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{{Short description|English songwriter, actor and screenwriter (1887–1941)}}
{{Distinguish|Clifford Gray (disambiguation){{!}}Clifford Gray}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=JulyAugust 20132023}}
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[[File:clifford-grey-1921.jpg|thumb|right|Grey in 1921]]
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==Life and career==
===Early years===
Grey was born in [[Birmingham]], Warwickshire, the son of George Davis, a whip manufacturer, and his wife Emma, ''née'' Lowe. He was educated at the Camp Hill Boys School and the [[King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys|King Edward VI School]].<ref name=dnb>Moore, James Ross, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/47284,"Grey, Clifford (1887–1941)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; accessed 28 August 2010. {{ODNBsub}}</ref><ref name=Guardian>Bull, Andy. [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/05/the-spin-its-just-not-cricket "It's just not cricket: The Mystery of Clifford Grey, Olympic Champion Who Never Was"], ''The Guardian'', 5 May 2015</ref> On leaving school in 1903 he had a variety of office jobs, in none of which he had any success. He became a [[pierrot]] with a local [[Concert Party (entertainment)|concert party]], and adopted the stage name Clifford Grey, performing in pubs, piers and music halls.<ref name=dnb/><ref name=Guardian/> By the time he married in 1912 he had reduced his stage performing in favour of writing lyrics for [[West End theatre|West End]] shows. His wife was Dorothy Maud Mary Gould (1890 or 1891–1940), a fellow member of the concert party. They had two daughters, June and Dorothy; Grey also adopted Gould's daughter. Their marriage lasted until Dorothy's death.<ref name=dnb/><ref name=Guardian/>
 
In 1916 Grey had his big breakthrough as a writer, collaborating with the American composer [[Nat Ayer]] on ''[[The Bing Boys Are Here]]'', a long-running [[revue]] that opened in London in April, and contained two of Grey's early successes, "[[If You Were the Only Girl (In the World)]]" and "Another Little Drink Wouldn't Do Us Any Harm". He collaborated with Ayer on ''Pell-Mell'', ''The Bing Girls Are There'', ''The Other Bing Boys'', ''The Bing Brothers on Broadway'', and ''[[Yes, Uncle!]]'' and with [[Herman Finck]] in ''Hallo, America!'', [[Ivor Novello]] and [[Jerome Kern]] in ''[[Theodore & Co]]'', [[Howard Talbot]] and Novello in ''Who's Hooper?'', Novello in ''[[Arlette (musical)|Arlette]]'' (1917) and [[Ivan Caryll]] in ''[[Kissing Time]]''.<ref name=oxford>[http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/epm/10890?q=Clifford+Grey&source=omo_epm&source=omo_t237&source=omo_gmo&source=omo_t114&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1 "Grey, Clifford"], ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Oxford University Press, 11 July 2006, Oxford Music Online, accessed 28 August 2010. {{subscription required}}</ref> On the last show he collaborated with [[P.G. Wodehouse]],<ref>Jason, p, 82</ref> who was privately lukewarm about Grey's talent, regarding him as a specialist in adapting other people's work rather than as an original talent.{{refn|According to the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Wodehouse's views did not prevent his purchasing a plot from Grey on one occasion.<ref name=dnb/>|group= n}} At the same time, he acted in a dozen silent films, including ''[[The Crucible (1914 film)|The Crucible]]'' (1914), ''[[The Weakness of Strength]]'' (1916), ''Madame Cubist'' (1916), ''The Best Man'' (1917), ''[[Carnival (1921 film)|Carnival]]'' (1921) and ''[[The Man from Home (1922 film)|The Man from Home]]'' (1922).<ref name=dnb/><ref name=BFI>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120711192714/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2ba95c6003 "Clifford Grey"], British Film Institute, accessed 2 November 2015</ref>
 
