Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 1899 – 26 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise". Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as Hay Fever, Private Lives, Design for Living, Present Laughter and Blithe Spirit, have remained in the regular theatre repertoire. He composed hundreds of songs, in addition to well over a dozen musical theatre works (including the operetta Bitter Sweet and comic revues), poetry, several volumes of short stories, the novel Pomp and Circumstance, and a three-volume autobiography. Coward's stage and film acting and directing career spanned six decades, during which he starred in many of his own works. At the outbreak of World War II, Coward volunteered for war work, running the British propaganda office in Paris. He also worked with the Secret Service, seeking to use his influence to persuade the American public and government to help Britain. Coward won an Academy Honorary Award in 1943 for his naval film drama, In Which We Serve, and was knighted in 1969. In the 1950s he achieved fresh success as a cabaret performer, performing his own songs, such as "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", "London Pride" and "I Went to a Marvellous Party". His plays and songs achieved new popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, and his work and style continue to influence popular culture. Coward did not publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, but it was discussed candidly after his death by biographers including Graham Payn, his long-time partner, and in Coward's diaries and letters, published posthumously. The former Albery Theatre (originally the New Theatre) in London was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in his honour in 2006. Description above from the Wikipedia article Noël Coward, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Wrote 70
2020s
- 2027
National Theatre Live: Hay Fever
Writer
- 2026
- 2023
Blithe Spirit
Writer, Theatre Play
- 2020
Blithe Spirit
Writer
2010s
- 2019
National Theatre Live: Present Laughter
Screenplay
- 2017
Noël Coward's Present Laughter
Theatre Play
Alice
Original Story
- 2013
Private Lives
Theatre Play
Burton and Taylor
Theatre Play
2000s
- 2008
- 2001
The Red Peppers
Novel
- 2000
Relative Values
Story, Original Story
1990s
- 1991
Tonight at 8.30
Writer
1980s
- 1987
Final Act
Writer
- 1985
Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill
Original Story
Bon Voyage
Story
Me and the Girls
Writer
What Mad Pursuit
Writer
Mrs Capper's Birthday
Short Story
Star Quality
Writer
- 1984
Hay Fever
Writer
- 1982
A Song At Twilight
Writer
Come Into The Garden Maud
Writer
- 1981
Present Laughter
Writer
The Kindness of Mrs Radcliffe
Writer
- 1980
The Marquise
Writer
1970s
- 1979
Design for Living
Writer
- 1976
Private Lives
Writer
Brief Encounter
Theatre Play
- 1974
Fallen Angels
Original Story
- 1970
1960s
- 1969
The Vortex
Writer
- 1968
Um Breve Encontro
Story
Interlude
Writer
- 1967
Pretty Polly
Story, Original Story
Present Laughter
Writer
- 1966
Blithe Spirit
Theatre Play
- 1965
Geisterkomödie
Theatre Play
- 1964
A Choice of Coward: Design for Living
Writer
A Choice of Coward: The Vortex
Original Story
A Choice of Coward: Blithe Spirit
Original Story
A Choice of Coward: Present Laughter
Original Story
A Choice of Coward
Theatre Play
1950s
- 1956
Armchair Theatre
Writer
Blithe Spirit
Theatre Play
- 1952
Meet Me Tonight
Theatre Play, Writer
- 1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Story
- 1950
The Astonished Heart
Writer
1940s
- 1945
- 1944
This Happy Breed
Theatre Play
- 1942
We Were Dancing
Theatre Play
- 1940
Bitter Sweet
Theatre Play, Lyricist
Private Lives
Writer
1930s
- 1933
Design for Living
Theatre Play
Bitter Sweet
Novel
Tonight Is Ours
Author
- 1931
Private Lives
Theatre Play
1920s
- 1928
Easy Virtue
Writer
The Vortex
Author
- 1927
The Queen Was in the Parlour
Theatre Play
Acted in 17
1990s
- 1991
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
actor 'Bunny Lake Is Missing' (archive footage) (uncredited)
1960s
- 1969
- 1968
Boom!
The Witch of Capri
- 1967
Androcles and the Lion
Caesar
- 1965
Bunny Lake Is Missing
Wilson
- 1964
- 1960
Surprise Package
King Pavel II
Our Man in Havana
Hawthorne
1950s
- 1956
Blithe Spirit
Charles Condomine
- 1950
The Astonished Heart
Dr. Christian Faber
1940s
- 1945
- 1942
1930s
- 1936
Men Are Not Gods
Passer-by (uncredited)
- 1935
The Scoundrel
Anthony Mallare
Produced 5
1960s
- 1964
The Caretaker
Associate Producer
1940s
- 1945
- 1944
This Happy Breed
Producer
- 1942
Sound 5
1990s
- 1998
Twentieth Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward
Music
- 1994
I'm a Gigolo
Songs
1950s
- 1950
The Astonished Heart
Original Music Composer
1940s
- 1942
- 1940
Bitter Sweet
Songs
Directed 2
1950s
- 1956
Blithe Spirit
Director
1940s
- 1942
Created 1
1960s
- 1964
A Choice of Coward
Creator
Appearances9
2020s
- 2023
Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story
Self (archive footage)
1980s
- 1988
Ken Russell's ABC of British Music
Self (archive)
1960s
- 1968
- 1967
- 1964
A Choice of Coward
Self · 4 episodes
1950s
- 1956
- 1950
