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Little Tich

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The music hall comedian Little Tich was as well known for his music hall acts as he was for his physical disabilities. He used these "peculiarities" as an enhancement to his act which included his acrobatic and comedic Big-Boot Dance for which he wore twenty-eight inch boots. He created many comic characters including The Spanish Señora, The Gendarme and The Tax Collector, and was a popular performer in the annual Christmas pantomimes at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane from 1888. I have worked on this for the last couple of months, and have FAC in mind. I would be very interested to see what others think of my efforts in trying to explain the complex life of the English music hall's biggest but smallest star. Thanks, CassiantoTalk 08:39, 18 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comment GermanJoe

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- only the lead so far, will try to add sections step by step.

  • Captions (whole article) => please disregard this point, if you like short captions. But in my opinion 2- or 3-word captions are not really captivating and miss a good chance to provide some brief context for the reader.
  • "Born in Cudham, Kent, [Little Tich] ..." => I am not sure about the convention here, should his birth name be used pre-1884?
  • I am worried that this could become confusing. I have adopted the same approach here that I took with Dan Leno (whose birth name was George Galvin), and Marie Lloyd (Matilda Alice Victoria Wood), which was generally agreed at both FACs. There, I consistently use the more notable name of Leno and Lloyd with no problems. -- CassiantoTalk.
  • "The performances were popular and he travelled to London where he appeared at the Foresters Music Hall in 1884." => The implication could be more explicit here. Did he travel to London, "because" his initial performances were so popular?
  • "In the later months of that year ..." => Trim, "Later that year ..." is clear enough
  • "Tichborne" => Is it possible to squeeze in some background about that term's meaning here? (disregard, if too much info for a lead)
  • "...during a tour of America" => North or South? Can you specify the area a bit?
  • "Between 1896 and 1902 Little Tich performed in his own [musical theatre company]" => is the company name of interest here?
  • "Among the songs in which the characterisations featured were ..." => Wordy. "Among the songs with/featuring such characters ..." or similar
  • "[He had a much publicised private life], he married three times and fathered two children." => A bit vague, what aspects were especially publicised (family life, affairs, ...) or was it his whole private life?
  • Contrary to what I said, a lot of his private life initially went unreported, especially his second marriage as nobody had a clue that they were living separate lives. It was only after her death that everybody picked up on the estrangement and then found him a fascinating subject to report on. If OK! were around at that time, then I'm sure he would have been on their front cover every other week! Redundancy now removed. -- CassiantoTalk 16:31, 18 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I am intentionally only reading the lead here at first, that section should stand on its own without the need to consult the main text for summary information. It's mostly fine in that regard, just some minor tweaks needed. GermanJoe (talk) 09:36, 18 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comment (GermanJoe) (more during the weekend):

  • Marriage troubles "and thought that without Little Tich's performance, the film 'would never have attained its degree of intelligence [which] is owed to [Little Tich], the giant of creation.'" => could you provide the original text for this quote please? Maybe Google Books is acting up, but i can't find that quote and removing the [] parts doesn't leave a full sentence. Seems like something is missing in the quotation. GermanJoe (talk) 13:01, 20 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • Removed for now, I'll work on it which may need the sentence before it adjusting. I think the pertinent point here is that Tati liked the film which is covered already by the existing quote. Cheers Joe! -- CassiantoTalk 18:08, 21 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

More Comments (GermanJoe) - did a few minor CEs, but a lot of points have already been covered, a few remaining nitpicks:

  • "The Blacksmith's Arms" => Looking at the image this is the inn's proper name and should have uppercase "The".
  • [Much to his delight was the prospect of] resuming his education, => sounds a bit antiquated, "He looked forward to resuming his education" would be more boring encyclopedic.
  • "The young Tich felt honoured at such a tribute and relished the rapturous applause of his classmates." => should be removed. It's a subjective first-person POV and pretty obvious - which young boy wouldn't feel that?
  • Little Tich [sympathised with them and] agreed to seek full-time employment and ... => should be trimmed (first-person POV) and merged with the next sentence.
  • "(an indication that he had still yet to establish himself in England)" => just checking, is that interpretation covered by the source? (possible OR)
  • Flats of Julia => during their separation she moves "to a neighbouring flat, [bought for her] by her husband", later the article states: "in the flat which Litte Tich [had rented for her]. Is this the same flat, or did she move sometimes in between?
    • He rented it. Sorry, I got confused with this a few weeks back but must have forgot to change this. I think at one stage Tich was renting three or four properties both here and in France but only ever owning one (in Hendon). -- CassiantoTalk 20:38, 22 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "at Caxton Hall, Westminster in a modest and intimate ceremony." => source?
  • Not sure about your preference for references, but ref #139 is missing date of publication and author (both details are provided online; i haven't checked other online sources for missing details).

