The Letters of Noel Coward
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ALSO BY BARRY DAY
This Wooden “0”: Shakespeare's Globe Reborn
My Life with Noël Coward (with Graham Payn)
Noël Coward: The Complete Lyrics
Noël Coward: In His Own Words
Noël Coward: Complete Sketches and Parodies
Theatrical Companion to Coward (with Sheridan Morley)
The Unknown Noël: New Writing from the Coward Archives
Coward on Film: The Cinema of Noël Coward
Oscar Wilde: A Life in Quotes
P. G. Wodehouse: In His Own Words
P. G Wodehouse: The Complete Lyrics
Dorothy Parker: In Her Own Words
Sherlock Holmes: In His Own Words and the Words of Those Who Knew Him
Sherlock Holmes and the Shakespeare Globe Murders
Sherlock Holmes and the Alice in Wonderland Murders
Sherlock Holmes and the Copycat Murders
Sherlock Holmes and the Apocalypse Murders
Sherlock Holmes and the Seven Deadly Sins Murders
Murder, My Dear Watson (contributor)
FOR LYNNE PRIMA INTER PARES
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Preface
PART ONE: “BEGINNERS, PLEASE!”
1. The Boy Actor
2. “I Like America”
3. “Dance, Dance, Dance, Little Lady”
INTERMISSION: DAB AND LORNIE
4. The Vortex
5. “Why Must the Show Go On?”
6. “I'm World Weary, World Weary”
PART TWO: THE YEARS OF GRACE
7. This Year of Grace!
8. “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”
INTERMISSION: GERTRUDE LAWRENCE
9. Private Lives
INTERMISSION: PLAY PARADE
10. Cavalcade
11. Noël & Alfred & Lynn…and Their Design for Living
12. Conversation Piece…. and Missing the Point
13. The Scoundrel… and Still Traveling Alone
INTERMISSION: MARLENE DIETRICH
14. Tonight at 8:30
15. Operette…. and Straws in the Wind
PART THREE: NOËL'S WAR
16. World War II: “Twentieth Century Blues”
17. “Then Along Came Bill”
18. World War II: “Faraway Land”
19. World War II: “In Which We Serve”
20. World War II: “I Travel Alone”
PART FOUR: SHADOW PLAY
21. Sigh Once More…and a Storm in the Pacific
22. The Fallow Forties
INTERMISSION: A quadrille … FOR TWO
23. … and the Fitful Fifties
24. Nescafe Society…and the Small Screen
25. Bubbles…and Nudes
26. A Different Sky…and a Look at Lulu
27. A Visit to “Greeneland”…via Havana
28. Wings…and Sails
INTERMISSION: A CHATTER OF CHUMS
29. Girls…and Spirits
30. “Dad's Renaissance”
