George H. Chirgwin
Encyclopedia
George H. Chirgwin was a British music hall
star billed as "the White-Eyed Kaffir", a black face
minstrel
act.
Chirgwin appeared in the first Royal Variety Command Performance (1912). He was noted for his unusual stage appearance and varied musical accomplishments, using a falsetto
voice when singing.
Rather than using a fully blacked-up face as other blackface minstrels did, Chirgwin chose to adapt this by making one large white diamond over one eye. This meant that his stage character was only partly inside the blackface minstrel tradition, and was using the tradition in a somewhat ironical manner. And indeed his material included cockney
material as well as straightforward blackface songs and sketches.
In the 1890s, Chirgwin appeared in two actuality film
s, Chirgwin in his Humorous Business and Chirgwin Plays a Scotch Reel. He later wrote and acted in a silent drama film called The Blind Boy. In his later life, he was mine host of a pub in Shepperton
, Surrey
.
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
star billed as "the White-Eyed Kaffir", a black face
Black Face
Black Face is the south wall of an east-west ridge in Arena Valley, south of East Beacon, in the Quartermain Mountains, Victoria Land. The feature is a prominent landmark and is formed by a dolerite dike which rises over above the floor of the valley...
minstrel
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
act.
Chirgwin appeared in the first Royal Variety Command Performance (1912). He was noted for his unusual stage appearance and varied musical accomplishments, using a falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
voice when singing.
Rather than using a fully blacked-up face as other blackface minstrels did, Chirgwin chose to adapt this by making one large white diamond over one eye. This meant that his stage character was only partly inside the blackface minstrel tradition, and was using the tradition in a somewhat ironical manner. And indeed his material included cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
material as well as straightforward blackface songs and sketches.
In the 1890s, Chirgwin appeared in two actuality film
Actuality film
The actuality film is a non-fiction film genre that like the documentary film uses footage of real events, places, and things, yet unlike the documentary is not structured into a larger argument, picture of the phenomenon or coherent whole. In practice, actuality films preceded the emergence of the...
s, Chirgwin in his Humorous Business and Chirgwin Plays a Scotch Reel. He later wrote and acted in a silent drama film called The Blind Boy. In his later life, he was mine host of a pub in Shepperton
Shepperton
Shepperton is a town in the borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England. To the south it is bounded by the river Thames at Desborough Island and is bisected by the M3 motorway...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.
Filmography
- Chirgwin in his Humorous Business (1896)
- Chirgwin Plays a Scotch Reel (1896)
- The Blind Boy (1917)