Leon Errol (born Leonce Errol Sims, July 3, 1881 â€" October 12, 1951)
was an Australian comedian and actor in the United States, popular in
the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville,
on Broadway, and in films.Born in Sydney to Joseph and Elizabeth Sims,
Errol studied medicine at the University of Sydney. When he wrote
material for, directed, and acted in the university's annual play, his
interests changed to entertaining.Errol toured Australia, New Zealand
and Great Britain and Ireland in a variety of theatrical settings,
including circuses, operettas, and Shakespeare. According to his
petition for naturalization (1914), he first came to the United States
in 1898, having arrived at the Port of San Francisco. By 1905, in
Portland, Oregon, he managed a touring vaudeville company troupe,
giving an early boost to the career of a young comedian named Roscoe
Arbuckle.[unreliable source?] In 1908, he made the United States his
home.By 1911 Errol had graduated to the New York big time in the 1911
Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway, notably in two skits with the legendary
Bert Williams. Errol's sister, Leda Errol (née Sims) was a personal
friend of Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice, and she appeared with him
in the Ziegfeld Follies doing one- and two-act plays. He appeared
every year in the Follies through 1915, when he is also credited as
director of the show that included W.C. Fields, Ed Wynn, as well as
Marion Davies as one of the Ziegfeld Girls.
was an Australian comedian and actor in the United States, popular in
the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville,
on Broadway, and in films.Born in Sydney to Joseph and Elizabeth Sims,
Errol studied medicine at the University of Sydney. When he wrote
material for, directed, and acted in the university's annual play, his
interests changed to entertaining.Errol toured Australia, New Zealand
and Great Britain and Ireland in a variety of theatrical settings,
including circuses, operettas, and Shakespeare. According to his
petition for naturalization (1914), he first came to the United States
in 1898, having arrived at the Port of San Francisco. By 1905, in
Portland, Oregon, he managed a touring vaudeville company troupe,
giving an early boost to the career of a young comedian named Roscoe
Arbuckle.[unreliable source?] In 1908, he made the United States his
home.By 1911 Errol had graduated to the New York big time in the 1911
Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway, notably in two skits with the legendary
Bert Williams. Errol's sister, Leda Errol (née Sims) was a personal
friend of Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice, and she appeared with him
in the Ziegfeld Follies doing one- and two-act plays. He appeared
every year in the Follies through 1915, when he is also credited as
director of the show that included W.C. Fields, Ed Wynn, as well as
Marion Davies as one of the Ziegfeld Girls.
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