Leslie Henson

Leslie Lincoln Henson (3 August 1891 – 2 December 1957) was an English comedian, actor, singer, producer, and film director whose career spanned more than four decades in theatre and film. Born in Notting Hill, London, the eldest child and only son of Joseph Lincoln Henson, a tallow chandler, and his wife Alice Mary (née Squire), he was educated at Emanuel School in Wandsworth and Cliftonville College in Margate. From an early age he demonstrated a strong interest in the theatre, writing and producing theatrical pieces while still a schoolboy. After a brief period working in the family business, he enrolled at the Cairns James School of Musical and Dramatic Art.

Henson launched his professional stage career at age 19, initially performing in the provinces with The Tatlers' concert party. His London pantomime debut came at Christmas 1910 at the Dalston Theatre, where he appeared in Sinbad. He subsequently toured in The Quaker Girl in 1912, playing the role of Jeremiah, before securing his first West End role that same year in Nicely, Thanks! at the Royal Strand Theatre. During that production he signed the actor Stanley Holloway to perform alongside him, a gesture Holloway later commemorated with a dedicated chapter in his 1967 autobiography. Henson went on to star in a succession of Edwardian musical comedies in the West End, including Theodore & Co (1916) and Yes, Uncle! (1917). His physical distinctiveness — bulging eyes, a malleable face, and a raspy voice — made him a particular favourite with audiences, especially in his own comic sketches.

In 1914, Henson brought his talents to Broadway, appearing in the musical To-Night's the Night, which subsequently ran at the Gaiety Theatre in London in 1915. He enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps but was removed from active service in 1918 by the British government to lead a concert party group called The Gaieties in the 5th Army, entertaining troops during World War I. That autumn he was stationed in Lille following the German evacuation and staged revues and a pantomime at the city's abandoned Opera House.

Following the war, Henson returned to the West End in Kissing Time (1919), Sally (1921), and a series of musicals at the Winter Garden Theatre, among them A Night Out (1920), The Cabaret Girl (1922), and The Beauty Prize (1923). In 1922 he starred as Aubrey Allington in Tons of Money, a role that launched the long-running series of Aldwych Farces, which he co-produced with Tom Walls. In 1924 he reprised the role of Aubrey Allington on film in Tons of Money, his most notable screen work, which introduced the Aldwych farces to British cinema audiences. His film career, which began with Wanted: A Widow in 1916, remained intermittent throughout his life, encompassing 14 films between 1916 and 1956 and including A Warm Corner (1930), The Sport of Kings (1931), It's a Boy (1933), The Girl from Maxim's (1933), Oh, Daddy! (1935), The Demi-Paradise (1943), and Home and Away (1956).

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s Henson remained a dominant presence in the West End. He starred in Kid Boots in London in 1926, toured the English provinces in Betty Lee the same year, and appeared in Lady Luck at the Carlton Theatre in 1927 and Funny Face in 1928. In 1930, he and business partner Firth Shephard co-leased the Novello Theatre and presented a series of farces, including It's a Boy! (1930), It's a Girl! (1930), Nice Goings On! (1933), and Aren't Men Beasts! (1936). In 1935, Henson and Shephard took over the Gaiety Theatre, London, producing four successful shows: Seeing Stars (1936), Swing Along (1937), Going Greek (1937), and Running Riot (1938), the last of which was forced to close when the aged theatre was condemned. In 1938, Henson was appointed president of the Royal Theatrical Fund.

At the outbreak of World War II, returning from a tour of South Africa, Henson joined forces with Basil Dean to establish the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), a government-sponsored organisation through which he entertained British troops in Europe, the Near East, and the Far East. He also appeared in London during the war years, performing in the revue Up and Doing in 1940 and Fine and Dandy in 1942, both at the Saville Theatre; the latter production was attended by King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. In 1945 he starred in The Gaieties at the Winter Garden Theatre and in a revival of 1066 and All That at the Palace Theatre, London.

Henson's postwar career extended into non-comedic territory, with notable successes including the role of Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey (1950), which he performed in the West End and on a subsequent national tour. He portrayed Samuel Pepys in And So to Bed, a musical by J. B. Fagan with music by Vivian Ellis, in 1951, and played Mr Pooter in a stage adaptation of The Diary of a Nobody at the Duchess Theatre in 1955. That same year he appeared as Old Eccles in a musical version of Tom Robertson's Caste. He starred in Bob's Your Uncle in 1948 and in Relations Are Best Apart at the Theatre Royal, Bath in 1953.

In 1956, Henson's close friend Bobby Hullett died in Eastbourne while he was performing in Dublin. Suspicious that Hullett's doctor, John Bodkin Adams, had also treated Hullett's husband, who had died just four months earlier, Henson anonymously contacted the police to request an investigation. Adams was subsequently tried for a different murder but acquitted.

Henson was married three times, each time to an actress. He married Marjorie Kate Farewell "Madge" Saunders at St George's Church, Hanover Square, London in 1919; Gladys Gunn in 1926; and Harriet "Billie" Dell in 1944. With Harriet he had two sons: Joe (born 1932), a farmer who founded Cotswold Farm Park, and Nicky (born 1945), an actor. Joe's son Adam Henson runs Cotswold Farm Park and works as a television presenter. Nicky's sons with his former wife Una Stubbs are composers Christian and Joseph; his son Keaton, with wife Marguerite Porter, is a musician and artist.

Henson died on 2 December 1957 at his home in Harrow Weald, Middlesex, at the age of 66. His body was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium.