Johnny Danvers (December 1860 â€" 1 April 1939) was an actor and
comedian and music hall performer who made a number of appearances in
the annual pantomime at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the late 19th
and early 20th-centuries, usually with his nephew Dan Leno.He was born
in Sheffield in Yorkshire as John Danvers Harold, the son of Elizabeh
Ann née Calow (1848-1894) and Charles Dutton Harold (1843-c1880). He
moved to Glasgow as a boy and by 1881 he was back in Sheffield where
he was a "silver plater".In 1865 Dan Leno and his brother Henry formed
a clog dancing double act known as "The Great Little Lenos". Although
initially successful, the brothers experienced many bouts of
unemployment and often busked outside London pubs to make a living.
Tired of surviving on little or no money, Henry took up a trade in
London and was replaced intermittently in the act by the boys' uncle,
Johnny Danvers, who was a few weeks older than Leno. Leno and Danvers
had been close from an early age.In the 1885 pantomime at the Surrey
Theatre in London Danvers played Silly Billy in Robinson Crusoe, while
during 1886 he and Leno toured the music halls of northern England in
a sketch called The Wicklow Wedding or, the Leprechaun's Revels
written by Leno's stepfather for which Danvers and Leno helped paint
the scenery while Leno helped his mother make the costumes. Danvers
moved to London in 1884 where he quickly became prominent in minstrel
shows, appearing in blackface with the Mohawk Minstrels, who sat in a
half-circle exchanging jokes and with whom he performed the popular
hits 'Mc.Fadden Learning to Waltz', 'I've Got the Ooperzootic' and
'Hist! Here Comes the Bogeyman. He rose through the ranks of the
troupe and became 'Mr. Tambo', who shared the comedy with the 'Mr.
Interlocuter' of Harry Hunter and the 'Mr. Bones' of Johnny Schofield.
He later appeared with the more famous Moore & Burgess's Minstrels.
Other songs Danvers popularised included 'I Had No Luck That Day' and
'I Know A Gal Dat Lubs A Coon' (1904).
comedian and music hall performer who made a number of appearances in
the annual pantomime at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the late 19th
and early 20th-centuries, usually with his nephew Dan Leno.He was born
in Sheffield in Yorkshire as John Danvers Harold, the son of Elizabeh
Ann née Calow (1848-1894) and Charles Dutton Harold (1843-c1880). He
moved to Glasgow as a boy and by 1881 he was back in Sheffield where
he was a "silver plater".In 1865 Dan Leno and his brother Henry formed
a clog dancing double act known as "The Great Little Lenos". Although
initially successful, the brothers experienced many bouts of
unemployment and often busked outside London pubs to make a living.
Tired of surviving on little or no money, Henry took up a trade in
London and was replaced intermittently in the act by the boys' uncle,
Johnny Danvers, who was a few weeks older than Leno. Leno and Danvers
had been close from an early age.In the 1885 pantomime at the Surrey
Theatre in London Danvers played Silly Billy in Robinson Crusoe, while
during 1886 he and Leno toured the music halls of northern England in
a sketch called The Wicklow Wedding or, the Leprechaun's Revels
written by Leno's stepfather for which Danvers and Leno helped paint
the scenery while Leno helped his mother make the costumes. Danvers
moved to London in 1884 where he quickly became prominent in minstrel
shows, appearing in blackface with the Mohawk Minstrels, who sat in a
half-circle exchanging jokes and with whom he performed the popular
hits 'Mc.Fadden Learning to Waltz', 'I've Got the Ooperzootic' and
'Hist! Here Comes the Bogeyman. He rose through the ranks of the
troupe and became 'Mr. Tambo', who shared the comedy with the 'Mr.
Interlocuter' of Harry Hunter and the 'Mr. Bones' of Johnny Schofield.
He later appeared with the more famous Moore & Burgess's Minstrels.
Other songs Danvers popularised included 'I Had No Luck That Day' and
'I Know A Gal Dat Lubs A Coon' (1904).
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