In celebration of the 120th anniversary of his birthday, let’s remind ourselves of the author, actor and leading light of the English twentieth century stage, Sir Noel Coward (1899-1973).
The above footage was filmed on the occasion of his 70th birthday in 1969, exactly 50 years ago today. Anyone who was anyone in the theatre world paid homage to “The Master” at a gala reception at London’s Savoy Hotel. Sadly the footage has no sound as it was shot for British Pathé News who put a voice-over commentary over the sequences, as was their practice at the time.
So grab some canapes, crack open a bottle of bubbly/prosecco/Vimto/fizzy water, and let’s all celebrate Sir Noel Coward!
BONUS EXTRA
Here’s a clip of Noel Coward a few months later at the 1970 Tony Awards in New York being presented with an honorary Tony Award by the equally legendary Cary Grant.
With thanks to the original YouTube posters, British Pathé and MrPoochsmooch