Beau Brummell

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Beau Brummell

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Beau Brummell (George Bryan Brummell) , 1778-1840, English dandy and wit. Brummell was greatly admired for his fastidious appearance and confident manner. He was an intimate of the prince regent (later George IV), and as such influenced men of society to wear dark, simply cut clothes and elaborate neckwear. He is also credited with having set the fashion for trousers rather than breeches. Having quarreled with the prince, and deeply in debt from gambling, Brummell fled to France, where, ironically, he lived for 14 years in poverty and squalor. He died insane in a hospital at Caen.

Bibliography: See biographies by H. Cole (1977).

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Beau Brummell

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre | 2004 | | © The Oxford Companion to American Theatre 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Beau Brummell (1890),a play in four acts by Clyde Fitch. [Madison Square Theatre, 150 perf.] Beau Brummell ( Richard Mansfield), vain, effete, and supercilious, cares only about the pleasures of life. He is totally irresponsible, telling his valet, Mortimer ( W. J. Ferguson), to hide his bills where he “would not see them,” so that he might “think that they are paid.” Only his gambling debts are honored. To replenish his funds, he plans to marry Mariana Vincent ( Agnes Miller), daughter of a rich London merchant, unaware that his own nephew Reginald ( F. W. Lander) is courting her and has her affections. Brummell's haughtiness extends even to the Prince of Wales ( D. H. Harkins), who at first is amused by the man's presumption. But when, on leaving a ball, Brummell snaps at the Prince, “I shall have to order my carriage. Wales, will you ring the bell?,” he finally alienates the future king. Realizing the damage he has done to himself, he sends the Prince an expensive gift, only to have it publicly returned. He is further confounded to overhear Mariana and Reginald exchange endearments. Head high, he determines to leave London. Years later we see Brummell, aged, impoverished, and befriended only by his loyal valet, as he sits in his French rooms by the light of a single candle and entertains his old companions, now merely phantoms of his mind, at a regal, if imaginary, supper. The play was Fitch's first major play, although producer and star Mansfield attempted to take credit for it. Fitch replied, “The execution . . . some of the business, and the great bulk of the dialogue is mine. The artistic touch, some of the lines in the comedy, not the most important ones, and the genius that has made it a success are Mr. Mansfield's.” Certainly many critics held that it was Mansfield's finest delineation, and he kept it in his repertory until his death. Arnold Daly later performed it successfully.

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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Beau Brummell." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 7 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Beau Brummell." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (December 7, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-BeauBrummell.html

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Beau Brummell." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved December 07, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-BeauBrummell.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Beau Brummell.(Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Man of Style)(Brief article)(Book review)
Magazine article from: California Bookwatch; 8/1/2006
Free Article Representing the Mad King: George III in the cinema.(Critical essay)
Magazine article from: Journal of Popular Film and Television; 6/22/2008
Free Article Neil Simon fitting successor to Worcester's Fitch.(INSIGHT)
Newspaper article from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA); 5/13/2007

Facts and information from other sites

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Survival of the foppiest For Beau Brummell, doing nothing with tremendous style was a vocation, says Claire Harman
Newspaper article from: The Sunday Telegraph London; 10/16/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...years after the death of George "Beau'' Brummell, Punch ran a spoof advertisement...the late king, George IV: "Brummell's neckcloths, the trophies...Burney: A Biography' (Flamingo) Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Dandy by Ian Kelly...
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MAN ABOUT TOWN; IN TWO DANDY DEBUTS, AUTHOR AND ACTOR IAN KELLY BRINGS BEAU BRUMMELL TO THE BIG APPLE.
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Magazine article from: The Village Voice; 5/31/2006; ; 491 words ; Beau Brummell By Ron Hutchinson 59E59 59 East 59th Street...example, the words of definitive dandy Beau Brummell when he felt the Prince Regent was slighting...the biography by lan Kelly, who plays Brummell-is a sort of Rake's Regress. It finds...
Culture: Sartorial visionary reborn; The name rings a bell but what did he do, exactly? Ron Hutchinson's new play about Beau Brummell reveals all, writes Terry Grimley.
Newspaper article from: The Birmingham Post (England); 3/20/2001; 700+ words ; ...get very much of in a play about Beau Brummell is sex: apparently Regency England...without wanting to know more about Brummell - and let's face it, most of...Hutchinson, who became interested in Brummell because he wanted to write about...
Beau to bar black nudists; Exclusivity is good business, not racism, Brummell insists ahead of opening of 'Kaal on the Vaal'.(News)
Newspaper article from: The Saturday Star (South Africa); 6/24/2006; 700+ words ; ...Africa's well-known nudist, Beau Brummell - now 63 - is at it again. This...called "Kaal on the Vaal", Brummell said that when he started to allow...expose their genitals like that," Brummell said. So who's coming to jol...
Beau Brummell.(Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Man of Style)(Brief article)(Book review)
Magazine article from: California Bookwatch; 8/1/2006; 403 words ; Beau Brummell Ian Kelly Free Press 1230 Avenue of Americas...0743270894 $26.00 www.simonsays.com BEAU BRUMMELL: THE ULTIMATE MAN OF STYLE comes from...dandy. Despite his widespread fame, Brummell has not had his own serious biography...
Actor leads appeal for Beau Brummell statue.
Newspaper article from: The Evening Standard (London, England); 6/6/2001; ; 457 words ; ...000 appeal for a statue honouring Beau Brummell, the original English gentleman. Bowles, who plays Brummell in Beau at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket...backing a bid by trustees of the Beau Brummell Statue in St James's to erect a life...
Actor leads appeal for Beau Brummell statue
Newspaper article from: Evening Standard - London; 6/6/2001; ; 408 words ; ...000 appeal for a statue honouring Beau Brummell, the original English gentleman. Bowles, who plays Brummell in Beau at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket...backing a bid by trustees of the Beau Brummell Statue in St James's to erect a life...
Bowles brilliant in a masterpiece of style; Beau Brummell Malvern Festival Theatre.(Review)
Newspaper article from: The Birmingham Post (England); 3/22/2001; 511 words ; ...Keith in To The Manor Born. As Beau Brummell in his declining years in a Calais...towards insanity and dissolution. Brummell has left England (debts and a...Richard McCabe). Austin clings to Brummell, as his valet, with the strange...

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