A note to point 2-4: of course it's OK to add some "emotional" background info for atmosphere and context (that makes such articles fun and interesting to read), but the main focus should be on good old encyclopedic facts. So it's not a matter of removing all of that kind of information, just trimming it a bit to the most relevant and notable pieces. GermanJoe (talk) 14:01, 22 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Images (GermanJoe)

Comments from Tim riley

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Another winner from the Cassianto stable. Less tragic than Marie, Joey and Dan, but still not without a decidedly sad side. Well told and well proportioned. I have some comments on which you may like to ponder, and I may need two or three goes. Here's the first batch:

  • Lead
    • "for which he wore twenty-eight inch boots" – this is driving me mildly insane ("a short journey", I hear you murmur). The uninitiated reader will not know or even necessarily guess that this is 28 inches from heel to toe end, but I'm blest I can think of a pithy way of making it clear. 28 inches long could be from floor to thigh, but 28 inches from heel to toe invites the surmise that Tich's feet were that long. The best I can come up with is, "for which he wore boots with soles twenty-eight inches long", but I hope someone else can suggest something equally precise but more punchy.
    • "due to his diminutive stature" – feel free to ignore this, as I am an old fossil, but I cling to the old BrEng rule that "due to" needs a main verb, and that in this case "due to his diminutive stature" should be "owing to his diminutive stature" or "because of his diminutive stature". ("Due to" used as here is perfectly good AmEng, I believe, but that's not to the present point.)
  • Family background and early life
    • "One of four brothers, Richard Relph…" – does it add anything to know that dad was one of four brothers?
    • "when he was aged 10" – later in the article you use "ten" rather than "10". I recommend the former here, too. On the other hand you may feel that "ten" closely followed by "4 feet 6 inches" looks odd. Over to you to ponder.
    • "growing to 4 feet 6 inches, a height he retained for the remainder of his life" – I wonder if "growing to 4 feet 6 inches – the tallest he ever grew" might have more impact. Just a thought.
    • "Unbeknown to him at the time" – I think I'd be inclined to lose this and start with "These experiences…"
    • "Little Tich relished his local infamy – I wonder about "infamy" (cue Carry on Cleo) and wonder if "celebrity" might be more accurate.
    • "the audiences laughter" – this needs a possessive apostrophe, but whether you mean "audience's" singular or "audiences'" plural I am not sure. The latter, probably, I think.
  • Move to Gravesend and early performances
    • "all the jolly and sentimental pantomime songs of the day" – probably need an inline ref no and citation at this point for a direct quote like this. The same as ref 13 I imagine, but no harm in putting it in here too.

More to come. I'm enjoying this article a lot. – Tim riley (talk) 12:21, 20 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you :) -- CassiantoTalk 17:40, 20 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Round Two from Tim

Short measure this time, but more soonest.

  • Early London engagements
  • American success
    • There are, I think, more mentions of "Little Tich" than necessary. There are several places in this section where a simple "he" would do the job and would ease the flow of the prose. It's more of a problem in this article than with Leno, Lloyd, Holloway et al because you always use both parts of his stage name – he's never just "Tich". I entirely see why you have adopted this rule, but it comes at a price in the flow of the prose.
    • "a rare white Bohemian Shepherd" – blue link notwithstanding I think I might add "dog" after "Shepherd". Guides the reader's eye along smoothly.
    • "£6 a week[n 15] wage" – I'd move the citation to the end of the sentence.

Must away for now. More as soon as I can. Tim riley (talk) 15:58, 21 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Last lot from Tim

That's all from me. Onwards and upwards! Tim riley (talk) 13:57, 25 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you Tim for a sterling review, cheers! -- CassiantoTalk 18:08, 25 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from Sarastro

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Read down to the start of the 1890s section so far, and very few problems. More to come. Sarastro1 (talk) 14:33, 21 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

More comments, down to the end of 1890s. The rest to follow tonight or tomorrow:

  • " The deal would see Little Tich star in two pantomimes and on a wage of £36 a week": I never like "saw" used like this, and I like "would see" even less, but it may just be me.
  • "The production, which also starred Drury Lane regulars Marie Lloyd, Dan Leno and Herbert Campbell,[68] saw Little Tich play both the title role": Another use of "saw".
  • " The Derby Daily Telegraph called the comedian "one of the most amusing pantomime dames of all time".[74] Despite a budget of £30,000,[n 18] the production failed to equal the success of the previous two shows which caused Harris to rethink his cast": It's not entirely clear which performance is being spoken about here, after the aside from the newspaper. Presumably Robinson Crusoe, but worth making it a little clearer.
  • "and became known by the German theatrical press as the first comedian to ever appear in two music halls a night": The grammatical pedant in me does not like to see split infinitives such as "to ever appear", but I know not everyone is bothered by this.
  • "The audience were described as being "very large" whose "bursts of laughter w[ere] frequent and loud",[80] while the critic William Archer dismissed Little Tich as being the "...Quasimodo of the music halls, whose talent lies in a grotesque combination of agility with deformity.": I'm not too sure that "while" is the best choice here as it does not really indicate the contrast between the two reactions enough.
    • I have moved some quotes about so it reads "A reporter for the Edinburgh Evening News thought that Little Tich was "the life and soul of the sketch" whose singing was "fairly good while [his] dancing was smart", while the critic William Archer dismissed Little Tich as being the "...Quasimodo of the music halls, whose talent lies in a grotesque combination of agility with deformity." -- CassiantoTalk 23:51, 22 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "The show enjoyed a healthy provincial tour after opening in Newcastle with one reporter writing that "it ha[d] not very much to recommend it", but thought that Little Tich gave "some excellent fooling" and that it "[was] impossible not to laugh at some of the eccentricities".": Noun plus ing ("with one reporter writing"). Also, the healthy nature of the tour jars slightly with the negative comment of the critic. Sarastro1 (talk) 14:36, 22 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Final comments: To the end now. Looks good overall, as usual.

