George Grossmith Quotes

George Grossmith was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas, nearly 100 musical sketches, some 600 songs and piano pieces, three books and both serious and comic pieces for newspapers and magazines.

Grossmith created a series of nine characters in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan from 1877 to 1889, including Sir Joseph Porter, in H.M.S. Pinafore , the Major-General in The Pirates of Penzance and Ko-Ko in The Mikado . He also wrote, in collaboration with his brother Weedon, the 1892 comic novel The Diary of a Nobody.

Grossmith was also famous in his day for performing his own comic piano sketches and songs, both before and after his Gilbert and Sullivan days, becoming the most popular British solo performer of the 1890s. Some of his comic songs endure today, including "See Me Dance the Polka". He continued to perform into the first decade of the 20th century. His son, George Grossmith Jr., became an actor, playwright and producer of Edwardian musical comedies. Wikipedia

✵ 9. December 1847 – 1. March 1912

Works

The Diary of a Nobody

George Grossmith

The Diary of a Nobody

George Grossmith

George Grossmith: 3 quotes1 like

Famous George Grossmith Quotes

“You should see me dance the Polka,
You should see me cover the ground,
You should see my coat-tails flying,
As I jump my partner round;
When the band commences playing,
My feet begin to go,
For a rollicking romping Polka
Is the jolliest fun I know.”

George Grossmith

Song You should see me dance the Polka This song was performed and played a roll in the 1941 movie, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in a scene that took place in an English music hall. The movie starred Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, and Lana Turner; directed by Victor Fleming.

“Some people seem quite destitute a sense of humour.”

George Grossmith book The Diary of a Nobody

The Diary of a Nobody

“I left the room with silent dignity, but caught my foot in the mat.”

George Grossmith book The Diary of a Nobody

The Diary of a Nobody (1892), ch. 12
Co-written with his brother Weedon Grossmith.