31. Songs at Twilight
32. Shadow of Evening
Permissions and Acknowledgments
ILLUSTRATIONS
FRONTISPIECE Noël at typewriter
2 Noël by Derek Hill
4 The ever-watchful author
4 Noël Coward in rocking chair
5 Coward-san. Drawing by Makoto Wada
7 Drawing by Lynne Carey
11 Coward as a young boy
14 Violet Agnes (1863-1954)
15 Mary Kathleen Synch (1837-1908}
16 Aunt Vidal Sarah (“Vida”) Veitch (1854-1946)
17 Russell Arthur (1891-1898)
21 Program for Goldfish
21 Letter from Lila Field 24 Drawing by Noël Coward
25 Eric Vidal with Noël
26 Noël at a theatrical garden party
30 “Rules of Palship” between Noël and Esme Wynne
31 Letter to Esme Wynne
33 Charley's Aunt poster
43 Esme, Noël, and John Ekins
46 Esme Wynne
50 Lyrics
55 Drawing of Coward by William Auerbach-Levy. (Reproduced by permission of The Players Club, New York)
58 View of New York City
59 The Algonquin Round Table (Reproduced by permission of the Algonquin Hotel)
61 Laurette Taylor (1884-1946)
61 Lynn Fontanne
63 Noël and Edna Ferber
64 Alec Woollcott and Edna Ferber, drawing by James Montgomery Flagg
66 NeysaMcMein(1882-1949)
66 Drawing by Neysa McMein
68 Montage of characters
73 E. (Edith) Nesbit (1858-1924)
73 Illustration from The Enchanted Castle
80 Ned (Third Earl of) Lathom (1895-1930)
83 Edith Sitwell with brothers Osbert and Sacheverell
89 John (“Jack”) C. Wilson (1899-1961)
90 Lorn Loraine (1894-1967)
91 Noël, Jack, and Gertie
95 Natasha and Jack in 1937
103 Lorn Loraine works with her assistant and successor, Joan Sparks (Hirst)
108 The Vortex (1924)
111 Basil Dean(1888-1978)
112 Act 3 of The Vortex
113 London Pavilion
118 Gladys Calthrop (1894-1980)
121 Edna Best (1900-1974)
123 Noël in trilby hat
124 Noël on the SS Bremen (1933) 128 Goldenhurst
134 Noël in front of Pan Am plane
137 Dame Marie Tempest (1864—1942)
140 Edward Molyneux (1891-1974)
140 Molyneux's house, La Capponcina, on Cap d'Ail, Cote d'Azur
147 This Year of Grace poster (U.S.)
149 Bitter Sweet sheet music
153 Caricatures of Beatrice Lillie and Noël
155 Bitter Sweet vocal score
156 Ivor Novello (1893-1951)
158 Peggy Wood, Evelyn Laye, and C. B. Cochran
164 Beverley Nichols (1898-1983) and Noël
166 Noël with leis
167 Jeffrey Amherst and Noël
172 Lyrics of Mad Dogs
176 Noël and “noonday gun”
178 Caricatures of Noël and Gertie by Tony Walton
179 Gertie and Bea Lillie in New York
180 Gertie and Noël in profile
184 Bea Lillie, Bobbie Andrews, Gertie, and Noël at Goldenhurst
203 Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989)
209 Noël and Gertie at the piano
216 The Play pictorial (Private Lives)
223 Noël as tragedy and comedy
225 Noël and “Willie” Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)
235 Arnold Wesker
248 Enid Bagnold (1899-1991)
256 Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)
263 Jane Marryot (Mary Clare)
264 The Play pictorial (Cavalcade)
267 C. B. Cochran
269 Gladys Calthrop
272 Cavalcade film still
275 Program for Design for hiving
276 Lynn, Alfred, and Noël in the Lunts’ home
277 Lunts and dogs
278 Noël with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford
278 Noël with Chico Marx, Maurice Chevalier, Herman Mankiewicz, Groucho Marx, and Harpo Marx
278 Noël with Robert Montgomery
280 Erik Coward
284 Triptych of Noël and Lynn and Alfred
285 Gilda (Lynn), Leo (Noël), and Otto (Alfred)
290 Drawing by Lynn Fontanne
292 Sheet music for Regency Rakes
294 Yvonne Printemps (1895-1977)
308 Noël in The Scoundrel
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310 Noël in the rain
316 Marlene and Noël in car
317 Noël and Marlene with children
329 Marti Stevens, Marlene, and Kay Thompson
331 Noël and Marlene in old age
332 Noël composing at Goldenhurst
333 Tonight at 8:30 sheet music cover
334 Noël in his dressing room
335 Gertie and Noël in Shadow Play
338 Cartoons
339 Weekly Illustrated
344 Drawing by James Thurber
345 The young John Gielgud
351 Schloss Kammer-am-Attersee, in Austria
352 Eleanora von Mendelssohn (1899-1951)
354 Fritzi Massary (1882-1969)
361 Bea Lillie
362 Cap d'Antibes, 1931
