Born here, at 131 Waldegrave Road, Teddington in 1899, the plaque omits to mention Noel Coward only lived at this address until he was nine, when his family moved to Battersea in 1908.
A year or so before the Coward family relocated, another subject of these "Little Histories" named Edward Whymper moved in to a house across the road at No. 82 in 1907, aged about 67, for what were to be the last four years of his life. (See Post 60 on June 3rd for more).
As a child Coward attended a dance academy in London, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven, appearing professionally as an actor from the age of 12.
Can't leave without offering a couple of quotes from Coward:
“I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.”
“Never trust a man with short legs - his brain’s too near his bottom.”
It still makes me smile, but short legs don’t make any difference to the distance between your brain and your bum. What does is your neck and torso.
Comments