Harry Grattan


Harry Grattan was a British stage actor, singer, dancer and writer best known for his performances in musical comedies around 1900.

Life and career

Gratton started early as a child actor, playing in Rip Van Winkle, Slave Life, Orson in 1876, Little Goody Two-Shoes and Little Red Riding Hood; or, Harlequin Grandmama. He played Captain Corcoran in the "Children's Pinafore" in 1879–80 at the Savoy Theatre. The Era wrote that, in the role, he was "very successful indeed, and looked the character completely."
As an adult, Grattan appeared at various West End theatres. For example, during the Christmas season of 1889, he appeared at the Avenue Theatre in The Field of the Cloth of Gold. With the advent of Edwardian musical comedy, Grattan became a star of such musicals as Morocco Bound, Go-Bang, As in a Looking Glass and Jim the Penman. In the new century, he starred in a succession of hit musicals, including: The Messenger Boy, The Toreador, The Orchid, The Spring Chicken, The New Aladdin, Venus, Miss Hook of Holland, and More.
As a writer, he produced the book and lyrics for Hitchy-Koo, which was a success on Broadway. and wrote the successful 1918 revue Tabs, with music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Ronald Jeans. He wrote a series of revues, including Odds and Ends, Erb and Emma, and Mind Your Backs during the World War I and into the 1920s, some of them produced by André Charlot and some with the child star Betty Bolton.