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♥ 1864 West Sunderland - † 1918 Glasgow ☼ Actor, ☺ Comedian, ♫ Musician www.marksheridan.org |
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Steps to Suicide : The Death of Mark Sheridan On January 15, 1918, two men taking a walk in an unfrequented part of Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow, found the body of the music hall comedian Mark Sheridan. The previous evening the actor had completed his act in the revue “ Gay Paree " at the Coliseum Theatre on the city’s south side, entertaining playgoers who knew his talents from earlier successes in the city. Near his body, police found a Browning automatic revolver.Sheridan had shot himself in the foreheard. Was he so perturbed by professional and personal doubts that suicide seemed the only course of action? What could have prompted him to pull the trigger? After much research into his personal life and theatrical career, I have been able to gather new evidence which indicates that there were indeed many pressures, both professional and personal, that contributed to Mark Sheridan's tragic death.
Wave of Success The point of trauma for most suicides can usually be traced to an event or events one year or eighteen months prior to death. So what was it that caused sufficient distress and despair to make Mark turn a gun on himself? Publicly and privately there had been highs and lows in his life. The name Mark Sheridan was huge . He was known throughout Britain for popular songs like “ I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside,", “ Here We Are Again!” and “ Belgium Put The Kibosh On The Kaiser.” For Mark 1914 had proved a very good year; he was at the height of his powers, riding the wave of success that started two years before with his song “ Who Were You With Last Night?”
Battle-cry He was about to create another music hall sensation when England declared war on Germany. By September 21, 1914, his lively repertoire featured the song " Here We Are Again", written by Charles Knight and Kenneth Lyle. Dubbed " the British Army's battle cry, " its chorus was sung no fewer than 15 times at the Oxford Music-Hall.
Everyone knew its catchy chorus : " Here we are! Here we are ! Here we are again!
The optimism reflected the patriotic spirit of those brave wartime years.
Sheridan devised a Patriotic Week in November, and won plaudits for his " bright and breezy " style.
Comedy Search
At the Empire Theatre in his home town of Sunderland, he joined forces with Wee Georgie Wood, Nora Delany, Walter Passmore and Gus Garrick to perform free of charge, donating the proceeds to Sunderland's war relief fund. By 1916 Sheridan's vital optimism from the earlier war years was fading, and his variety card in The Era announced that he was still on the lookout for exceptional comedy patter and songs but not the " war stuff."
There were also fewer outstanding music hall triumphs, as before. Minor singing successes like " The Villain Still Pursued Her " and " It's The Girls That Make The Seaside " were not enough to keep him constantly in favour. Tastes in entertainment were changing. It was time to try something new, and he chose revue.
Tarnished
The early days of March 1916 brought a court case which he won but which, in his own mind, tarnished the Mark Sheridan image. Harry Day, an agent,sued him " to recover commission allegedly due for securing engagements." According to The Stage of March 9, 1916, " judgment was passed for the defendant, " but Sheridan was " gravely concerned " about the public's perception of him after the case. His solicitors, Beirnstein & Beirnstein, wrote a letter to The Era to dispel " misapprehensions."
To add to his worries, his two eldest sons, Jack and Billy, joined the Royal Naval Air Service and the London Scottish, and faced the perils of battle. Family concerns reached a climax on January 16, 1917, when Sheridan's daughter Juanita married one Frederick Johnson against her father's wishes. Mark had " objected to the man." Oddly enough, Mark had himself, years before, eloped with , and married, a young lady, Ethel Maud Salisbury Davenport, who had " aristocratic connections." Being what was deemed " a mere actor " and the son of a sail-maker, he had himself been rated an unsuitable partner for the lady.
The year 1917 brought the launch of Sheridan's musical burlesque " Gay Paree, " a change of style for the music hall comic who had refused previous offers to star in revue. The show cost 2,000 pounds to produce, and was not to prove the success anticipated. Sheridan planned this as his final " triumph " before " blacking out " ( an ominous phrase, used on his variety cards to announce future plans ) and taking early retirement. Sadly, it was to prove no major triumph. The reception which " Gay Paree " received in Glasgow three weeks into its national run, and only a week after Sheridan's nervous breakdown, was probably enough to push him over the edge.
On January 14, 1918, Sheridan and his company performed twice at the Glasgow Coliseum. Accounts vary as to the audience's reaction but the reports I have seen suggest that the audience was less than welcoming and that Sheridan was jeered because the revue was poorly organised and staged.
Whatever the degree of unpleasantness he received, coupled with this family troubles, poor health and the stress of wartime, it appears to have been enough to make Sheridan turn the trigger on himself the next day.
He was only 53, with many good performing years ahead, when he died, alone, in a Glasgow park.
© Angelique Antal, 2002 |
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[Home] [Biography] [Book references] [Articles] [Making his Mark in Glasgow Pantomime] [Steps to Suicide] [Summer Seaside Song Became Pantomime Hit!] [What's In A Name?] [Reviews / Gossip] [Photo Gallery] [Recordings/Lyrics] |
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Comments, information and suggestions to Angelica Antal e-mail: info@marksheridan.org |
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