Ivor Novello

Novello was portrayed in the fictional film Gosford Park (2001) by Jeremy Northam and several of his songs were used for the film's soundtrack. Soon afterwards he died of cerebral thrombosis. The Ivor Novello Award is a prize awarded for songwriting, named for Ivor Novello, and awarded each year by the record industry to song writers and arrangers rather than the performing artistes. His last public appearance was in 1974 as a guest in the TV show Milleluci hosted by Mina and Raffaella Carrā. It was alleged by W. Somerset Maugham that Winston Churchill confided in him that he had once been to bed with Novello. He performed in musical reviews and commedies by Garinei and Giovannini. Novello was a homosexual, well known for some of his more glamorous affairs. For 35 years, he was the lover of the British actor Bobby Andrews, and he had an affair with the British poet and writer Siegfried Sassoon. Rabagliati was active also on the stage until mid 1950s.

However, he continued to appear on stage until the day before his sudden death. From 1940 to 1965 he starred in some twenty movies, including The Barefoot Contessa, Montecarlo, Il Vedovo. This downfall from his luxurious lifestyle completely broke his spirit, and he was never the same man after his release. His enormous fame as a singer helped his acting career restart. During World War II, Novello was convicted of illegal use of rationed petrol (gasoline) and was briefly imprisoned. Indeed, the Fascist government decided to make use of his popularity by choosing his song Sposi (c'č una casetta piccina) ("Wed (there's a little home)") as their demographic campaign anthem. He generally composed his music to the librettos of Christopher Hassall. At a time when anything foreign was banned, the idol Rabagliati was allowed to maintain his American-influenced style.

Novello wrote his musical shows in the style of operetta, and was one of the last major composers in this form. Female audience went crazy for him, and covered him with red roses at every performance. He also went to Hollywood and appeared in films, but the stage remained his first love and the medium for his major successes. He was so popular that his name was sung in the lyrics of La famiglia canterina, Quando canta Rabagliati, Quando la radio. He first became well known as a result of the song, "Keep the Home Fires Burning", which he composed during World War I. After the war, he appeared on stage in the West End, in musical shows of his own devising, the best known being The Dancing Years (1939). Every Monday night EIAR aired Canta Rabagliati ("Rabagliati sings"), with the singer presenting his most famous songs such as Ma l'amore no, Mattinata fiorentina, Ba-ba-baciami piccina, Silenzioso slow, Bambina innamorata. He was born at Llwyn-yr-Eos (Grove of Nightingales), Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff, Wales, to Dame Clara Novello Davies (1861-1943), a well-known singer and teacher, and David Davies, a tax collector. Rabagliati soon became a radio star, and in 1941 even had his own radio show.

David Ivor Davies (January 15, 1893 - March 6, 1951), better known as Ivor Novello , was one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century. While with the Lecuona Cuban Boys he met Giovanni D'Anzi who proposed him an audition with Italian state radio station EIAR. "Yesterday". He performed with his face painted black and made a hit with the song Maria la O. "Someday my Heart will Awake". After a brief experience with Pippo Barzizza's orchestra, he joined the Lecuona Cuban Boys, a Cuban band. "We'll Gather Lilacs". Back in Europe he became a singer.

"When I Curtsied to the King". During his stay he had however the opportunity to get to know new musical genres such as jazz, swing, scat. "My Dearest Dear". He remained four years in America, but his career as an actor never took off. "I can Give you the Starlight". He later recalled: "For someone like me, who had seen no more than Lake Como or Monza's cathedral so far, finding myself on board a luxury steamer with three cases full of clothes, a few rolls of dollars, granduchesses and countesses flirting with me was something extraordinary". "Rose of England". In 1927 Alberto Rabagliati moved to Hollywood from native Italy as the winner of a Rudolph Valentino look-alike contest.

"Shine Through my Dreams".
. "Fold Your Wings".
. "Keep the Home Fires Burning". Alberto Rabagliati (Milan, 26 June 1906 - Rome, 7 March 1974) was Italy's first pop star. Gay's the Word (1951).

King's Rhapsody (1949). Perchance to Dream (1945). Arc de Triomphe (1943). The Dancing Years (1939).

Crest of the Wave (1937). Careless Rapture (1936). Glamorous Night (1935).