===1920s – Broadway and Hollywood===
In 1920 Grey was invited to New York by Kern to renew their collaboration, writing [[Florenz Ziegfeld]]'s ''[[Sally (musical)|Sally]]''.<ref name=oxford/> Grey remained in the US for most of the decade, with occasional sorties back to London for ''[[Phi-Phi]]'' with [[Henri Christiné]] (1922), ''The Smith Family'' with Ayer (1922), and ''The Rainbow'' with [[George Gershwin]] (1923). For Broadway, he provided a regular stream of lyrics – and some libretti – for musical comedies and revues. His collaborators included [[Sigmund Romberg]] and [[Melville Gideon]] on some of the less-remembered shows, [[Ivan Caryll]] and [[Guy Bolton]] on ''[[The Hotel Mouse (musical)|The Hotel Mouse]]'' (1922),<ref>''The New York Times'', 14 March 14, 1922, p. 20</ref> [[Vincent Youmans]] on ''[[Hit the Deck (musical)|Hit the Deck]]'' (1927), and [[Rudolph Friml]] and Wodehouse on ''The Three Musketeers'' (1928) and ''Ups-A-Daisy'' with [[Robert A. Simon]] for the Shubert Theatre (1928).<ref name=Guardian/><ref name=oxford/> With [[William Cary Duncan]] he co-authored the book and lyrics for ''[[Sunny Days (musical)|Sunny Days]]'' (1928, based on Grey's 1925 play ''A Kiss in a Taxi'') at the [[Imperial Theatre]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Dan|last1=Dietz|title=The Complete Book of 1920s Broadway Musicals|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]]|year=2019|isbn=9781442245280|chapter=Sunny Days }}</ref>
 
The introduction of talking pictures attracted Grey to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]. He collaborated with [[Victor Schertzinger]] on the 1929 [[Maurice Chevalier]] and [[Jeanette MacDonald]] film, ''[[The Love Parade]]'', and with [[Oscar Straus (composer)|Oscar Straus]] on ''The Smiling Lieutenant'' (1931), and contributed to films with a range of stars from [[Ramon Novarro]] to [[Lawrence Tibbett]] to [[Marion Davies]].<ref name=oxford/> His songs and lyrics from shows were used in many films, and he wrote screenplays and lyrics for fourteen new Hollywood films between 1929 and 1931, including ''[[The Vagabond Lover]]'' (1929), ''[[In Gay Madrid]]'' (1930) and ''[[The Smiling Lieutenant]]'' (1931).<ref name=dnb/> After his death Grey's songs continued to be used in films and television productions. His best known song, "If You Were the Only Girl (in the World)", appeared in such films as ''[[Lilacs in the Spring]]'' (1954), ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'' (1957) and ''[[The Cat's Meow]]'' (2001), and some films, such as ''[[Hit the Deck (1955 film)|Hit the Deck]]'' (1955), were adaptations of his shows. In 1929, he returned temporarily to London, where he collaborated with [[Vivian Ellis]] on the musical ''[[Mr Cinders]]'', which had a long West End run and featured one of Grey's best-remembered songs, "[[Spread a Little Happiness]]". {{refn|"Spread a Little Happiness" was revived by [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] in 1982, when it reached the [[UK Singles Chart|British Top 20]].<ref>Barker, Dennis. [https://search.proquest.com/docview/186372709 "The melody lingers on for a song-writer of the 1920s"], ''The Guardian'', 1 September 1982, p. 2 {{subscription required}}</ref>|group= n}}
 
===West End, films and last years===▼
Returning to England in 1932, although apparently spending time in California,<ref name=Guardian/> Grey concentrated thereafter on the West End stage and British films. His screenplay for ''[[Rome Express]]'' (1932), a spy story, was "extremely popular in its day and virtually created a subgenre".<ref name=dnb/> He wrote more than twenty screenplays for British films, usually for the popular comedians of the day, but also including ''[[My Song Goes Round the World]]'' (1934), ''[[Mimi (1935 film)|Mimi]]'' (1935), an adaptation of ''[[La Bohème]]'', for [[Gertrude Lawrence]] and [[Douglas Fairbanks Jr.]] and ''[[Yes, Madam?]]'' (1940).<ref name=dnb/>▼
 
Throughout the decade Grey had shows running in the West End, written in collaboration with previous collaborators and new ones including [[Oscar Levant]], [[Johnny Green]] and [[Noel Gay]].<ref name=dnb/><ref name=oxford/> Grey wrote more than 3,000 songs.<ref>Daniels, Robert L. (31 July 2006). "Jazz in July – Twelve Hands, Two Pianos, One Night", ''Daily Variety'' (New York, N.Y., Reed Business Information) 31 July 2006, pp. 7–8</ref>▼
 
When the [[Second World War]] began, Grey joined the [[Entertainments National Service Association]] (ENSA), which took shows round the country and overseas to provide relief for serving members of the armed forces. In 1941 he was presenting a concert party in [[Ipswich]], [[Suffolk]], when the town was heavily bombed. Grey died two days later, aged 54, as a result of a heart attack, brought on by the bombing, and exacerbated by [[asthma]]. He is buried in [[Old Ipswich Cemetery|Ipswich Old Cemetery]] cemetery.<ref name=dnb/><ref>Wallenchinsky, pp.&nbsp;559–60</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1941/09/27/archives/clifford-grey-54-english-lyricist-wrote-words-for-hit-the-deck-and.html "Clifford Grey, 54, English Lyricist; Wrote Words for ''Hit the Deck'' and ''The Three Musketeers'' Tunes – Dies in Ipswich"], ''The New York Times'', 27 September 1941, p. 17</ref>▼
 
