AustLit

OVERVIEW

Dancers, comedians, singers, writers, directors, managers, entrepreneurs.

Generally considered to have been the most successful male Australian dancing trio of the late nineteenth century, Delohery, Craydon and Holland, often billed simply as 'The Australian team,' carved out a twenty-year career together, appearing at one stage or another with virtually every major Australian-based variety organisation of the era. These engagements included Harry Rickards, the Cogill Brothers, Frank Smith, F. E. Hiscocks, Hugo's Buffalo Minstrels, Leon and Cushman, Ashton and Moore's Vaudeville Co, Jones and Lawrence (Perth), J. C. Bain, Alf Lawton, Kelly and Leon, and a vaudeville company run by Walter Bentley in Brisbane.

During their career together, the three men also established themselves as entrepreneurs, putting together troupes either under their own management or in collaboration with other high-profile variety practitioners. Their major entrepreneurial ventures are known to have operated in Sydney, Perth, regional Queensland, and Brisbane, with the latter city becoming arguably their most popular stronghold. Practitioners known to have been associated with the Delohery, Craydon and Holland as lessees and/or business partners during the 1890s and 1900 are Charles Bovis, Sydney Deane, W. H. 'Billy' Speed, and Percy St John.

The 'Australian team' partnership ended amicably around 1905. Thomas Delohery and Ted Holland soon afterwards established themselves in Brisbane: Delohery as one of the city's major bookmakers and Holland as its leading variety entrepreneur. James Craydon continued to work in the variety industry as a performer and manager until his death.

DETAILED BIOGRAPHY

1870-1882: Thomas Delohery, James Craydon, and Ted Holland met in the early to mid-1870s while working at Cameron's tobacco factory, then situated at the corner of Liverpool and Pitt Streets, Sydney. Craydon and Holland were tobacco twisters while Delohery worked in the pressing department. In a 1912 interview with the Theatre Magazine, Craydon records that they were employed at the factory for some twelve years (February 1912, p.24) and that over the course of those years they often entered amateur competitions, 'individually, not collectively,' however. Two of the venues mentioned by Craydon are the Scandinavian Hall (Castlereagh Street) and the Queen's Theatre (York Street).

1883-1887: In 1883, Delohery, Craydon and Holland decided to try their luck together, and, after being noticed by one of F. E. Hiscocks's representatives, were given their first big break: a spot on the bill with Hiscocks' Federal Minstrels during the troupe's Melbourne season. The following year, they were offered a number of engagements by Walter Cottier at his family-run People's Concerts, held on Saturdays and Mondays at the Protestant Hall, Sydney. The trio's act at this time was largely based around specialist clog dancing, with Thomas Delohery's occasional separate billing suggesting that he was the trio's premier dancer in this field. Over the next three years, the partnership were accorded feature billing with such high-profile touring companies as Hugo's Buffalo Minstrels, Kelly and Leon's Minstrels, Leon and Cushman's Minstrels, the Chicago Minstrels, and the Cogill Brothers.

Delohery, Craydon and Holland's billing in advertisements invariably focused attention to their Irish dance specialties, clog dancing, and sketches that might have included up to six songs and dance numbers. They did not always work only as a trio, however, with some performances being undertaken as a solo turn, as a duo, or with four or more performers. One particular specialty, 'Climbing up the Golden Stair,' was presented, for example, by Craydon and Holland during an 1886 Hugo's Buffalo Minstrels programme (17 April). Later that same year, the trio, along with Will Wallace, staged 'The Gaffers of the Gang,' a 'great Irish specialty introduced by them into Australia' on the opening night of the Chicago Minstrels season at the Gaiety Theatre, Sydney. This was in addition to their roles as endmen during the first-part minstrel semi-circle: their 'Champion Triple Medley Clog Dance' and Tom Delohery's first-part solo comic song, 'The Talkative Man' (Sydney Morning Herald 9 October 1886, p.2). As minstrel performers, Tom Delohery specialised in the 'Mr Bones' role, with Ted Holland as his fellow endman, Mr Tambo. James Craydon invariably appeared as Mr Interlocutor, the show's emcee.

One of the biggest productions they appeared in during this period was in 1885, when Francis Leon and Frank Cushman engaged them as specialty dancers for their burlesque extravaganza Adonis (Nugget Theatre, Melbourne, beginning 26 December), described as a 'twisted burlesque nightmare' version of W. S. Gilbert's Pygmalion and Galatea (Argus 26 December 1885, n. pag.). The three dancers featured alongside another well-known minstrel endman, Johnny Gilmore, helping to create a hybrid comic opera/blackface entertainment that was then novel to Melbourne audiences. In 1888, the three dancers were also given principal roles in the Cogill Brothers' burlesque Drunk, which parodied Williamson, Garner, and Musgrove's drama Drink, then playing at Melbourne's Theatre Royal. Premiering on 25 February at St George's Hall, Drunk's cast of characters included Holland as Lent-Ear, Delohery as Back-Hold Sali, and Craydon as Phoebey Onions.

