Denis Martin

Denis Martin
Birth nameLorenzo Denis Martin
Also known asDenis Martin
Born1920
Belfast, Northern Ireland
DiedOctober 1988 (aged 67–68)
London, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • musical arranger
  • director
  • producer
Years active1940s–1980s
LabelsParlophone

Denis Martin (1920 – October 1988) was a Northern Irish singer,[1] actor and theatre producer[2] active in the 1940s to 1980s.

Martin won the All-Ireland tenor competition at Feis Ceoil in 1944,[citation needed] He then moved to England where he performed as a singer[3] in musical shows and in radio and TV broadcasts. Soon after arriving in England Denis joined the Players' Theatre,[4][5][6] a permanent music-hall company in London. In 1949 he played the juvenile lead in King's Rhapsody[7] with Ivor Novello. He went on to become the Director of Production at the Players' Theatre,[8][9][10] developing and adapting plays for musical theatre.[11]

Denis's brother Brendan joined him in London as a professional singer at the Windmill Theatre.

  1. ^ Kitty Black (1984). Upper circle: a theatr. chronicle. Methuen. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-413-51040-2.
  2. ^ Plays and Players. Vol. 12. Hansom Books. 1965. p. 19.
  3. ^ Theatre World. Iliffe Specialist Publications, Limited. 1959. p. 19.
  4. ^ Theatre Review. W.H. Allen. 1973. p. 174.
  5. ^ Plays and Players. Hansom Books. 1958.
  6. ^ Charles Graves (1963). Leather armchairs: the book of London clubs. Coward-McCann. p. 171.
  7. ^ Adrian Wright (2010). A Tanner's Worth of Tune: Rediscovering the Post-war British Musical. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 8–. ISBN 978-1-84383-542-4.
  8. ^ The Illustrated London News. Illustrated London News & Sketch Limited. January 1971. p. 33.
  9. ^ Raymond Mander; Joe Mitchenson (1965). British music hall: a story in pictures. Studio Vista.
  10. ^ The Spectator. Vol. 257, Issues 8252-8268. F.C. Westley. 1986. p. 155. (also available online here)
  11. ^ Alvin H. Marill (1993). More Theatre: M-Z. Scarecrow Press. p. 1048.