- Edmund Payne
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Life and career
Edmund James "Teddy" Payne was born in
Hackney , England. He made his professional stage debut as Friday in "Robinson Crusoe " at Market Harborough, in 1880. He performed in stock, toured, and joined the Milton—Rays company." (1898). Payne always rehearsed in a pair of velvet shoes and rode to and from the Gaiety on a bicycle. He was popular among colleagues as well as the public. [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/british/shopgirl/pope.html Information from W. Macqueen-Pope's book, "Gaiety, Theatre of Enchantment", W. H. Allen, London, 1949] ]
Payne created roles in a string of musical comedy hits in the early years of the new century, including Tommy Bang in "
The Messenger Boy " (1900), Sammy Gigg in "The Toreador " (1902), Meakin in "The Orchid " (1903), Mr. Girdle in "The Spring Chicken " (1905), Tippin in "The New Aladdin " (1906), Max Moddelkopf in "The Girls of Gottenberg " (1907), Timothy Gibbs in "Our Miss Gibbs " (1909), Albert Umbles in "Peggy" (1911), and Floot in his last show at the Gaiety, "The Sunshine Girl " (1912), in which he appeared until 1913. He was to have had a role in "The Girl From Utah", but he fell ill and died before the show premiered. [ [http://www.musicals101.com/who29.htm Information from the musicals101 website] ]" on 30 May 1904, "Dear Sir / My height is five feet three & a half inches in my half hose". [ [http://www.ilab.org/db/book2386_943.html Information from the ILAB.org website] ] His diminutive stature and his elastic facial expressions, including his "pop" eyes, gained him wide fame. He was an accomplished comic singer and dancer, and a diligent actor. He also used a lisp to good effect: "It gave a perfect character to the lovable little men he always impersonated....
In 1909, Payne made a film entitled "A Gaiety Duet", in which he starred with his co-writer,
George Grossmith, Jr. Payne's brother was the actor Fred Payne.Payne died in London at the age of 49.
References
External links
* [http://library.kent.ac.uk/library/special/icons/playbills/playdat1.htm Listing of Payne roles from 1902 to 1910]
* [http://library.kent.ac.uk/library/special/icons/playbills/playdat2.htm Listing of Payne roles from 1910 to 1913]
*imdb name|2088513|Edmund Payne
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