Delohery, Craydon and Holland's appeal was such that they rarely escaped the positive attention of critics, even at this early stage of their careers. A review of their performance during an 1886 Hiscocks' Federal Minstrels engagement typifies the response they received around this period: 'Messrs. Delohery, Craydon and Holland performed together a step dance, involving great skill and careful practice, which went off without a flaw, and called for the "encore" of the gallery' (Sydney Morning Herald 1 March 1886, p.8).

1888-1894: On 26 March 1888, shortly after concluding their Cogill Brothers' engagement in Melbourne, Delohery, Craydon and Holland began what was to be a six-year contract with Frank Smith at the Alhambra Music Hall in Sydney. On the bill were a number of performers who also had long associations with the entrepreneur, the most notable being Harry Barrington (who also acted a stage manager), Bertha Fanning, and Alf Santley. While this long-term engagement meant that the three men did not have to endure the rigours of constant touring, the pressure to continually develop new material and new means of entertaining the Alhambra's demanding patrons was ever-present. That the trio maintained their status as Sydney's most popular male dance ensemble for the length of their contract with Smith put them in elite company, because very few high-profile Australian variety performers, Will Whitburn being one exception, were ever able remain in one city, let alone one venue, for such a length of time. Their achievement was even recalled some thirty-five years later in a Theatre, Society and Home article that looks back at variety theatre in Sydney during the 1890s. In it, the writer recalls that the 'famous dance team' of Delohery, Craydon and Holland were among the most triumphant of Smith's first-class entertainers (September 1925, p.42).

A survey of advertisements and reviews between 1888 and 1892 suggests that the trio were able to perform continuously at the Alhambra for such a long time not only because they created new and evolving dance routines but also through their versatility as entertainers. They made comedic appearances in numerous burlesques and farces, established themselves as quality singers, and developed their stage craft by writing and producing their own song and dance sketches. One of the more popular burlesques in which they had lead roles was Frederick B. Norton's Faust in Four Flashes, which ran for almost a month, beginning late October 1890. On of their earliest known original sketches, 'The Pat Boys', was also staged that year. Among the original sketches staged at the Alhambra in 1892 were 'Mary's Heard the News', 'The Landlord's Troubles', and 'The Serenaders'.

The early 1890s were particularly important for Delohery, Craydon and Holland's later career in so far as they made a number of connections with people who either helped them advance their skills (for example, Charlie Fanning, Charlie Pope and Irving Sayles--who later became two of Harry Rickards's most popular comedians of the 1890s--and Johnny Cowan) or who later became business partners (for example, Charles and Will Bovis). Their entry into the world of variety entrepreneurs came about following the death of Frank Smith in early 1893. The Alhambra initially continued operating under the management of Harry Barrington, who had been Smith's stage manager for a number of years. In June, however, Delohery, Craydon and Holland successfully negotiated a four-month lease and put together a company of quality local entertainers that drew constant praise from Sydney's variety critics throughout the season. Among the performers engaged were McKisson and Kearns (Albert McKisson and Jack Kearns), the Sherwood Sisters (Amy and Ettie), Florrie St Clair, Frank York, the Bovis Brothers, Gus Franks, and Florrie Forde. Advertisements placed in the Sydney Morning Herald indicate that Tom Delohery took on the responsibility of business manager, while James Craydon looked after the stage management.

Shortly after the closure of their Alhambra operations, the trio accepted an engagement with Harry Rickards, making their first appearance at the Tivoli, Sydney, on 23 December 1893. Although precise details of their movements during 1894 are yet to be established, it seems likely that Rickards transferred them from Sydney to his Melbourne theatre during the part of the year, as they are advertised as making their reappearance at the Sydney Tivoli on 19 May. Also on the bill around that time were Dan Tracey, the Bovis Brothers, and Harry Rickards himself.

1895- 1897: On 29 June 1895, Delohery, Craydon and Holland joined Frank York and George A. Jones's company of minstrels at Sydney's Empire Theatre, situated at the corner of King and York Streets (the pair had been leasing the theatre since 20 May, at which time it was known as the Opera House). Their engagement saw them again appear in the traditional minstrel semi-circle portion of the show, with Delohery and Holland supporting York and W. H. Speed as double endmen, followed by appearances throughout the second half of the show, in which they presented their popular dance specialties, Irish character delineations, and original sketches. By then, the act also included 'grotesque acrobatic displays' (Sydney Morning Herald 6 July 1895, p.7).

