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| ....... |
| Brian
Blades Jean
Sargeant, Friday October 10,
2003, The Guardian
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When
the dancer and actor Brian
Blades, who has died aged 84, won
the all-England stage dancing
championship as a 14-year-old, he
beat into second place a Miss
Peggy Hookham, better known later
as Dame Margot Fonteyn. He had
taken dancing and drama lessons
from an early age at the studio
school of dance and dramatic art
in Liverpool, initially because
dancing was considered good
exercise for a delicate child.
Born into a middle-class family
in Prescot, Lancashire, Brian was
educated at Prescot grammar
school. In his first professional
appearance, aged 13, he danced in
The Miracle, starring Diana
Manners (Lady Diana Duff Cooper).
He also took child parts at the
Liverpool Playhouse, at a time
when Michael Redgrave and Rachel
Kempson were in the company. In
London, he appeared in a revival
of The Geisha (Garrick, 1934) and
in André Charlot's 1936 Sleeping
Beauty at the Vaudeville. He also
danced at Glyndebourne and Covent
Garden. When the second world war
broke out, Brian joined the
Northumberland Fusiliers and
served in the north African
desert. His love of acting once
led him to evade an officers'
training course in favour of an
army revue. "You're a
soldier first and an actor
second," his commanding
officer rebuked him. After the
war, he returned to the theatre,
where his versatility meant he
was never short of work, whether
in West End revues such as
Oranges And Lemons (Globe, 1948)
or acting in musicals, including
Noël Coward's Ace of Clubs
(Cambridge, 1950). In 1957, he
joined the cast of The Boy
Friend, playing Percival Browne
for the latter part of the run at
Wyndham's. He also danced in
films choreographed by Agnes de
Mille, Michael Kidd and Jack
Cole, among which were Where's
Charlie (1952) and Gentlemen
Marry Brunettes (1955). His
versatility also meant he became
a choreographer and writer, when
he worked in the 1960s at the
Players Theatre, which
specialised in Victorian music
hall. Then, aged nearly 50, Brian
decided on a complete career
change, and moved to a more
secure job at the Bank of
England, where he worked in the
economic intelligence department
until his retirement in 1984. But
he did not let his theatrical
skills go rusty. He wrote a
musical, Music Hall 1870, for the
1970 Thomas Becket festival in
Canterbury. At the age of 76, he
performed in 50 Years Of The
British Musical, during the 1995
VE-Day commemorations at Hyde
Park. Brian's other commitments
included strong support for the
Labour party. He liked to recall
that in prewar days, the Tory MP
Thelma Cazalet had engaged him to
teach her how to tap-dance; but
when she suggested a duet tap
dance in front of the then prime
minister Neville Chamberlain,
Brian politely declined. He is
survived by his brother and
sister, and two nephews. · |
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| Brian
Blades, actor and dancer, born
July 15 1919; died August 4 2003 |
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