In 1941 Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit opened on the London stage at the Piccadilly Theatre, with Coward himself directing.

The film is based on Noël Coward's one-act play Still Life ( 1936 ), one of ten short plays in the cycle Tonight at 8: 30, designed for Gertrude Lawrence and Coward himself to be performed in various combinations as triple bills.

Coward had experience directing plays, but he was a novice when it came to films, and he knew he needed to surround himself with professionals if the project was to succeed.

Design for Living, which Noël Coward wrote expressly for himself and the Lunts, was so risqué, with its theme of bisexuality and a ménage à trois, that Coward premiered it in New York, knowing that it would not survive the censor in London.

In 1964 she appeared as Judith Bliss in a revival of Hay Fever by Noël Coward, directed by the playwright himself, for the National Theatre Company at the Old Vic.

Coward played the part of Elyot Chase himself, Adrianne Allen was his bride Sybil, Lawrence played Amanda Prynne, and Laurence Olivier was her new husband Victor.

Coward went to St. James's Palace to plead his case by acting out the play himself and assuring the censor that with artful direction the scene would be presented in a dignified and unobjectionable manner.

For a 1952 film Meet Me Tonight, directed by Anthony Pelissier, Coward adapted Ways and Means, Red Peppers and Fumed Oak ( called Tonight at 8: 30 in the U. S .) Coward himself played Christian Faber in a 1950 film of The Astonished Heart ( also starring Celia Johnson and Margaret Leighton ).

His work in the theatre included Noël Coward's Present Laughter ( 1943 ) which starred Coward himself, and The Eagle with Two Heads ( 1947 ), You Never Can Tell ( 1948 ), and The Heiress ( 1949 ) with Ralph Richardson, Peggy Ashcroft and Donald Sinden.

To honor Noël Coward on the occasion of his being knighted, Cavett interviewed not only " The Master " himself, but also his close friends, The Lunts.

Among these is Ann's landlord, aging writer and broadcaster Horatio Wilson ( Noël Coward ), who lets himself into the Lakes ' new apartment as he pleases and is a whip-loving sado-masochist.

Coward himself co-directed, and the two clashed constantly in rehearsal.

A London cast album was released by Pye Records, for whom Coward himself also recorded four numbers from the show: " Something Tells Me "; " If I Gave You "; " Forever and a Day "; and " Home Sweet Heaven ".

Coward would watch their act every night while waiting to go on himself.

Grand Guignol flourished briefly in London in the early 1920s under the direction of Jose Levy, where it attracted the talents of Sybil Thorndike and Noël Coward, and a series of short English " Grand Guignol " films ( using original screenplays, not play adaptations ) was made at the same time, directed by Fred Paul.

* In the 1941 Noël Coward play Blithe Spirit poltergeist activity is due to the ghost of the central character's first wife — and later to the ghosts of both wives.

Olivier and Leigh were chagrined that part of the commercial success of the play lay in audience members attending to see what they believed would be a salacious and sensationalist story, rather than the Greek tragedy that they envisioned ; but the play also had strong supporters, among them Noël Coward who described Leigh as " magnificent.

Leigh took the lead role in the Noël Coward play South Sea Bubble, but she became pregnant and withdrew from the production.

Cavalcade is a play by Noël Coward.

After returning to London, Coward continued to work on the play.

Coward had by now caught Novello up professionally, despite a joint disaster when Novello starred in Coward's play Sirocco in 1927, which was a débâcle, and closed within a month of opening.

Other characters in the play are based on Noël Coward, Harpo Marx and Gertrude Lawrence.

Other examples include The Philadelphia Story and His Girl Friday, both released in 1940 and both starring Grant, and the Noël Coward play and film Private Lives.

The screenplay is by Noël Coward, and is based on his 1936 one-act play Still Life.

In the final scene of the film, which does not appear in the original Coward play, Laura's bland but kind husband Fred suddenly shows that he has noticed her distress in the past weeks, and takes her in his arms.

* Alison Ireland's comparison of the film with the original Coward play

He favored Clifton Webb, who had left films in 1930 to concentrate on the stage and at that time was appearing in the Noël Coward play Blithe Spirit in Los Angeles.

He filmed the actor delivering a monologue from the Coward play, and Zanuck agreed he was perfect for the role.

Shortly after his play Blithe Spirit opened in the West End in July 1941, Noël Coward was approached by Anthony Havelock-Allan, who was working with the production company Two Cities Films.

* The manic playwright Roland Maule, in the play Present Laughter by Noël Coward, is from Uckfield.