With their reputations now firmly entrenched as 'Australia's Triple Team of Sketch Artists', the trio were billed as a feature presentation right through until the management changed hands in mid-September. The York and Jones season appears to have built a steady momentum over the course of its time at the Empire, with the Sydney Morning Herald recording that the company had been strengthened considerably by the acquisition of not only Delohery, Craydon and Holland but by the engagement of such artists as Martin Hagan and Lucy Fraser (sketch artists), the Bovis Brothers (who, along with Billy Speed, would soon join the trio in management partnerships), Charles R. Jones (tenor), Steve Adson, the Faust Family (acrobats), and Annetta Bodin (who previously partnered Ida Rosslyn, aka Mrs Jack Kearns).

When York and Jones ended their lease of the Empire on 13 September, Tom Delohery and Billy Speed took over the management, initially under the name of the New Empire Company, but later in the season as Speed and Delohery's Empire and World's Gaiety Co. They retained some of the feature artists who had only recently appeared at the theatre, notably Steve Adson, the Fausts, and C. R. Jones, and complemented the company with several new artists, including Edward Fanning, Florrie Ranger, Amy Rowe, Tom Edwards, and Horace and Lorrie St George. The new management also departed somewhat from York and Jones's style of promotion by regularly listing the entire forthcoming programme (including all songs, sketches, and farces) in advertising. This suggests that Delohery and Speed were even then quite confident that they knew what their audience liked and hence were prepared to let them know in advance what to expect. With James Craydon attempting to control the first-half proceedings as the company's interlocutor, Delohery and Holland were able to give themselves free reign as endmen and comic singers. Arguably the most popular part of the programme, however, were the afterpieces (minstrel farce), a number of which were either Delohery, Craydon and Holland's original creations or re-worked versions of farces by Australian writers such as W. Horace Bent or from overseas sources. Among their more popular farces works were Swiggenhouse Versus the Unknown, Casey v. Levy (by Franks and Marion), The Government House Ball, The Foiled Mashers, and Sam Kee's Chinese Laundry (an often-revived classic said to have been created by American minstrels Queen, Stowe, and Ryder). The season closed on 16 November with a two-act revival of F. M. Clark's Irish comedy Muldoon's Picnic. Staged over the entire second half of the programme and with new scenery by acclaimed scenic artist John Hennings, the production saw Ted Holland cast as Denis Mulchay (a friend of Muldoon's), Tom Delohery as Tim O'Brien (one of the b-hoys), and, in a dame-type role, James Craydon as Mrs Muldoon. The part of Michael Muldoon was played by Steve Adson.

Two weeks after closing in Sydney, Messrs. Speed, Delohery, Craydon and Holland opened at Brisbane's Gaiety Theatre with their twenty-five member Elite Burlesque Minstrel and Variety Company (30 November). While most had been with the management during the final weeks of the Empire season, a few (such as 'The Human Serpent' Mons. Hyman) were specially engaged from Melbourne. The company's first week in Brisbane was met with over-flowing audiences and positive responses from the local critics. Attention was drawn, for example, to the above-average vocal selections and 'screamingly funny' concluding farces, such as Barnum from Africa, The Government House Ball, and Wanotee from America. The Sunday prior to Christmas saw the troupe present a Grand Sacred and Classical Concert; from Boxing Night, they presented The Miller and the Sweep, a pantomime adapted in part by Billy Speed from H. Rider Haggard's The People of the Mist (1893).

Following the conclusion of their Brisbane season in early 1896, Delohery, Craydon and Holland (with Billy Speed) undertook a tour of regional Queensland, taking the familiar coastal circuit north to Townsville and Charters Towers with a company that again comprised new and old faces. Among the new principal engagements were Will (the 'Black Diamond') Wallace and singer Ted Herberte, with Amy Rowe extending her association with the trio to almost a year. While their movements for the remainder of the year have not yet been established, the trio were back in Brisbane by early February 1897, playing a five-month season at the Gaiety Theatre under the management of Thomas Delohery, Charles Bovis, and Sydney Deane. Comprising twenty-five performers headed by Delohery, Craydon and Holland, the Bovis Brothers, and Sydney Deane, the Elite Burlesque, Comedy and Specialty Company opened with a revival of W. Horace Bent's burlesque A Trip to Manly or the Soapboilers Picnic (q.v.) which they renamed A Trip to Humpybong in honour of the northern Brisbane peninsula suburb of Redcliffe (originally known as Humpybong). Among the regular members of the troupe were Florrie Ranger, Ida Beaumont, the Lingard Sisters, character actor J. D. (Johnny) Foley, Ernest Melville, and the Mayfield Sisters. Special guests performers--notably comedian J. C. Bain, husband-and-wife sketch artists D'Arcy Stanfield and Eve Clements, patterologists John Tudor and Rosie Leroy, and Japanese acrobats Bungero and Itchie--were temporarily added to the bill during the course of the season. The season closed on 28 June with the final Saturday and Monday nights being presented as special request programmes (the Monday farewell was staged under the patronage of the Brisbane Senior and Junior Football Clubs). The management also celebrated its more-than-successful season by presenting each audience member on those two nights with a souvenir program. A 'Grand Farewell Rational Jubilee and Classical Concert' was also organised for the Sunday evening. By December 1897, Delohery, Craydon and Holland were in Fremantle, Western Australia, under the management of Jones (George A. Jones) and Lawrence, who at that stage were leasing the Ye Olde Englyshe Fayre, situated in the town's showgrounds (they were later associated with the Perth's Cremorne Gardens).

