Mr. ( George ) Grossmith was in the same plight ".

The rewriting of the song was prompted by a letter from Gilbert, dated 25 January: " I can ’ t help thinking that the second act would be greatly improved if the recitation before Grossmith ’ s song were omitted and the song re-set to an air that would admit of his singing it desperately – almost in a passion, the torrent of which would take him off the stage at the end.

George Grossmith ( 9 December 1847 – 1 March 1912 ) was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer.

Grossmith was also famous in his day for performing his own comic piano sketches and songs, both before and after his Gilbert and Sullivan days, becoming the most popular British solo performer of the 1890s.

250pxGeorge Grossmith was born in Islington, London and grew up in St. Pancras and Hampstead, London.

His mother was Louisa Emmeline Grossmith née Weedon ( d. 1882 ).

As a young man, Grossmith was usually credited as " Jnr " to distinguish him from his father, especially when they performed together, but for most of his career, he was credited simply as " George Grossmith ".

Later, his actor-playwright-theatre manager son was credited as George Grossmith " Jr " rather than " III "; some sources confuse the two men.

His other son, Lawrence Grossmith, was also a successful actor, primarily in America.

His family moved to Haverstock Hill when young Grossmith was 10, and he became a day student.

An 1871 Grossmith sketch was called He was a Careful Man.

Biographer Tony Joseph notes that, except for a few early pieces, nearly all of Grossmith's material was written and composed by Grossmith himself.

" Although Grossmith had reservations about cancelling his touring engagements and going into the " wicked " professional theatre ( a move that might lose him church and other engagements in the future ), and Richard D ' Oyly Carte's backers objected to casting a sketch comedian in the central role of a comic opera, Grossmith was hired.

Grossmith was a hit as the tradesmanlike John Wellington Wells, the title role in The Sorcerer, and became a regular member of Richard D ' Oyly Carte's company.

" The Daily Telegraph wrote of his Jack Point: " Whether giving expression to poor Jack ’ s professional wit, or hiding a sorry heart behind light words ... Mr Grossmith was master of the part he assumed.

Later, however, Grossmith said that the experience of writing with Gilbert was one of the happiest of his life.

In his will, dated 26 October 1908, Grossmith left small bequests to a variety of charities and persons ; 2, 000 pounds, artworks and heirlooms to each of his children ( except that Lawrence did not receive a specific cash bequest ), his son George receiving also " two silver bowls presented to him by Sullivan and Carte the ivory baton with which he conducted the orchestra on the occasion of his said son's first appearance on the stage " in Haste to the Wedding ; and smaller bequests to his children's spouses and his nieces, nephews, grandchildren and some cousins, with the residuary estate shared equally by his children ( although the residuary estate was not large ).

Grossmith was followed, in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic roles, by a number of other popular performers, including Henry Lytton, Martyn Green, Peter Pratt, John Reed, and many others, who each owed a debt to Grossmith as the creator of the roles.

Walter Weedon Grossmith ( 9 June 1854 – 14 June 1919 ), better known as Weedon Grossmith, was an English writer, painter, actor and playwright, best known as co-author of The Diary of a Nobody ( 1892 ) with his famous brother, music hall comedian and Gilbert and Sullivan star, George Grossmith.

* George Grossmith and Weedon Grossmith, actors and writers, lived at 5 Canonbury Place

* The Cabaret Girl ( Music: Jerome Kern, Book and Lyrics: P. G. Wodehouse and George Grossmith, Jr .) London production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 19 and ran for 361 performances

On 11 March 1925, the musical comedy No, No, Nanette opened at the Palace Theatre starring Binnie Hale and George Grossmith, Jr.

In 1873, Grossmith married Emmeline Rosa Noyce ( 1849 – 1905 ), the daughter of a neighbourhood physician, whom he had met years earlier at a children's party.

Young Grossmith received some recognition for amateur songs and sketches at private parties and, beginning in 1864, at " penny readings ".

In late 1870, the younger Grossmith appeared on his own with a nightly spot at the " old Polytechnic " in Regent Street, where comic sketches alternated with scientific and serious lectures for the entertainment of the public.

On 14 February 1872, Grossmith gave a sketch parody of a penny reading at the Gaiety Theatre, London, since on Ash Wednesday, theatres refrained from presenting costumed performances out of respect for the holiday.

Throughout these years, Grossmith continued working at Bow Street during the day.