  • I wonder do we need quite so many quotes from local newspapers saying how splendidly entertaining he was? I think a few could be safely cut.
  • As an aside, what an odd relationship with Julia!
    • Yes it was an odd relationship. Reading the primary source it appears that she was a money grabbing old brass who knew of his affairs, but chose to ignore them as it was better to be Mrs Little Tich than not. He craved companionship and love which she didn't give him but similarly thought that it was better to be in a relationship than not. -- CassiantoTalk 23:46, 23 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "The couple never publicly announced the separation": Maybe "their" separation?
  • "Little Tich continued to financially support": Another split infinitive (which I doubt anyone but me really cares about!)
    • Changed to "...and he continued to provide financial support for his wife"
  • "In 1905 he appeared in the second of a further three films for the French film industry": Is there a way to avoid "films ... film"?
    • I have used "movie" for the first "film" (although "movie" does sound slightly American to me if I was honest).
  • "and now had to contend to life ": I think it is more usually "contend with".
  • Even with the semi-colons, I think the very long sentence beginning "He made frequent visits to Bedford Court Mansions..." needs splitting.
    • Split and now reads: " He made frequent visits to Bedford Court Mansions to organise Julia's paperwork and discovered that his wife had been having an affair with his friend Emile Footgers and that she was actually ten years older than she had led her husband to believe. Little Tich also found that she had used his money to buy a house in Golders Green for his granddaughter Constance without his knowing and that she had participated in a secret scam to blackmail him out of large quantities of cash."
  • I wonder if a "legacy" section, or something similar, is possible which sort-of assesses him and puts him in the pantheon, so to speak. At the moment, all we get are bitty comments from various newspapers which covered his performances, but we don't get an overall summing-up and drawing together. Just a thought, and feel free to ignore this one.

That's it from me, and feel free to ping me when it goes to FAC. Another enjoyable read, nice work. Sarastro1 (talk) 19:10, 23 September 2013 (UTC) Thank you so much for your brilliant comments. Your thorough review has helped improve the article no end. Cheers! -- CassiantoTalk 23:46, 23 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from SchroCat

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Very good – as always – and just a few little tweaks and polishes here from me. I've made a few tweaks here and there: feel free to revert anything you don't like. A couple of bites at this I think, so this is the first batch:

Family background

  • "one of eight children and 16 step-children": this reads as if there are 24 children in total. There were only 16 in total, I think? "He was the last of 16 children born to Richard Relph..." may be clearer (with subsequent clarification on the two batches of eight children to each wife)

Return to London and West End debut

  • You end the previous section with "He returned home to London with his wife and they set up home at 182 Kennington Road, Lambeth; Laurie later gave birth to the couple's son Paul on 7 November 1889.[44][56]" and begin this one with "Little Tich returned to London shortly before the birth of his son": one of them needs a tweaking to avoid repetition – probably the second, as it's in the 1890s section.

Life at Drury Lane

Done to the end of Druy Lane for now; more to follow. Pip pip! – SchroCat (talk) 13:33, 22 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Second and final bite of the cherry form me:

New theatrical ventures

Recording career

  • "Paul who had become estranged from the family by the 1920s": any idea why the estrangement? The last we heard from Paul was the rather sympathetic "Poor, poor father" quote.

That's all from me—another very readable and high quality article. I know you will anyway, but give me a nudge when you put this through to FAC: I think this is good enough for the gold star, and it certainly deserves it! Pip pip – SchroCat (talk) 09:48, 23 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Quick visit from BB

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Hi, Cassianto| With so much attention and so many comments, are you really looking for more? I'll willingly oblige, but I'm so tied up with other things that it's hard to find the time. If you're in no hurry, expect something, at least, from me by Friday evening. Otherwise, I'll catch up with it at FAC where I am sure it is heading. Brianboulton (talk) 19:28, 25 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

No, Brian that's fine. I think the review has been quite through and the comments so far have been quite excellent; with four satisfied reviewers, I think we are just about done now for peer review. I appreciate that you're a busy chap, so I would be happy with waiting for FAC if you would like to comment there instead. All the best! -- CassiantoTalk 20:12, 25 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I am closing the peer review now so thank you to all involved. It has been a wonderful turn out from some excellent reviewers. Special thanks to Rothorpe for squirrelling away in the background fixing my punctuation errors. See you all at FAC! -- CassiantoTalk 00:19, 28 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
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