1898-1899: Delohery, Craydon and Holland spent the first six months or more of 1898 alternating between Perth and Fremantle. Following their Jones and Lawrence engagement, they mounted their own seasons in Perth at that city's Ye Olde Englysh Fare and later the Theatre Royal. One of their principal troupe members during this period was Priscilla Verne, previously the wife of Hugo's Buffalo Minstrels' leader Charles Hugo: she later teamed up with Australian comedy sketch artist Tom Armstrong for a number of years. The three-week season at the Royal, undertaken in collaboration with African-American comedians Charlie Pope and Irving Sales (as the Elite Vaudeville Company) saw them mount a revival of Muldoon's Picnic (beginning 12 March). By late June, the trio were back in Melbourne for the first time in three years. Following an engagement with Harry Cogill's New Federation Minstrel Company (Gaiety Theatre, beginning 25 June), they went across to Harry Rickards at the Opera House (30 July - ca. October), before ending their stay in Melbourne with a brief season with A. T. Richards's St George's Minstrel and Variety Company (St George's Hall), beginning 22 October. They then returned to Sydney, where they took up an offer from Percy St John and W. J. Wilson to perform at the Alhambra Music Hall. In addition to their vaudeville turns, Delohery, Craydon and Holland appeared in burlesques and musical comedies such as Aladdin (3 December) and a revival of John F. Sheridan's Fun on the Bristol (10 December). By Christmas, however, they were again in Brisbane, appearing at the Opera House in a company that included veteran sketch performers Edwin and Minnie Shipp (parents of Les Shipp), comedians Carlton and Sutton, and serpentine dancer Jessie Thornton.

On 14 January 1899, the Elite Vaudeville Company, under the management of Messrs Delohery, Craydon and Holland, transferred from Brisbane's Opera House to the Theatre Royal. Continuing with the first-part minstrel, second-part olio, and afterpiece, the company found the larger venue well-suited to the increasing patronage it was being afforded. Among the featured presentations were a number of popular farces, namely Ginger, a revival of The Soapboiler's Picnic, A Lord for a Night, and, from mid-February, a revival of Percy St John's Sinbad the Sailor burlesque, which St John had adapted in 1898 from an earlier Sinbad pantomime. The Brisbane Courier records that while the company had 'only commenced serious business on the burlesque a day or two before... the members proved themselves as much at home as in their ordinary variety business' (13 February 1899, p.3). The production, which was also supervised by its author, possibly marks the first professional management association between St John and Tom Delohery and Ted Holland.

Following another regional Queensland tour, the company returned to Brisbane, where they once again settled into a season at the Theatre Royal under the combined management of Delohery, St John, and Holland. This season saw the company present a season of combined vaudeville and burlesque/pantomime, with most of the latter productions being written by Percy St John. The works staged were Humpty Dumpty (20 May), Cinderella (27 May), Dick Whittington and His Cat (10 June), and a revival of Sinbad (13 June). The popularity of Cinderella saw it also revived a further two times. The company also staged a one-act musical comedy, Topsy Turvy, during the final six nights of the season. Adapted by St John from the comedy Confusion, the Brisbane Courier's theatre critic described it as an 'absurdity... [which] proved a perfectly side-splitting finale' (3 July 1899, p.6).

From 10 July through to August 1899, the Theatre Royal's management was not only reduced to Tom Delohery and Percy St John, but also saw a significant change in the entertainment offered. Instead of minstrelsy and vaudeville, the theatre became a venue for drama, starting first with a powerful adaptation of Boucicault's famous sensation play, The Streets of London. Variety did not disappear altogether, however, as Delohery, Craydon and Holland featured in the Act IV music hall scene. Another variety star, Steve Adson, who had made his first appearance with the Elite company only two days previously, was cast as an Irish porter. While the principal cast was led by actors of the calibre of Maud Williamson, Alfred Woods, and Alf Boothman, several Elite company artists were also engaged for the season, which included productions of Hands Across the Sea and East Lynne.

1900-ca. 1904: Details relating to the last four to five years of the Delohery, Craydon and Holland partnership have yet to be established.