Leslie Gaze

Leslie Wentworth Gaze (29 February 1880 – 1957) was an Australian-born baritone singer and Broadway performer. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, to William Henry Gaze, a medical doctor with practices in Norwood and Thebarton, Gaze was educated in Christchurch, New Zealand, where his family relocated and where he sang at St John's Church on Latimer Square. By 1897 the family had settled in Victoria, Australia, where his father took on work as a consulting chemist in addition to his medical practice.

Gaze traveled to England with the intention of pursuing a career in medicine but ultimately turned to the stage. Following an introduction by Willie Edouin, he performed with several touring London comedy companies before receiving training from Ernesto Baraldi. He subsequently secured a position with William Greet's company and went on to appear in The Earl and the Girl, Sergeant Brue under Frank Curzon, The Blue Moon with Robert Courtneidge, and The Girls of Gottenberg under George Edwardes. In December 1910 he was performing in Ireland with George Edwardes' company, playing the role of Slithers in Our Miss Gibbs, which starred Carrie Moore.

His Broadway career spanned 1909 to 1913 and included appearances in the musicals Iole, A Skylark, and The Candy Shop. During this period he also performed in Oscar Hammerstein's New York production of The Firefly, which starred Emma Trentini.

Gaze is particularly remembered in Australia for his portrayal of Lieutenant Bumerli in the operetta The Chocolate Soldier. He first took on the role with the Clarke and Meynell Opera Company at the Theatre Royal in Melbourne, beginning 2 September 1911, with Winifred O'Connor playing Nadi. That production's run concluded in Adelaide in April 1912. Shortly afterward, Gaze departed for Europe and America by ship. His wife Belle died during the voyage, at Aden on 14 May 1912.

Gaze returned to Melbourne in October 1914 and established himself as a singing teacher. In June 1921 he appeared at the concert stage at King's Hall, 69 Hunter Street, Sydney, performing alongside some of his students. In 1922 he and his family relocated to Los Angeles, where he worked at various points as a real estate agent, singing teacher, and insurance broker.

Outside of his professional life, Gaze was a competitive pigeon shooter and boxer. He married Alta May Tomlinson (1885–1948), a native of Chicago, and the couple had two daughters: Alta Gwendolen "Gwen" Gaze (6 September 1915 – 29 August 2010), who became an actress appearing in several Hollywood films, and Pamela Wentworth Gaze (25 February 1921 – 9 August 1993). His brother Harold Gaze was a writer and illustrator of children's books.