1. Ivor Lewis Emmanuel was a Welsh musical theatre and television singer and actor.
28 Facts About Ivor Emmanuel
1. 2.
Ivor Emmanuel is probably best remembered for his appearance as "Private Owen" in the 1964 film Zulu, in which his character rallies outnumbered British soldiers by leading them in the stirring Welsh battle hymn "Men of Harlech" to counter the Zulu war chants.
3.
Ivor Emmanuel developed a keen interest in music and singing and was drawn to the stage.
4.
Ivor Emmanuel's first leading role was Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, followed by a tour as Woody Mahoney in Finian's Rainbow.
5.
Ivor Emmanuel continued to play in summer seasons of theatre and in cabaret and variety into the 1980s.
6.
Ivor Emmanuel continued to perform on TV through the 1970s.
7.
Ivor Emmanuel performed in concerts and is heard on cast recordings of Show Boat, Kiss Me, Kate, The King and I and A Time for Singing.
8.
Ivor Emmanuel is featured on the box set, The Greatest Musicals of the 20th Century, on the 1966 RCA Victrola recording of The Pirates of Penzance, and in a solo album, The Best of Ivor Emmanuel.
9.
Ivor Emmanuel was born in Margam, near Port Talbot, Wales, and moved to the nearby village of Pontrhydyfen as a young child.
10.
Ivor Emmanuel was 14 years old when his father, mother, sister and grandfather were killed by a stray bomb that hit their village during World War II.
11.
Ivor Emmanuel developed a keen interest in music and singing and was a member of Pontrhydyfen Operatic Society.
12.
Ivor Emmanuel used to carry a wind-up gramophone up nearby mountains to listen to recordings of Enrico Caruso.
13.
At the age of 20, Ivor Emmanuel unsuccessfully auditioned for The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
14.
Ivor Emmanuel took solace by drinking with an old friend, Richard Burton, who was performing in The Lady's Not for Burning at the time in London, and telling him how desperate he was to break into show business.
15.
Ivor Emmanuel was eventually hired by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company as a chorister in March 1950, staying until August 1951 when he married fellow D'Oyly Carte chorister Jane Beazleigh.
16.
Ivor Emmanuel was assigned the small role of Associate in Trial by Jury and shared the larger one of Luiz in The Gondoliers.
17.
Ivor Emmanuel's masculine looks and ringing baritone voice suited him for musicals, and he soon took principal roles in the West End.
18.
Ivor Emmanuel continued to play in summer seasons of theatre and in cabaret and variety, particularly at holiday resorts, into the 1980s.
19.
Ivor Emmanuel had a successful career as a popular concert and recording artist and television personality.
20.
Ivor Emmanuel took part in a Welsh language singing programme called Dewch i Mewn and from 1958 to 1964 was lead singer on the TWW show, Gwlad y Gan, acting as an older brother figure for the Pontcanna Children's Choir.
21.
Ivor Emmanuel later performed on, and was an interviewer for, other TWW shows.
22.
In May 1960, Ivor Emmanuel performed in the first televised edition of the Royal Variety Performance.
23.
Ivor Emmanuel continued, through the 1970s, to make numerous television appearances.
24.
Ivor Emmanuel made his own album of 24 songs, The Best of Ivor Emmanuel.
25.
In 1964, Ivor Emmanuel appeared as "Private Owen" in the epic film Zulu, which launched the career of Michael Caine.
26.
Ivor Emmanuel later married Malinee Oppenborn, and the couple had a daughter in 1978.
27.
Ivor Emmanuel retired to a quiet life in Benalmadena, a village near Malaga on Spain's Costa del Sol, in 1984 with his wife.
28.
Ivor Emmanuel was survived by his wife, Malinee, and his three children.