366 Noël with Union Jack (Caricature by Vicky)
366 Noël's personal philosophy
368 Noël in battle dress
369 Robert (later Lord) Vansittart (1881-1957)
370 Noël being fitted for a gas mask
372 Dame Rebecca West (1892-1982)
385 Clemence Dane (Winifred Ashton) (1888-1965)
395 Sir William (“Little Bill”) Stephen-son (1896-1989)
401 Roosevelt and Churchill
411 Noël at piano with children
419 Noël with a koala bear
420 Richard (later Baron) Casey (1890-1976) and his wife
422 Noël making a speech
425 Noël at his typewriter
428 Film poster
435 Lyrics of “Germans”
438 Lord Louis (1900-1979) and Lady Edwina (1901-1960) Mountbatten
440 The Redgraves
446 Noël and Mountbatten
449 George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
458 Program cover for Broadway production of Blithe Spirit
460 Noël and Clifton Webb (1893-1966)
463 In Which We Serve (1942)
464 Ann Todd, Joyce Carey, Peggy Ashcroft, and Celia Johnson
465 Off-set moment from In Which We Serve
470 Poster for In Which We Serve
482 Noël with unidentified friend
484 Judy Campbell and Noël
485 Playbill
489 Noël in Gibraltar
490 Noël in the Middle East
503 Poster for the film Brief Encounter
511 Noël and Gertie with shadows
513 Sigh No More program
514 White Cliffs, Kent
515 Noël and designer Gladys Calthro] with Mary Martin
527 Charlie Chaplin, Mary Martin, and Noël
529 Noël and Moira Lister in Present Laughter
532 Laurence Olivier and Noël
533 Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968)
536 Noël and Tallulah
538 Noël at a rehearsal for Tonight at 8:30
540 Goldeneye
544 Firefly
547 Celia Johnson, Graham Payn, and Joyce Carey
548 Noël painting
550 Axel (Alfred) and Serena (Lynn)
563 Lynn, Mountbatten, Chaplin, and Alfred at Chalet Coward
565 Noël, Pat Kirkwood, and Graham backstage in Ace of Clubs
569 Gladys Cooper
575 The Apple Cart
580 Illustrated letter from Stephen Tennant (1906-1987)
581 Costume design by Doris Zinkeisen
582 Mrs. Erlynne (Mary Ellis) and her daughter Lady Windermere (Vanessa Lee)
584 Noël and Jane Powell in Las Vegas
586 Larry Olivier, Vivien Leigh, and Cole Lesley
587 Noël, Humphrey Bogart, and Van Johnson
590 Noël at the Desert Inn (photo by William Claxon)
592 Noël and Mary Martin
594 Nancy Mitford (1904-1973)
601 Lauren Bacall and Noël in Blithe Spirit
601 Claudette Colbert
610 Program for Nude with Violin
620 Noël and John Gielgud
625 Anthony Eden (later the Earl of Avon)(1897-1977)
630 Binkie Beaumont, John Perry, and Terence Rattigan
633 Noël and Michael Wilding
640 Noël and William Traylor in Nude with Violin
642 Noël in front of his Swiss home
644 Chalet Coward, Les Avants, Switzerland
645 The sitting room as sketched by designer/choreographer/director Joe Layton
649 Vivien Leigh
650 Christmas at Chalet Coward
653 Noël as Hawthorne
656 Alec Guinness and his wife, Merula
660 Noël as Hawthorne in chair
661 Sail Away poster
664 Margaret (“Peggy”) Webster and Pamela Frankau
667 Noël, Graham, Fred Sadoff, and Michael Redgrave
677 Eloise
678 Noël and Kay Thompson (1911-1998)
682 Elaine Stritch
687 Noël's bookplate
688 Benita Hume
690 Marina, Duchess of Kent (1906-1968), and Princess Alexandra
691 Clifton Webb and Noël
696 David Niven and his second wife Hjordis
697 Ian Fleming
698 Noël and Lionel Bart
702 Tammy Grimes, Bea Lillie, and Edward Woodward
713 Noël, Louise Troy, and Bea Lillie
716 Bea Lillie on a bike
718 Noël in Beatle wig
721 Hay Fever revival—National Theatre, London, 1964 (Photograph by Snowdon and used by permission)
723 Hay Fever at the National
725 The Service of Thanksgiving for Noël's life
727 Queen Mum and Noël
728 Irene Worth, Noël, and Lilli Palmer in Come into the Garden, Maud
729 Carlotta Gray (Lilli Palmer) and Hugo Latymer (Noël) in A Song at Twilight (1966)
745 Cartoon by Gerald Hoffnung
746 Gladys, Noël, and Joyce
748 Noël and Elizabeth Taylor in Boom
749 Michael Caine and Noël
751 Queen Mother and Noël
752 Lauren Bacall, Geoffrey Johnson, Noël, Alfred, and Cary Grant celebrate after the Tony Awards
753 Noël on Firefly Hill
Noël—by Derek Hill.
