Sir Harry Lauder biography

 

Sir Harry Lauder was a popular Scottish entertainer specializing in skits and songs in Scottish dialect. Clad in knit kilts and equipped with a knotty cane, Lauder merrily performed the classic Scots songs he'd devised, some of which now are as ingrained in Scotland's cultural fabric as though they were folk songs: "She Is Ma Daisy," "I Love a Lassie," "Roamin' in the Gloamin'," and "A Wee Deoch an' Doris" being among the best known. Born in Edinburgh, Lauder's father died when he was 13 and he went to work in a coal mine to help his family make ends meet. In the mines, Lauder sang songs and told jokes, much to the amusement of his fellow miners. Through their encouragement, Lauder entered and won a number of talent shows in the region, and by the time he was 25, Lauder was able to leave the mines for a career in show business. With his London debut at Gatti's Music Hall on March 19, 1900, Lauder was an immediate success. He performed before King Edward VII in 1908 and toured the world repeatedly — Lauder appeared in the United States no less than 25 times between 1909 and 1932. Lauder made an enormous number of recordings beginning in February 1902 and lasting until 1935. When England got involved in World War I, so did Lauder; his one and only son was Captain John Lauder, killed in action on December 28, 1916. Before his son's death, Lauder had worked to interest young Scotsmen in conscripting to the war effort and afterward, Lauder went into the field himself, taking a small piano attached to a military vehicle onto the front lines and performing for the troops. For his achievements in this regard, Lauder was knighted by King George V in 1919. By the end of the 1920s Lauder showed signs of slowing down. Although semi-retired and mostly out of the entertainment business by 1930, Lauder, in his seventies, began to barnstorm once again on the battlefields of World War II. In 1999, Variety named Lauder as one of the top 100 stars of the twentieth century, and in Scotland, Sir Harry Lauder remains a national icon, a "Scotsman's Scot."