John Le Hay was the stage name ofJohn Mackway Healy (25 March 1854 – 2 November 1926), an English singer and actor known for his portrayal of the comicbaritone roles in theSavoy Operas. He also appeared in non-musical plays, adaptations of French comic operas and opérettes, and inEdwardian musical comedy, usually in comic roles, though sometimes in more serious character parts. As a skilledventriloquist he appeared before royalty, and periodically he presented his own one-man entertainment during his half-century long stage career.
Le Hay was born inBethnal Green, London, although later he would say that he had been born in Ireland.[1] His parents were John Healy (1820–1901) and his wife Sophia Elizabeth Mackway (1823– 1886), both Londoners. He had a younger brother, Joseph (1858–1931). His father worked as a manager in a pawnshop, where Le Hay began his working life.[1]
As a young actor he made his first stage appearance at the King's Cross Theatre in London[2] and then travelled with a minstrel troupe, where he developed his gift forventriloquism.[3] He was engaged in 1879 at theRoyalty Theatre, London, where he worked as an understudy and appeared in the chorus of a revival ofStephenson andSullivan'sThe Zoo.[4] Later that year he joined theD'Oyly Carte Opera Company, serving in the chorus on tour. In July 1879, he survived a boating accident on theRiver Avon atBathampton in which two other members of the touring company drowned.[5] He appeared in the single copyright performance ofThe Pirates of Penzance inPaignton on 30 December 1879, as James, a role that was included in the libretto only for that performance.[6] During 1880 and 1881, he continued in the chorus and also appeared as Mr. Liverby inIn the Sulks, and Benjamin Walker inFour by Honours,curtain-raisers that accompaniedH.M.S. Pinafore.[3]
Le Hay married Marian Lowry (1854–1940), also a member of the D'Oyly Carte company, who performed under the stage name of Marian May for about a decade. The couple had three daughters and a son; two of these, Norah Sophia (1884–1970) and Millicent Marian Rylance (1888–1966), became actresses.[1] From 1881 to 1883, Le Hay served as the principal comedian with a D'Oyly Carte touring company, playing J. W. Wells inThe Sorcerer, Sir Joseph Porter inH.M.S. Pinafore, and Major General Stanley inPirates.[7] He also appeared briefly in the tenor role of Ralph Rackstraw inPinafore[7] and filled in as Frederic inPirates on one occasion.[3]The Western Mail praised his performance inH.M.S. Pinafore:
Mr John Le Hay's Sir Joseph Porter is a most happy piece of acting. The "First Lord of the Admiralty" … is presented in all his pomposity and officialdom, without the character being rendered either too outrageously absurd or violently ludicrous. Mr Le Hay is so natural that one feels inclined to believe that he is really saturated with official snobbishness and upstart arrogance; while his singing is capital, and his clear enunciation especially commendable.[8]
Le Hay left the D'Oyly Carte company in 1884; he toured as Dick inVice-Versa and Coombes in theVictorian burlesqueSilver Guilt.[4][9] and played inpantomime, in low comedies with Cooper Cole's Strand Company,[3] and, for a year, was a member of the company headed byEdward Terry at theGaiety Theatre in London.[4] In 1886 he created the part of Tom Strutt inAlfred Cellier's comic operaDorothy, and played it throughout its run of 931 performances, which ended on 6 April 1889.[4] A fortnight later he created the role of Crook in Cellier's next opera,Doris.[4] Over the following years, among other roles,[2] he created or played leading roles in various otherWest End musicals and operettas: Private Smith inThe Red Hussar (1889)[4] Jacob inThe Black Rover (1890),[10] a revival of the comic operaLes cloches de Corneville alongsideLeonora Braham (1890),[11] and Prince Bulbo inAugustus Harris's production of a musical adaptation ofThe Rose and the Ring (1890–1891).[12]
In 1891 Le Hay played Sir Guy of Gisborne inMaid Marian byHarry B. Smith andReginald De Koven,[4] after which he rejoined D'Oyly Carte for a year. Initially he was a member of a touring company, playing Punka, Rajah of Chutneypore, inThe Nautch Girl.[13] In NovemberRichard D'Oyly Carte brought him to London to play Master Guillot in the British premiere ofMessager'sThe Basoche at theRoyal English Opera House;[14]The Era judged it his best performance to date.[15] WhenThe Basoche closed in early 1892 Le Hay rejoined theNautch Girl company, playing Punka for the remainder of the tour.[16]
Later in 1892 Le Hay played Sacrovir inThe Wedding Eve, an adaptation of an opérette byFrédéric Toulmouche, withDecima Moore as its leading lady,[17] after which he recreated his original role of Tom Strutt in a revival ofDorothy.[18] In 1893 he was inThe Black Domino, a melodrama starringMrs. Patrick Campbell, in which Le Hay played a character role, andArthur Williams provided the principal comic relief.[19] The piece was preceded by a curtain-raiser, billed as an "Entertainment", given by Le Hay.[20] He rejoined D'Oyly Carte for the last time in late 1893, creating the part of Phantis inUtopia, Limited at theSavoy Theatre, and playing it until the end of the run in June 1894.[21]
Later in 1894 Le Hay appeared withLillian Russell inThe Queen of Brilliants, and then as Mats Munck inGilbert andCarr's comic operaHis Excellency.[4] He later played the same part in New York, with aGeorge Edwardes touring company.[4] In 1896, he played Alexander McGregor in themusical comedyMy Girl, an Edwardes production written byJames T. Tanner, Carr andAdrian Ross, in a West End cast that also includedEllaline Terriss,Willie Warde andConnie Ediss.[22][23] In September 1897 Le Hay starred withFlorence St. John in a new production ofOffenbach'sLa Périchole at theGarrick Theatre.[4] Both performers received excellent notices:The Era described her performance as "a complete triumph", and his as "inimitable";[24] the critic inThe Pall Mall Gazette wrote, "Mr John Le Hay as the Viceroy was simply admirable. Not only have we not seen this part better rendered, but we can hardly imagine it so. … pure comedy".[25]
Le Hay appeared in New York as Hassan inHood and Sullivan'sThe Rose of Persia (1900, oppositeRuth Vincent as the Sultana),[26] and as Coquenard in the American premiere of Messager'sVéronique (1905).[27] He toured America three times and South Africa once.[4] His talents as a ventriloquist were in demand, and he appeared in that capacity on several occasions beforeKing Edward VII atBuckingham Palace andSandringham.[4] From time to time Le Hay appeared solo or with his own small company in sketches atmusic halls.[4] One of his later theatrical parts was inThomas Hardy'sTess of the d'Urbervilles in 1925, withGwen Ffrangcon-Davies in the title role.[28] The reviewer inPunch wrote, "Mr John Le Hay gave us a superb little study of an old countryman which richly deserved the enthusiastic applause that rewarded it".[29]
On 1 November 1926 Le Hay was struck by a car on his way home from theLyceum Theatre in London, where he had been appearing as Florent, the butler, inThe Padre. He died the next day at the age of 77.[30] He was survived by his wife, Marian May, a former D'Oyly Carte performer.[3]