George Black (20 April 1890 – 4 March 1945)[1] was a British theatrical impresario who controlled many entertainment venues during the 1930s and 1940s and was a pioneer of the motion picture business.
When Black arrived as managing director of the London Palladium he'd previously owned a string of thirteen cinema theatres, which he'd sold for £300,000.
On 3 September 1928, he re-opened the theatre with a superb variety bill that included Gracie Fields, Dick Henderson, Billy Bennett and Ivor Novello and a full supporting cast.
Ticket sales skyrocketed and Argyll Street outside the Palladium's entrance became congested with a mass of unlucky patrons who'd been turned away at the box office.
[7] Black even looked abroad for acts, bringing many of the top American stars to the UK to perform at the Palladium including Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, Adelaide Hall, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller,[8] Vic Oliver and Ethel Waters.
In 1937, Black brought Josephine Baker over to the UK direct from the Folies-Bergere in Paris to headline a British tour on the Moss Empires circuit, which culminated on 27 June 1938 with her appearance at the London Palladium, her first engagement there.
After a gap of one year, on 22 May 1930, Black presented the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium, again in the presence of King George V and Queen Mary.
It was under Black's watchful eye that this format was developed into the act that became known collectively as the Crazy Gang consisting of Nervo and Knox, Naughton and Gold and Flanagan and Allen.
A contemporary critic noted, "whereas Ivor Novello has put Drury Lane back on the map by altering the standard of production there to a point far removed from the theatre's traditions, George Black has achieved the same results at the Palladium by a different process.
"[18] In 1938 Black co-wrote and staged another Crazy Gang show These Foolish Things, which also featured the Sherman Fisher Girls.
[19] In August 1940, Black's musical revue Apple Sauce opened at the Holborn Empire starring Max Miller and Vera Lynn.
I had my turn too: one night in the middle of singing ‘Rhumboogie’ a bomb fell so near to the theatre that all the stalls heavy double-plated doors burst open and the whole auditorium shook.
On Sunday morning I had a telephone call from Charles Henry, George Black's second in command, to inform me that the show was closing and that all theatres would be shut down until further notice.
[22] On 7 July 1944, Black's forthcoming production Happy and Glorious, set to open at the London Palladium starring Tommy Trinder, Zoe Gail and Elisabeth Welch, was previewed at the Proms as part of Sir Henry Wood's Jubilee Season of Promenade Concerts and broadcast over the radio on the BBC Home Service.
In May 1906, Black Sr. opened the Monkwearmouth Picture Hall in Bonnersfield, Sunderland, in a building that had formerly been St Stephen's Presbyterian Chapel.
George Black claimed that he and his father experimented with the idea of 'talkies' before 'talkies' arrived: 'We collected a couple of old women and old men who saw the film through once, chose what parts they wanted to play, stood behind the screen on the first night of its performance and made up the dialogue as they went along.
'[26] When George Black (b.1891) broke his ties with the local entertainment scene by moving to London in 1928, his brothers Alfred and Edward continued with the family business and opened their most luxurious cinema, the Regal in 1932.
[29][30] Acknowledging the service he'd given to the entertainment industry, on 12 April 1945, the BBC aired the radio programme George Black Memories.
George Jr. and Alfred were keen to muscle in on this new medium and decided to produce a new series together based upon their father's wartime show Strike A New Note and stated in their press handout, ‘to discover the new and unknown stars of Independent Television’.
George Jr. and Alfred also produced several West End musicals together including the 1954 production Wedding in Paris at the London Hippodrome.
[36] During the Second World War, Captain George Black Jr. along with Colonel Basil Brown and Major Bill Alexander formed the organisation Stars in Battledress (SIB) that entertained the troops.
Alfred Black married the actress and leading West End musical star Roma Beaumont (b.
[37] Roma starred in several hit musicals including The Dancing Years,[38] Perchance to Dream[39] and in Cinderella at the London Palladium in 1948.
[43][44] In January 1959, George Jr. and Alfred (with the film producer Sidney Box) founded the independent TV Station Tyne Tees Television that served North East England.
During this episode, George's son Alfred states: "The London Palladium was a dead duck, they'd tried everything there – circuses, films, plays.