opened in Sydney on 19 March ‘Erb was related to the ensemble cast.

1. The trio’s first show together, Sparks (19-25 Feb.), saw Stiffy and Mo as painters, and ‘Erb as an electrician. The following shows were Have a Bath, Sir! (26 Feb. – 4 Mar.) and Go as You Please (5-11 Mar.).
2. One Brisbane critic wrote of Jack Kellaway’s involvement: “Known by the sobriquet as ‘Erb, [Kellaway] has added so greatly to his following of admirers, that he must be considered more than an emergency. He has strongly qualified to join the Stiffy and Mo association. With these three dominating the show, one must expect the overflow of comedy…” (“The Empire.” Telegraph 28 Feb. 1927, 3.

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Published on March 6, 2011 at 11:10 pm  Comments Off on Stage Characters