Ivor Emmanuel

Ivor Emmanuel
Background information
Birth name	Ivor Lewis Emmanuel
Born	(1927-11-07)7 November 1927 Margam,Port Talbot,Wales
Died	20 July 2007(2007-07-20)(aged 79) Málaga,Spain
Occupation(s)	Singer, actor
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1948–2006
Spouse(s)	Jane Beazleigh ​ ​ (m.1951, divorced)​ Patricia Bredin ​ ​ (m.1964, divorced)​ Malinee Oppenborn ​ (m.1967)​

Ivor Lewis Emmanuel(7 November 1927 – 20 July 2007) was a Welshmusical theatreand television singer and actor. He is probably best remembered, however, for his appearance as "Private Owen" in the 1964 filmZulu,in which his character rallies outnumbered British soldiers by leading them in the stirring Welsh battle hymn "Men of Harlech"to counter the Zulu war chants.

After losing his parents at an early age, Emmanuel began working as a coal miner. He developed a keen interest in music and singing, however, and was drawn to the stage. At the age of 20, he had his first professional theatre job in the musicalOklahoma!.He served as a chorister for theD'Oyly Carte Opera Companyin 1950–1951 but soon went on to play small roles in the West End productions ofSouth Pacific,The King and IandPlain and Fancy.His first leading role was Joe Hardy inDamn Yankees(1957), followed by a tour as Woody Mahoney inFinian's Rainbow.In 1966, he appeared on Broadway inA Time for Singingand then in the West End in110 in the Shade.He continued to play in summer seasons of theatre and in cabaret and variety into the 1980s.

During the late 1950s, he participated in the Welsh language singing television programmeDewch i Mewn,and from 1958 to 1964 was lead singer on theTWWshow,Gwlad y Gan(Land of Song), among other TV shows. In 1960, he performed in the first televised edition of theRoyal Variety Performance.He continued to perform on TV through the 1970s. He also performed in concerts and is heard on cast recordings ofShow Boat,Kiss Me, Kate,The King and IandA Time for Singing.He is also featured on the box set,The Greatest Musicals of the 20th Century,on the 1966 RCA Victrola recording ofThe Pirates of Penzance,and in a solo album,The Best of Ivor Emmanuel.

Life and career

Emmanuel was born inMargam,nearPort Talbot,Wales, and moved to the nearby village ofPontrhydyfenas a young child. He was 14 years old when his father, mother, sister and grandfather were killed by a stray bomb that hit their village duringWorld War II.A 2001 documentary programme about the incident was made byS4C(Sianel Pedwar Cymru).His aunt Flossie took him in (his younger brother John lived with an uncle), and he began working in thecoal minelike his father and grandfather before him.

Emmanuel developed a keen interest in music and singing and was a member of Pontrhydyfen Operatic Society. He used to carry a wind-up gramophone up nearby mountains to listen to recordings ofEnrico Caruso.

Stage career

At the age of 20, Emmanuel unsuccessfully auditioned for TheD'Oyly Carte Opera Company.He took solace by drinking with an old friend,Richard Burton,who was performing inThe Lady's Not for Burningat the time in London, and telling him how desperate he was to break into show business.Two weeks later a telegram arrived from Burton telling him to be at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lanethe following day for an audition. He was cast in the musicalOklahoma!.

Emmanuel was eventually hired by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company as a chorister in March 1950, staying until August 1951 when he married fellow D'Oyly Carte chorister Jane Beazleigh.He was assigned the small role of Associate inTrial by Juryand shared the larger one of Luiz inThe Gondoliers.He and Beazleigh had two children, a girl and a boy.

Emmanuel's masculine looks and ringingbaritonevoice suited him formusicals,and he soon took principal roles in theWest End.At the Drury Lane, he played Sgt. Kenneth Johnson in the hit production ofSouth Pacific(1951–53), then played small roles in two more long-running shows,The King and IandPlain and Fancy.At theLondon Coliseum,he finally got a leading role, playing Joe Hardy inDamn Yankees(1957) and then played Woody Mahoney inFinian's RainbowinLiverpooland on a short tour.In the early 1960s, Emmanuel continued to perform inpantomimeand cabaret. In 1966, he appeared onBroadwayas Mr. Gruffydd, the minister, inA Time for Singing,a musical version ofRichard Llewellyn's novelHow Green Was My Valley,but the show ran for only 41 performances.The following year he played his last West End role in110 in the Shade,at the Palace Theatre.He continued to play in summer seasons of theatre and in cabaret and variety, particularly at holiday resorts, into the 1980s.

Concerts, recordings, broadcast and film

Emmanuel also had a successful career as a popular concert and recording artist and television personality. During the late 1950s, he made his breakthrough into television. He took part in aWelsh languagesinging programme calledDewch i Mewnand from 1958 to 1964 was lead singer on theTWWshow,Gwlad y Gan(Land of Song), acting as an older brother figure for the Pontcanna Children's Choir. The show was broadcast across the UK once a month and regularly attracted an audience of some ten million people, helping to popularize the Welsh language. Emmanuel later performed on, and was an interviewer for, other TWW shows.

In May 1960, Emmanuel performed in the first televised edition of theRoyal Variety Performance.Other performers at that performance includedThe Crazy Gang,Benny Hill,Frankie Howerd,Vera Lynn,Sammy Davis Jr.,Nat King ColeandLiberace.He continued, through the 1970s, to make numerous television appearances.

Emmanuel's record output included the 1959 studio cast recordings ofShow Boat,Kiss Me, KateandThe King and I,and the 1966Broadwayoriginal cast recording ofA Time for Singingas David Griffith (Gruffydd). He is also featured on the five-disc box set,The Greatest Musicals of the 20th Century,where it says of him, "one singer who really stands out on this volume is the Welsh baritone Ivor Emmanuel.... [h]e was of the same era and very much in the fine tradition of the great American musical theatre baritones:Howard Keel,John RaittandGordon Macrae."He was featured as Frederic on the 1966RCA Victrolarecording ofThe Pirates of Penzance,which starredMartyn Green.He also made his own album of 24 songs,The Best of Ivor Emmanuel.

In 1964, Emmanuel appeared as "Private Owen" in the epic filmZulu,which launched the career ofMichael Caine.Emmanuel's character rallies the outnumbered British soldiers on the barricade atRorke's Driftin 1879 by leading the men in the stirring Welsh battle hymnMen of Harlechto counter the Zulu war chants. The same year, he married actressPatricia Bredin,but they had no children, and the marriage ended in divorce less than two years later. He later married Malinee Oppenborn, and the couple had a daughter in 1978.

Retirement and death

Emmanuel retired to a quiet life in Benalmadena, a village nearMálagaon Spain's Costa del Sol, in 1984 with his wife. There he was filmed for an HTV television profile,Its My Life: Man of Song(broadcast on 14 July 1997). In 1991, Emmanuel lost his life's savings of £220,000 in the collapse of theBank of Credit and Commerce International.In 2006, he appeared in a BBC TV documentary with fellow Welsh singerBryn Terfel.Emmanuel died of a stroke in Málaga, aged 79. He was survived by his wife, Malinee, and his three children.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1964	Zulu	Private Owen

External links

• Ivor EmmanuelatIMDb
• Ivor Emmanuel remembered at BBC.co.uk/Wales
• BBC WalesArts profile