Born in Hollinwood near Manchester (not Derbyshire as suggested in some sources), he was the son of a Jewish woman who married a Christian.

In the piece, based on an actual event, Lawson plays the part of a Jew, Silvani, who has an unfaithful gentile wife.

[3] Lawson performed in the United States and Australia, and also recorded part of the sketch, and song, in 1897.

[4] A silent film was made of the sketch in 1913 by Barker Motion Photography, starring Lawson and directed by him with Bert Haldane.

[6] They each petitioned for divorce in 1913, with John claiming Cissie's adultery with the Manager of the Shoreditch Empire, Hector Munro.