Noël warned Hill at the outset: “Derek, dear, remember I have painted my own face in the theatre over the last fifty years, so I know it much better than you ever will.” Even though he felt “my eyes are too close together,” it remained his favorite portrait.
INTRODUCTION
ATA PARTY in London's Savoy Hotel to celebrate Noël's seventieth birthday his longtime friend Lord Louis Mountbatten said of him:
There are probably greater painters than Noël, greater novelists than Noël, greater librettists, greater composers of music, greater singers, greater dancers, greater comedians, greater tragedians, greater stage producers, greater film directors, greater cabaret artists, greater TV stars. If there are, they are twelve different people. Only one man combined all twelve labels—The Master.
He might easily have gone on to enumerate Noël's several other roles in social and political life on both sides of the Atlantic and well beyond, for over and above his many artistic talents he was for most of his seventy-three years what John Osborne was to call “his own invention”—and a contribution to his century. Noël Coward, an early role model for that twentieth-century phenomenon the “celebrity,” someone “well known for being famous and famous for being well known.”
During his life Noël collected people and was just as avidly collected by them. And since this was an age in which people still wrote letters, they wrote to him and he wrote back. (One wonders what history will make of the present illiterate e-mail era.) He conducted a dialogue with others in the arts like the Lunts, Marlene Dietrich, John Gielgud, Edna Ferber, Alexander Woollcott, Vivien Leigh, Diana Cooper, Alec Guinness, Virginia Woolf, Edith Sitwell … he debated current events with politicians … he gossiped with friends and the “family” he created as a personal cocoon. By his own admission he was
a dyed-in-the-wool “Royal snob,” and many—like the Queen Mother—became personal friends. And running like a thread through it all, until the day she died in 1954, was his correspondence with his mother, Violet Coward, the woman whose ambition sparked him and whose golden opinions drove him on. To her he would confide not merely the happenings but the feelings they engendered.
And that, essentially, is the dimension The Letters provides. Anyone interested in Coward is familiar with at least an outline of the events of his life. That is not the purpose of this book, although the letters are set in a chronological context to “fix” them. Having said that, the published accounts—Noël's own and his biographers’—do differ in a number of slight but significant ways. Cole Lesley, Noël's right-hand man, found a number of such differences when he came to write his life of The Master and compared the material Noël had left behind—in terms of diaries and notebooks—with Noël's own published autobiography.
This should not be too surprising.
Many people in the public eye smooth off personal rough edges, sometimes without being aware of what they're doing. Many more reshape an anecdote so that it makes a better story. And whatever disclaimers they may make, everyone who keeps a detailed journal has at the back of his or her mind the thought—perhaps the hope—that one day it will be read and admired by others. (Even Noël mentions “the benefit of future historians who might avidly read this journal.”) Diarists write their story as they'd like it to be remembered. As the script for John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance has it, “When you have the facts and the legend, print the legend.”
Two unrehearsed moments in an ordered life.
In the rocking chair, Noël considers what went wrong with Point Valaine (1935).
Coward-san. Drawing by Makoto Wada.
Noël's Diaries, to my mind, fall into that category. What may have started out as a series of notes for the still-to-be-written autobiography of his later years becomes more and more a piece of literature with an eye on posterity.
But letters are different. Two letters with virtually identical content to two different people will vary in their tonality and say just as much about the individual relationships as they do about the matters being discussed. Which is why in this collection I have chosen to break the convention of Collected Letters by using letters to as well as from Noël. Alexander Pope called letters “the very deshabille of understanding”—and one can see what he meant.
The letters that do remain—at least the ones I have been able to unearth—tell the story of a life. Not a complete story, to be sure, but aspects of one, and certainly Noël's abiding preoccupations with his work, family, and friends clearly emerge as the years go by and we can share what he felt at the time: the high youthful hopes, the disappointments, the exhilaration of success, the numbness of being banished to the wings, the immense relief of “Dad's Renaissance.” This is what it was like for him in real time, not as recollections in relative tranquillity. The letters complete the portrait of what it was like to be Noël Coward.