Composer, music director, dramatist, screenwriter, singer.
The nephew of Scottish music-hall star Sir Harry Lauder (1870-1950), Harry Lauder II was born in the Scottish township of Hamilton (in Lanarkshire). The son of Matthew Currie Lauder and Catherine (née Vallance), he demonstrated much musical talent as a child and his education was subsequently paid for by his famous uncle. Lauder later studied under Leopold Dagradi (Milan), Hardesty Johnson (Paris), and Ellis Rhodes (Chicago). An acclaimed tenor, Lauder was possibly best known for his roles with the American-based Gilbert and Sullivan Repertory Company. He later conducted this company's orchestra, and did some guest conducting in Chicago, before being employed as a conductor by Fox Movietone News.
In the late 1920s, Lauder moved to Hollywood, where, in addition to being one of the Fox conductors, he played minor parts in several of the company's films, notably Happy Days, Women Everywhere, Rough Romance, Sea Wolf, and Delicious. Lauder also operated his own teaching studio at the Glendale Music Company while based in California during the early 1930s. During this period, too, he wrote several plays, a mass of popular tunes, and an opera entitled Tina (based in the South Sea Islands), none of which have been published.
Around 1935/1936, Lauder travelled to Australia. He contributed the screenplay to the film Mystery Island (1936) while seeking out other opportunities in the country where his famous uncle had been so popularly received a decade or more earlier. Another of his uncles, John Lauder, had also emigrated to Australia some years earlier. When the Second World War broke out, he found himself stranded and subsequently remained in the country until his death. During the war, he had several of his plays staged in Sydney. His involvment in local film production also included working as an assistant director (notably on 40,000 Horsemen, 1941) and conductor. He died in Sydney in 1951 after suffering a stroke.
