George Graves (actor)

[2] His comic portrayals did much to ensure the West End success of Véronique (1904) The Little Michus (1905; for which he invented the Gazeka), and The Merry Widow (1907).

He then toured to Russia and South Africa in the early years of the 20th century in performances of Kitty Grey, A Runaway Girl, The Geisha, and Florodora.

[3] Graves's first success on the London stage was as General Marchmont in The School Girl in 1903,[2] followed the next year by MacSherry in Madame Sherry[4] and Coquenard in Messager's Véronique (1904).

[2][6] In 1905 Graves was chosen to play the General in the British premiere of Messager's The Little Michus, but he became ill and had to join the cast later in the run.

[7] He habitually improvised comic dialogue during rehearsals and for this piece he invented a mythical creature called "the Gazeka" which caught the fancy of the London public.

[8] After appearing in a revival of The Geisha (1906), in which his style was criticised as being too broad,[9] he was again prevented by illness from taking the comic lead in a new show; in The Merveilleuses (1906) he was replaced by W. H.

[10] His greatest success for Edwardes was in the British premiere of The Merry Widow (1907), in which he played Baron Popoff, a role that he would repeat many times during his career.

[26] His first new musical comedy of the 1920s was in 1926, when Robert Courtneidge directed Lehár's The Blue Mazurka on tour and then at Daly's, with Gladys Moncrieff and Bertram Wallis.

[30] In the 1930s, Graves acted in films, including Those Were the Days, a 1934 version of Pinero's The Magistrate with Will Hay and Lily Morris,[31] and Heart's Desire (1935) starring Richard Tauber.

[32] After appearing in two revivals of operettas (Lilac Time in 1936 and The Vagabond King in 1937), Graves made the last great success of his career as Sir John in Me and My Girl (1937).