George Robey
English music hall singer, film & theatre actor (1869-1954) · United Kingdom · On the map · Musicians · Died at 85
Sir George Edward Wade, CBE, known professionally as George Robey, was an English comedian, singer and actor in musical theatre, who became known as one of the greatest music hall performers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a comedian, he mixed everyday situations and observations with comic absurdity.
George Robey is read about 18 times a day, in 8 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 30 June 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.
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Close ties
- A.E. Coleby Directed The Rest Cure and The Prehistoric Man
Sinclair Hill Directed One Arabian Night (1923)Sydney Fairbrother Also in Don Quixote and The Temperance Fête
Laurence Olivier Directed Henry V (1944)
Georg Wilhelm Pabst Directed Don Quixote (1933)
Frederic Zelnik Directed Southern Roses (1936)
Maurice Elvey Directed Don Quixote (1923)
Max Adrian Also in Henry V and The Pickwick Papers- Hans May Wrote Southern Roses (1936)
- John Baxter Directed Birds of a Feather (1936)
Wylie Watson Also in Waltz Time and The Trojan Brothers
Media & music
Photos 10
Robey in the 1910s
Kennington Road in 1865
The Royal Aquarium in Westminster, where Robey gave his first major performance
"The Prime Minister of Mirth", whose costume Robey had based on an earlier design
Robey's make-up design, featuring thick black eyebrows and partially bald wig
Robey in flannels at a charity event in 1902
Robey as a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club
"The Mayor of Mudcumdyke", an early character for Robey in variety theatreAwards
About this person
Apart from his music hall acts, he was a popular Christmas pantomime performer in the English provinces, where he excelled in the dame roles. He scored notable successes in musical revues during and after the First World War, particularly with the song "If You Were the Only Girl ", which he performed with Violet Loraine in the revue The Bing Boys Are Here (1916). One of his best-known original characters in his six-decade long career was the Prime Minister of Mirth.
