Ivor Novello

A matinee idol of the stage, Ivor Novello went on to duplicate that same success when he pursued a film career, becoming at one time Britain's most popular male movie star. Born in Cardiff, Wales as David Ivor Davies adopted his mother's maiden name as his stage name. (His mother, Clara Novello Davies, was a noted musician and singing teacher.) As early as age three, the youngster exhibited his singing abilities and by age ten was attending Magdalen College at Oxford on a music scholarship. When he left Oxford at age 16, Novello briefly taught piano in London, but within a year enjoyed his first success as a songwriter. Over the next few years, he eked out a living penning ditties until the outbreak of World War I when his patriotic song "Keep the Home Fires Burning" became an overnight hit, earning its composer-lyricist a small fortune. During the War, Novello made his theatrical debut providing more than a dozen songs for the 1913 revue "Theodore & Co." (Jerome Kern contributed four additional numbers.)