Coward, Noël Peirce (1899–1973)

English dramatist, actor, revue-writer, director, and composer. He epitomized the witty and sophisticated man of the theatre. From his first success with The Young Idea (1923), he wrote and appeared in plays and comedies on both sides of the Atlantic such as Hay Fever (1925), Private Lives (1930) with Gertrude Lawrence, Design for Living (1933), Blithe Spirit (1941), and A Song at Twilight (1966). His revues and musicals included On With the Dance (1925) and Bitter Sweet (1929).

Coward also wrote for and acted in films, including the patriotic In Which We Serve (1942) and the sentimental Brief Encounter (1945). After World War II he became a nightclub and cabaret entertainer, performing songs like ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’. He was knighted in 1970.