Harry Rickards
Harry Rickards | |
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| Born | Henry Benjamin Leete 4 December 1843 |
| Died | 13 October 1911 (aged 67) Croydon, Surrey, UK |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | Kate Rickards |
Harry Rickards (4 December 1843 – 13 October 1911),[1] born Henry Benjamin Leete, was an English-born baritone, comedian and theatre owner, most active in vaudeville and stage, first in his native England and then Australia after emigrating in 1871.
Early life
[edit]Rickards was born in Stratford, London,[1] England, the son of Benjamin Halls Leete, a printer and later chief engineer of the Egyptian railways and his wife Mary (née Watkins).[2] Harry began an apprenticeship as an engineer.[2] He married Caroline Hayden on 10 March 1862 at Bromley.[citation needed]
Theatrical career
[edit]Rickards became a comic singer, performing at music halls in Canterbury and Oxford under the stage name "Harry Rickards". He travelled to Australia and arrived in Melbourne on 28 November 1871.[2] Finding himself in debt in 1874, he toured the United States, returning to London the following year, and also toured a company in South Africa in 1876.[citation needed] He returned to Australia in 1885 and toured the country as part of a vaudeville company.[3] Known in the trade as "the Guv'nor", he had able lieutenants in his brother Jack Leete in Sydney and brother-in-law Fred Aydon in Melbourne.[4]
Personal life, death and legacy
[edit]Rickards had diabetes and died from apoplexy in Croydon, England, on 13 October 1911. His body was returned to Australia to be buried in Waverley Cemetery, Sydney.[1] He was married twice and left a widow, Kate Rickards, a trapeze artist, acrobat and performer, and two daughters. His younger daughter Madge Rickards married the singer and actor Frank Harwood in July 1909.[5]
His theatrical interests were acquired by the entrepreneur Hugh D. McIntosh.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Rutledge, Martha (1988). "Rickards, Harry (1843–1911)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- 1 2 3 Serle, Percival (1949). "Rickards, Harry". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
- ↑ "The Academy of Music". South Australian Register. Vol. L, no. 12, 033. South Australia. 8 June 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 13 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Charlie Vaude Invites You to Meet the Guv'nor". Sporting Globe. No. 1773. Victoria, Australia. 24 June 1939. p. 8. Retrieved 27 May 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Dramatic Notes". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. LII, no. 15, 828. South Australia. 10 July 1909. p. 16. Retrieved 6 May 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
External links
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