Novello, Ivor (1893-1951), was a popular English composer, playwright, and actor. He became well known as the composer of one of the most popular songs of World War I (1914-1918), “Keep the Home Fires Burning.” Novello composed many of the most popular English light musicals of the 1930’s, including Glamorous Night (1935), Careless Rapture (1936), Crest of the Wave (1937), and The Dancing Years (1939). He had later successes with the musicals Perchance to Dream (1945), King’s Ransom (1949), and Gay’s the Word (1951). From 1928 to his death, Novello wrote 13 comedies, including Symphony in Two Flats (1929), Party (1932), Fresh Fields (1933), and Proscenium (1933). Novello starred in many of his plays and musicals.
Novello was born in on Jan. 15, 1893, in Cardiff, Wales. His real name was David Ivor Davies. He wrote his first full score for the stage for Theodore and Co. (1916). He made his stage acting debut in 1921 and his motion-picture debut in the United States in 1922. His good looks quickly made him an international movie star. His first success as a playwright was The Rat (1924), which he co-wrote. Novello died on March 6, 1951. The Ivor Novello Awards, given every year since 1956 to honor British musicians and composers, are named for him.
