Adorable Story #122: Noël Coward
Wit, Warmth, and a Touch of Glamour
“I have a memory like an elephant. In fact, elephants often consult me.”
— Noël Coward
Noël Coward started as a talented London child performer to become one of the most influential figures in 20th-century theatre and entertainment.
Table of Contents: Early Life and Family / Education and Early Spark / The Blossoming of a Theatrical Legend / Success / WWII Service / Authobiography / Jamaica / Renewed Popularity / Dad's Renaissance /
If you aren’t subscribed yet, hit the subscribe button below to receive the Adorable Stories every weekend, directly in your inbox:
Early Life and Family
Noël Peirce Coward was born on December 16th, 1899 in Teddington, Middlesex, England. He was the second son of Arthur Sabin Coward, a piano salesman, and Violet Agnes Coward (née Veitch).
Noël’s older brother, Russell Coward, passed away in 1912 at the age of 21.
The family wasn’t wealthy, and money was often tight but Violet was an ambitious mother and recognized Noël’s talents early and encouraged his theatrical ambitions.
Education and Early Spark
Noël Coward attended the Chapel Royal Choir School in London for a brief period, but his formal education ended early. He began performing on stage as a child, making his professional debut at the age of 11 in the children’s play The Goldfish (1911).
In Present Indicative, his first volume of memoirs, Coward wrote:
“One day ... a little advertisement appeared in the Daily Mirror.... It stated that a talented boy of attractive appearance was required by a Miss Lila Field to appear in her production of an all-children fairy play: The Goldfish. This seemed to dispose of all argument. I was a talented boy, God knows, and, when washed and smarmed down a bit, passably attractive. There appeared to be no earthly reason why Miss Lila Field shouldn’t jump at me, and we both believed that she would be a fool indeed to miss such a magnificent opportunity.”
By his teens, he was acting full-time, meeting people who would become lifelong friends and collaborators like Gertrude Lawrence (who would end up becoming a major British stage star in her own right).
In 1914, when Coward was fourteen, he became the protégé (and probably the lover) of Philip Streatfeild, a society painter.
Streatfeild introduced him to Mrs Astley Cooper and her high society friends. Streatfeild died from tuberculosis in 1915, but Mrs Astley Cooper continued to encourage her late friend’s protégé, who remained a frequent guest at her estate, Hambleton Hall in Rutland.
In 1918, towards the end of WWI, Coward was conscripted into the Artists Rifles but was assessed as unfit for active service because of a tubercular tendency, and he was discharged on health grounds after nine months.
The Blossoming of a Theatrical Legend
“I am determined to travel through life first class.”
— Noël Coward
In 1920, at the age of 20, Coward starred in his own play, the light comedy I'll Leave It to You. After a three-week run in Manchester it opened in London at the New Theatre, his first full-length play in the West End.
The Times theatre critic response was enthusiastic:
“It is a remarkable piece of work from so young a head — spontaneous, light, and always ‘brainy’.”
Coward’s first real taste of success came just a with the play The Vortex in 1924, which he wrote, directed, and starred in.
The Vortex marked a turning point in Noel Coward career and in British theatre. Coward wrote, directed, and starred in the production, which shocked and captivated audiences with its candid portrayal of drug addiction, sexual vanity, and the moral chaos of the postwar upper class.
The story centers on Nicky Lancaster, a young pianist battling addiction, and his fraught relationship with his glamorous, self-absorbed mother, Florence.
The play’s themes — then considered scandalous — sparked controversy but also critical acclaim, cementing Coward’s reputation as a daring and innovative playwright. The Vortex was a commercial success in London and later in New York, establishing Coward as the new voice of modern theatre.
Success
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, he became famous for his wit, style, and productivity, churning out hit after hit:
Hay Fever (1925)
Private Lives (1930)
Design for Living (1932)
Blithe Spirit (1941)
Present Laughter (1942)
Coward didn’t stop at writing. He directed, acted, and composed songs for many of his own works. His songs, like “Mad About the Boy,” “I’ll See You Again,” and “Mad Dogs and Englishmen,” became classics in the UK and abroad.
WWII Service
During World War II, Coward worked for British intelligence running the British propaganda office in Paris.
Noël Coward donated generously to war charities and used his fame to raise funds for the Red Cross and other organizations. His film In Which We Serve (1942), which he co-directed and starred in, paid tribute to the Royal Navy and won a special Academy Award for outstanding production in 1943.
Winston Churchill is famously reported to have called Noël Coward “the greatest morale-boosting artist of the war,” with reference to his tireless work entertaining British troops and civilians during World War II, as well as his efforts in making propaganda films and raising funds for the war effort.
Later Years
In the post-war years, Coward’s style, once the epitome of modernity, came to seem old-fashioned and somewhat passé.
Nevertheless, his cabaret act, perfected during his wartime tours entertaining the troops, was a supreme success, first in London at the Café de Paris, and later in Las Vegas.