In 1873, Grossmith and his father began joint tours of humorous recitations and comic sketches at literary institutes and public halls, to church groups and to branches of the YMCA all over England and even in Scotland and Wales.

Through Arthur Cecil, Sullivan, and some of their friends, Grossmith began to be invited to entertain at private " society " parties, which he continued to do throughout his career.

Later, these parties would often occur late in the evening after Grossmith performed at the Savoy Theatre.

Grossmith also took a number of engagements, including recitals at private homes.

By then, Grossmith had become friendly with many in the music and theatre establishments, including Arthur Sullivan and impresario Richard D ' Oyly Carte ; and Grossmith had the opportunity to perform in Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury and other Sullivan works at charity benefits.

Grossmith had appeared in charity performances of Trial by Jury, where both Sullivan and Gilbert had seen him ( indeed, Gilbert had directed one such performance, in which Grossmith played the judge ), and Gilbert had earlier commented favourably on his performance in Tom Robertson's Society at the Gallery of Illustration.

Throughout this period, Grossmith continued to perform his sketches, often late at night after performing at the Savoy, and continued to write new sketches, such as Amateur Theatricals ( 1878 ), A Juvenile Party ( 1879 ), A Musical Nightmare ( 1880 ), and A Little Yachting ( 1886 ).

Grossmith also continued to give his " society " and other entertainments, often late at night after his performance at the Savoy.

Grossmith also wrote, composed, and performed in several one-man drawing room sketches, short comic operas or monologues that were given at the Opera Comique or the Savoy Theatre in place of the companion pieces when shorter matinee programmes were playing.

" Grossmith also performed in charity events, including as Bouncer in Cox and Box in 1879 at the Opera Comique.

Grossmith, who created the role of Bunthorne, based his makeup, wig and costume on Swinburne and especially Whistler, as seen in the adjacent photo.

The younger Grossmith admired the comic pianist and entertainer John Orlando Parry, who created and performed in many of the German Reed Entertainments, and he tried to emulate Parry in developing his own sketches, consisting of humorous anecdotes, mildly satirical comment, ad lib chat, and comic songs centred on the piano.

Human Oddities and another sketch, The Yellow Dwarf, were successful for Grossmith, and he took the former work on tour for six months.

Cecil reminded Sullivan about Grossmith, and Sullivan seized on the idea.

Grossmith left the D ' Oyly Carte company near the end of the original run of The Yeomen of the Guard on 17 August 1889 and resumed his career entertaining at the piano, which he continued to do for more than 15 years afterwards.

Over forty of the songs that Grossmith wrote or performed in his one-man shows have been recorded by baritone Leon Berger ( a British Gilbert & Sullivan singer and Grossmith scholar ), accompanied by Selwyn Tillett ( G & S scholar ) on two CDs: A Society Clown: The Songs of George Grossmith and The Grossmith Legacy.

Grossmith trained as a painter, but was unable to make a living in that capacity and went on the stage largely for financial reasons.

After a shaky start, the production became a huge success ; Grossmith appeared in it for more than 700 performances, in four different West End theatres, and he later calculated that Sebastian Smith as the leading man must have played the part about 1, 000 times in London and on tour.

Grossmith went on to appear in plays by playwrights such as Henry Arthur Jones and Jerome K. Jerome, opposite actors such as Herbert Beerbohm Tree at the Haymarket Theatre and with Mrs. John Wood at the Court Theatre.

Grossmith had appeared in charity performances of Trial by Jury, where both Sullivan and Gilbert had seen him ( indeed, Gilbert had directed one such performance, in which Grossmith played the judge ), and Gilbert had earlier commented favourably on his performance in Tom Robertson's Society at the Gallery of Illustration.

The London production opened in the West End on March 11, 1925 at the Palace Theatre, where it starred Binnie Hale, Joseph Coyne and George Grossmith, Jr. and became a hit, running for 665 performances.

Among his other collaborators in Britain were George Grossmith Jr., with whom he worked on Primrose ( 1924 ), Ian Hay with whom he co-wrote A Song of Sixpence ( 1930 ) and Weston and Lee, who joined him for Give Me a Ring ( 1933 ).

During this period, Carte also presented various companion pieces with the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, including the 1877 revival of Dora's Dream by Arthur Cecil and Alfred Cellier ; The Spectre Knight ( 1878 ); revivals of Trial by Jury ; several pieces by George Grossmith beginning in 1878: Beauties on the Beach, A Silver Wedding, Five Hamlets, and Cups and Saucers ; revivals of Gilbert's After All!