Crawford's talents were spotted by Noël Coward during the three weeks the play ran.

A musical theatre version of the play was created by Noël Coward in 1954 under the title After the Ball.

When her mother settled in Hollywood following a tour of a Noël Coward play, Lansbury ( and later her brothers ) joined her there.

He would later play Noël Coward in the 1968 Julie Andrews vehicle, Star !, a performance for which he won a Golden Globe Award and received his sole Academy Award nomination.

The play was performed on the London stage in 1926 and featured Noël Coward and Edna Best.

She demonstrated her undoubted star quality when she appeared in a 1985 production of the play of the same name, the last ever written by Noël Coward.

In recent years, Everett has returned to his acting roots appearing in several theatre productions ; He made his Broadway debut in 2009 at the Shubert Theatre to good critical review, performing in a Noël Coward play, Blithe Spirit, starring alongside Angela Lansbury, Christine Ebersole and Jayne Atkinson, directed by Michael Blakemore.

In his autobiography Confessions of an Actor Olivier recalled Preminger as " a bully ", as did Bunny castmember Noël Coward.

Idle is an accomplished songwriter, having composed and performed many of the Pythons ' most famous comic pieces, including " Eric the Half-a-Bee ", " The Philosophers ' Song ", " Galaxy Song ", " Penis Song ( Not the Noel Coward Song )" and, probably his most recognised hit, " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life ", which was written for the closing scene of the Monty Python film Life of Brian, and sung from the crosses during the mass crucifixion.

The security services " reported that Coward and Kent had been seen parading together through the streets of London, dressed and made up as women, and had once been arrested by the police for suspected prostitution ", a relationship which Coward's long-term boyfriend, Graham Payn, denied.

In December, 2004, for their annual birthday celebration to " The Master ", The Noel Coward Society invited Dullea as the guest celebrity to lay flowers in front of Coward's statue at New York's Gershwin Theatre, thereby commemorating the 105th birthday of Sir Noel.

Coward wrote one of his most popular songs, " Some Day I'll Find You ", for the play.

In 1963, at the start of what Coward called " Dad's Renaissance ", a London revival directed by James Roose-Evans at the Hampstead Theatre Club heralded Coward's return to critical favour.

However, in a 1992 article on " Coward and the Politics of Homosexual Representation ", Alan Sinfield, examining gay aspects of Coward's major plays, mentions Private Lives only in passing.

In December 2007, for their annual birthday celebration to " The Master ", The Noël Coward Society invited Mills as the guest celebrity to lay flowers in front of Coward's statue at New York's Gershwin Theatre, thereby commemorating the 108th birthday of Sir Noel.

" Cohen, Albert from Jewish Writers of the Twentieth Century ", Further references, related titles, by David Coward.

A British writer recently called Stritch " Broadway's last first lady ", and when you see her performing her signature numbers from Company and Pal Joey and hear her tell tales of working with Merman, Coward, Gloria Swanson and the rest, it's hard to argue.

The Ritz's most famous facility is the Palm Court, an opulently decorated cream-colored Louis XVI setting for the world-famous institution that is " Tea at the Ritz ", ( though, strictly speaking, Tea at the Savoy is the original version ) once frequented by King Edward VII, Charlie Chaplin, Sir Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Noël Coward, Judy Garland, Evelyn Waugh and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

" Without missing a beat, Coward answered in a deadpan manner, " Talent ", which sent Cavett and the audience into convulsions of laughter.

The film We Are the Strange uses " Beware, I live ", " I hunger ", " Run Coward " and Sinistar's roar.

After " Lucille ", Rogers had a string of songs that did well on both the country and pop charts around the world, including " Daytime Friends ", " The Gambler " and " Coward of the County ", all of which were produced by Larry Butler.

In December 2011, for their annual birthday celebration to " The Master ", The Noel Coward Society invited Ebersole as the guest celebrity to lay flowers in front of Coward's statue at New York's Gershwin Theatre, thereby commemorating the 112th birthday of Sir Noel.

Noël Coward saw Stephenson, colloquially known as " Little Bill ", at the end of July 1940 when on a world entertainment and propaganda tour.

*" Nina ", song by Noël Coward

In May 2007, Caine released Leading Ladies, a collection of songs paying tribute to past " Leading Ladies of the British Musical Theatre Stage ", from Gertrude Lawrence to Julie Andrews, with her collaborator and vocal coach Gerald Martin Moore on piano and vocals, playing a selection of their leading men, including Noël Coward.