The theatre critic Kenneth Tynan wrote:
To see him whole, public and private personalities conjoined, you must see him in cabaret ... he padded down the celebrated stairs ... halted before the microphone on black-suede-clad feet, and, upraising both hands in a gesture of benediction, set about demonstrating how these things should be done. Baring his teeth as if unveiling some grotesque monument, and cooing like a baritone dove, he gave us “I’ll See You Again” and the other bat’s-wing melodies of his youth. Nothing he does on these occasions sounds strained or arid; his tanned, leathery face is still an enthusiast’s.... If it is possible to romp fastidiously, that is what Coward does. He owes little to earlier wits, such as Wilde or Labouchere. Their best things need to be delivered slowly, even lazily. Coward’s emerge with the staccato, blind impulsiveness of a machine-gun.
He remained a beloved figure in entertainment, moving seamlessly between theatre, film, and music. He was a frequent guest on radio and television, and his name became synonymous with sophisticated, urbane wit.
Authobiography
Noël Coward published a three-volume autobiography:
Present Indicative (1937)
Future Indefinite (1954)
Past Conditional (unfinished at his death; posthumously published)
He also published short stories, poems, and essays. His diaries, published after his death, revealed a sharp eye for detail and a keen sense of humor.
Jamaica
Noël Coward first visited Jamaica in 1944 while on a wartime entertainment tour of the Caribbean.
He quickly fell in love with the island’s climate, relaxed atmosphere, and vibrant scenery. Seeking a retreat from the pressures of London and New York, he purchased land above Blue Harbour (on the north coast near Port Maria) and built a house he named “Blue Harbour” in 1948.
Later, in 1956, Coward acquired a nearby hilltop property, which he named Firefly. This became his main Jamaican residence and a favored sanctuary for the rest of his life.
Coward was drawn to Jamaica for its tranquility, privacy, and inspiration, often hosting famous friends such as Winston Churchill, Ian Fleming, Errol Flynn, Marlene Dietrich, Sean Connery, Alec Guinness, Katherine Hepburn, Patricia Neil, and the Queen Mother.
Jamaica provided him with an escape from public scrutiny and a place to relax and create, especially during the later years of his career.
Noël Coward spent increasing amounts of time in Jamaica from the late 1940s onward, dividing his life between the island and other homes in Les Avants, a picturesque village north of Montreux, in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland, and in Kent, England.
Around the mid 1950s, Coward left the UK for tax reasons, receiving harsh criticism in the press.
Renewed Popularity
Coward won new popularity in several notable films later in his career, such as Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Our Man in Havana (1959), Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), Boom! (1968) and The Italian Job (1969).
In the 1950s, Coward declined several notable stage and film roles offers.
He was invited to write a musical adaptation of Pygmalion—two years before My Fair Lady was created—and was offered the parts of the king in the original stage production of The King and I, as well as Colonel Nicholson in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai.
When asked to play the title character in the 1962 film Dr. No, Coward famously replied:
“No, no, no, a thousand times, no.”
That same year, he also refused the role of Humbert Humbert in Lolita, joking that:
“At my time of life the film story would be logical if the 12-year-old heroine was a sweet little old lady.”
Flamboyant Lifestyle
“Coward’s greatest single gift has not been writing or composing, not acting or directing, but projecting a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise.”
— Time Magazine
Noël Coward was renowned for his flamboyant lifestyle, which became as legendary as his artistic achievements.
He cultivated an image of sophistication and wit, often seen in tailored suits with a cigarette holder in hand and a sharp, knowing smile. Coward surrounded himself with prominent artists, actors, and socialites, hosting lavish parties at his stylish homes in England, Jamaica, and Switzerland.
Unapologetically himself, he embraced elegance and theatricality both on and off the stage, defying social conventions of his time.
Dad's Renaissance
During the mid-1960s and early 1970s, there was a renewed interest in Coward’s work, with successful revivals of his plays from the 1920s and 1930s and new musical revues such as Oh, Coward! on Broadway and Cowardy Custard in London.
This resurgence, which Coward humorously called “Dad’s Renaissance,” helped restore his popularity and critical acclaim.
It began with a popular 1963 revival of Private Lives in both London and New York. When invited to direct Hay Fever starring Edith Evans at the National Theatre, Coward expressed his delight, writing in 1964 that he was “thrilled and flattered and frankly a little flabbergasted” that the National Theatre had the insight to choose one of his early plays and assemble a cast talented enough “to read the Albanian telephone directory.”
Throughout his life, Coward wrote more than 65 plays and musicals (not all produced or published) and appeared in approximately 70 stage productions. More than 20 films were made from his plays and musicals, either by him or other screenwriters, and he acted in 17 films.
Noël Coward was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1970, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to British theatre and the arts.
Noël Coward died of heart failure at Firefly Estate, Jamaica, on March 26th, 1973. He was 73. He is buried at Firefly, overlooking the sea, a place he called “the only sensible thing I ever did in my life.”
The former Albery Theatre (originally the New Theatre) in London was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in his honour in 2006.
—Alberto @ Adorable Times
Do you know anyone who would love to read this Adorable Story? Show your support by sharing Adorable Times’ Newsletter and earn rewards for your referrals.