===Olympian bobsleigher myth===
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{{blockquote|There are so many odd coincidences in the lives of the two men, it's easy to see now how their tales became tangled. ... [T]here was the physical resemblance, close enough for the two of them to be confused with each other in the grainy old black-and-white photos. Then ... "Tippy" Gray was a song-writer too. He had a short career in the movies, but killed his career when he was arrested in possession of an opium pipe and a pistol. After that, he moved to Paris and started writing jazz tunes for the revue at the Moulin Rouge.<ref name=Guardian/>|}}
 
▲===West End, films and last years===
▲Returning to England in 1932, although apparently spending time in California,<ref name=Guardian/> Grey concentrated thereafter on the West End stage and British films. His screenplay for ''[[Rome Express]]'' (1932), a spy story, was "extremely popular in its day and virtually created a subgenre".<ref name=dnb/> He wrote more than twenty screenplays for British films, usually for the popular comedians of the day, but also including ''[[My Song Goes Round the World]]'' (1934), ''[[Mimi (1935 film)|Mimi]]'' (1935), an adaptation of ''[[La Bohème]]'', for [[Gertrude Lawrence]] and [[Douglas Fairbanks Jr.]] and ''[[Yes, Madam?]]'' (1940).<ref name=dnb/>
 
▲Throughout the decade Grey had shows running in the West End, written in collaboration with previous collaborators and new ones including [[Oscar Levant]], [[Johnny Green]] and [[Noel Gay]].<ref name=dnb/><ref name=oxford/> Grey wrote more than 3,000 songs.<ref>Daniels, Robert L. (31 July 2006). "Jazz in July – Twelve Hands, Two Pianos, One Night", ''Daily Variety'' (New York, N.Y., Reed Business Information) 31 July 2006, pp. 7–8</ref>
 
▲When the [[Second World War]] began, Grey joined the [[Entertainments National Service Association]] (ENSA), which took shows round the country and overseas to provide relief for serving members of the armed forces. In 1941 he was presenting a concert party in [[Ipswich]], [[Suffolk]], when the town was heavily bombed. Grey died two days later, aged 54, as a result of a heart attack, brought on by the bombing, and exacerbated by [[asthma]]. He is buried in [[Ipswich]] cemetery.<ref name=dnb/><ref>Wallenchinsky, pp.&nbsp;559–60</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1941/09/27/archives/clifford-grey-54-english-lyricist-wrote-words-for-hit-the-deck-and.html "Clifford Grey, 54, English Lyricist; Wrote Words for ''Hit the Deck'' and ''The Three Musketeers'' Tunes – Dies in Ipswich"], ''The New York Times'', 27 September 1941, p. 17</ref>
 
==Films==
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*1916 – ''[[The Weakness of Strength]]'' – Richard Grant
*1916 – ''Madame Cubist''
*1916 -– ''[[A Wall Street Tragedy]]'' – Roy Simms
*1916 – ''The Heart of a Hero'' – Tom Adams
*1916 – ''[[A Coney Island Princess]]'' – Tony Graves
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*1917 – ''The Best Man''
*1919 – ''The Game's Up'' – Ted Latham
*1920 – ''[[The Cost (1920 film)|The Cost]]'' – William Fanshaw Jr
*1921 – ''[[Carnival (1921 film)|Carnival]]'' – Lelio, Simonetta's brother
*1921 – ''[[Dangerous Lies (1921 film)|Dangerous Lies]]'' – Franklin Bond
*1922 – ''[[The Man from Home (1922 film)|The Man from Home]]'' – Secretary to the king
*1929 – ''[[Devil-May-Care]]'' – Songs
*1929 – ''[[The Love Parade]]'' – Lyrics
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===References===
{{Reflist|colwidth=25em}}
 
===Sources===
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[[Category:English male silent film actors]]
[[Category:English male screenwriters]]
[[Category:English male songwriters]]
[[Category:People educated at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys]]
[[Category:PeopleMale actors from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:BritishEnglish expatriate male actors in the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century English screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century BritishEnglish male musicians]]
[[Category:British male songwriters]]
[[Category:Broadway composers and lyricists]]
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