Page "Dan Leno" Paragraph 31

for a six-week appearance in 1898.

Upon hearing this, the comedian overrode his agent and accepted the offer.

Leno toured the provinces in the piece and was an immediate success.

So popular was his performance that Bode re-engaged him for a further two shows, the musical farce In Gay Piccadilly!

and Mr. Wix of Wickham.

In 1897, Leno went to America and made his debut on 12 April of that year at Hammerstein's Olympia Music Hall on Broadway, where he was billed as " The Funniest Man On Earth ".

Reviews were mixed: one newspaper reported that the house roared its approval, while another complained that Leno's English humour was out of date.

His American engagement came to an end a month later, and Leno said that it was " the crown of my career ".

Despite his jubilation, Leno was conscious of the few negative reviews he had received and rejected all later offers to tour the United States and Australia.