It's Behind You - Harry Gilmore

Regular readers of IBY will know that we like nothing better than to solve pantomime mysteries! Not why Jack went up the Beanstalk, although that's a thought, but putting history behind pictures and memorabilia discoveries! We've even managed to unite distant relatives - who said Pantomime was just for the Christmas period!

This mystery starts with an autograph book, which belonged to the performer Harry Gilmore, turning up with Pantomime enthusiast David Hartshorne - a regular IBY reader! He started to piece some history together and discovered that Harry started his career at the Alhambra Theatre, Plymouth on the 24th December 1906, thus began his career as Thomas The Cat until his last recorded pantomime in 1939. But did it end there - we hope to fill in some of the blanks. He died in the 1960's but his family were unaware of the pantomime feline legacy that he left behind.

David has managed to piece together the last 25 years of Harry's recorded pantomime appearances in Dick Whittington:-

1920/21	Alexandra Theatre Birmingham (12 week run)	Leon Salburg's Whittington
1921/22	Stoll Empires Tour - NOTE A	same Panto
1922/23	Moss Empires Tour - NOTE B	same Panto
1923/24	Gaiety Theatre Dublin - NOTE C	Fred Warden's (sic)
1924/25	Artillery Theatre Woolwich	same Panto
1925/26	Theatre Royal Portsmouth	Salburg's
1926/27	Grand Theatre Swansea
1927/28	Alexandra Theatre Toronto & Canadian Tour
1928/29	Alexandra Theatre Birmingham	Leon Salburg
1929/30	Moss (?) Theatre Stratford London	same Panto
1930/31	Alexandra Hall	same Panto
1931/32	Garrick Theatre London	same Panto
1932/33	Artillery Theatre Woolwich	Prince Littler
1933/34	Portsmouth & Brighton	Prince Littler
1934/35	Alexandra Theatre Birmingham	Leon Salburg
1935/36	Empire Edinburgh & Empire Glasgow	same Panto
1936/37	Toronto Canada & USA
1937/38	Empire Glasgow	Geo. Black's Panto
1938/39	Empire Finsbury Park	Geo. Black's Panto
1939/40	Richmond Theatre Richmond London

NOTE A - Empire Chatham, Empire Wood Green, Empire Hackney, Empire Chiswick, Hippodrome Birkenhead, Hippodrome Manchester, Palace Leicester, One Week Out, Return Hippodrome Manchester

NOTE B - Hippodrome Southend, Empire Finsbury Park, Hippodrome Leeds, Hippodrome Sheffield, Palace Hull, Hippodrome Newcastle

NOTE C - There was also a 5 week run at the Repertory Theatre, Nottingham

Was this the pantomime from 1924/5 at the Royal Artillery Theatre in Woolwich (run by the Littlers) which Harry appeared in?

The following picture is taken from the Clarkson Rose's book of the last pantomime at the Old Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham - it is from the 1934/5 season and featured Jack Williams as Dame, as well as Clarkson as Alderman Fitzwarren plus, of course, Harry as Thomas The Cat.

We are very grateful to Stella Dennant for supplying us with this obituary from March 20th 1959.

If you have any information or pictures about Harry Gilmore, please email us at IBY and we will continue to build the profile of Harry Gilmore - the veteran Pantomime Cat!