Occupation Actor, writer, Singer Other names Laddie Cliff Role Actor | Name Laddie Cliff Years active 1922–1937 (film) | |
Born 3 September 1891 Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom Died December 8, 1937, London, United Kingdom Spouse Phyllis Monkman (m. ?–1937) Movies Sporting Love, The Co-Optimists, Over She Goes, Happy Similar People Edwin Greenwood, Graham Cutts, Frederic Zelnik, Stanley Holloway | ||
Laddie Cliff (1891–1937) was a British writer, choreographer, dancer, actor, producer and director of comedy and musical theatre and film. He was noted for his versatility. His many London West End theatre appearances and films included a long association with fellow thespian Stanley Lupino. He was married to the actress Phyllis Monkman. He died in 1937 after a period of ill health.
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Life and theatrical credits
Born Clifford Albyn Perry on 3 September 1891 in Bristol, Laddie Cliff first toured in British, Australian, and American variety. His acclaimed "extraordinary dancing" as a bespectacled comic in the London musical Three Little Widows resulted in his being engaged to choreograph André Charlot's The Wild Geese and put him on the road to stardom. He subsequently appeared in the revue Pins and Needles (1921).
As a performer, Cliff was the first to sing "Swanee" on the London stage, in Albert de Courville's London Hippodrome revue Jig-Saw! (1920), and appears on the original sheet music of the song.
Cliff subsequently became a producer and director. As one of the most popular performers on the London stage, his many West End hits included
Laddie Cliff had to leave the cast of Crazy Days (1937) owing to illness and was replaced by Leo Franklyn. He died later that year.