Ivor Novello photo

Ivor Novello

Acting
1893-01-15
Cardiff, Wales, UK
Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh composer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century, on both screen and stage.

He was born into a musical Cardiff family and his mother, Clara Novello Davies, was an internationally known singing teacher and choral conductor. As a child, Novello was a successful singer in various eisteddfodau throughout the country. He was educated privately in Cardiff and then in Gloucester and later won a scholarship to Magdalen College School in Oxford.

The family moved to London in 1913 and here Novello's career flourished. In 1914, at the start of World War II, he wrote the words to his most popular song, "Keep the Home Fires Burning".

Novello lived in a flat above the Strand Theatre, where he remained until his death in 1951.

Since 1955 the internationally prestigious The Ivor Novello Awards ("The Ivors") for songwriting and composing are annually awarded by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA).
Known For 20 titles
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) subtitle poster
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
1927 Movie
as The Lodger Jonathan Drew
Subtitles
Downhill (1927) subtitle poster
Downhill
1927 Movie
as Roddy Berwick
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The Lodger (1932) subtitle poster
The Lodger
1932 Movie
as Michel Angeloff
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Sleeping Car (1933) subtitle poster
Sleeping Car
1933 Movie
as Gaston
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The White Rose (1923) subtitle poster
The White Rose
1923 Movie
as Joseph
Subtitles
Once a Lady (1931) subtitle poster
Once a Lady
1931 Movie
as Bennett Cloud
Subtitles
I Lived with You (1933) subtitle poster
I Lived with You
1933 Movie
as Prince Felix Lenieff
Subtitles
The Bohemian Girl (1922) subtitle poster
The Bohemian Girl
1922 Movie
as Thaddeus
Subtitles
The Return of the Rat (1929) subtitle poster
The Return of the Rat
1929 Movie
as Pierre Boucheron
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The Constant Nymph (1928) subtitle poster
The Constant Nymph
1928 Movie
as Lewis Dodd
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Autumn Crocus (1934) subtitle poster
Autumn Crocus
1934 Movie
as Andreas Steiner
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Symphony in Two Flats (1930) subtitle poster
Symphony in Two Flats
1930 Movie
as David Kennard
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Bonnie Prince Charlie (1923) subtitle poster
Bonnie Prince Charlie
1923 Movie
as Prince Charles Stuart
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Carnival (1921) subtitle poster
Carnival
1921 Movie
as Count Andrea Scipione
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The Vortex (1928) subtitle poster
The Vortex
1928 Movie
as Nicky Lancaster
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The Rat (1925) subtitle poster
The Rat
1925 Movie
as Pierre Boucheron
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The Triumph of the Rat (1926) subtitle poster
The Triumph of the Rat
1926 Movie
as Pierre Boucheron, 'the Rat'
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Miarka, la fille à l'ourse (1920) subtitle poster
Miarka, la fille à l'ourse
1920 Movie
as Ivor
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The Call of the Blood (1919) subtitle poster
The Call of the Blood
1919 Movie
as Maurice Delarey
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The Man Without Desire (1923) subtitle poster
The Man Without Desire
1923 Movie
as Count Vittorio Dandolo
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