This Is Your Life: Evelyn Laye 1

Evelyn (Boo) LAYE (1900-1996)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Evelyn Laye, actress and singer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre, having been invited, along with several other showbusiness personalities, to help celebrate the start of a new series of the programme.

Evelyn, known as Boo, was born into a theatrical family in London and made her professional debut aged fifteen in the melodrama Mr Wu. She established herself in musical comedy with leading roles in the stage musicals The Shop Girl, Lilac Time and Blue Eyes. By the late 1920s, she was the highest-paid star in London, appearing in Noel Coward's hugely successful operetta Bitter Sweet.

In the 1930s, she divided her time between the West End and Broadway and starred in American and British films. She was among the first stars to entertain the troops during the Second World War. When musical comedy fell out of fashion, she appeared in non-musical plays before successfully returning to the musical stage in Wedding in Paris in 1954.

Evelyn Laye was a subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions - surprised again by Michael Aspel in December 1990 at the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon.

programme details...

Edition No: 99
Subject No: 99
Broadcast live: Mon 31 Aug 1959
Broadcast time: 7.45-8.15pm
Venue: BBC Television Theatre
Series: 5
Edition: 1

on the guest list...

Anton Dolin
Frank Royde
Haidee Gunn
Mrs H Hurst
Frank Lawton - husband
Col T B W Sandall
Henry Sherek
Charles Hickman
Lawrence Read
Gloria Swanson
Sandy Powell

production team...

Researcher: Liam Nolan
Writer: Liam Nolan
Director: T Leslie Jackson
Producer: T Leslie Jackson

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Evelyn Laye

second tribute

Life is a Cabaret

a musical theatre chorus line

Life Second Time Around

surprised again!

The Big Red Book

the programme's icon

Anton Dolin

Sandy Powell

Photographs of Evelyn Laye This Is Your Life

Ruby Miller recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in her book, Champagne from my Slipper...

Such programmes are stimulating and very satisfying, as was The Evelyn Laye Story, compiled by Roy Plomley. Ellaline Terriss and Oliver Messel were among those who took part, Frank Lawton narrated, and Harry Rabinowitz conducted the orchestra.

Until she was called to say a few words at the finale, Evelyn had no idea that her story was to be broadcast. Frank had had a difficult job telling her white lies in order to leave the house early every morning for the recordings at the Aeolian Hall.

His relief can be imagined when the truth was allowed out; but he had to go through it all over again when Boo was made the subject of This Is Your Life. All her friends were sworn to secrecy, and poor Hurstie had a terrible time, knowing that she too was going to appear and shaking at the very thought of being interviewed by Eamonn Andrews. Nevertheless when it was all over, Boo asserted that Hurstie had stolen the show.

Series 5 subjects