Beerbohm (tomcat)

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Beerbohm (born 1974 or 1975; died March 2, 1995) was a male house cat . The tabby tomcat became known as the house cat of the Gielgud Theater in the West End of London .

Life

The Gielgud Theater 2011

How the cat got into the Gielgud Theater, then known as the Globe, is not known. Some sources say he was born in theater in 1974 or 1975. In the official obituary of the English theater newspaper The Stage, however, it is said that the cat came to the theater during the 1976 performances of Michael Frayn's play “Donkeys' Years” (German: “All Jubeljahre”) .

The tomcat, which initially worked as a mouse catcher, was named after the actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree . Over the years, his role changed and he was considered a good luck charm and a haven of calm in the hectic theater business for many actors.

Beerbohm was known to go into the dressing rooms. He was happy to look there u. a. the actors Michael Gambon and Peter Bowles. Feathered hats and stuffed birds sparked his playful instinct . He also ran across the stage at least once every season. It was first noticed by the public in 1978 when it ran across the stage during the Hinge and Bracket revue . As one of the longest-lived cats in a theater, he became very popular in England. His fans included Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith. His appearances were featured several times on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs program .

Beerbohm stayed in the theater until 1991. He was then picked up by Tony Ramsey, the theater's set builder, who took the cat back to Beckenham .

Beerbohm died on March 21, 1995 at the age of about 20. Numerous newspapers in the country reported his death, including the Daily Telegraph . The theater magazine The Stage dedicated the front page to him. This makes it the only animal that has received an obituary on page one in the more than one hundred year history of the paper. Many actors remembered the hangover and shared anecdotes with readers in the obituary, including Hinge and Bracket, Eddington, Keith, and Beryl Reid .

A drawing by Beerbohm still adorns the foyer of the theater.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ronald C. Martin: “Beerbohm” , The Stage , March 30, 1995, p. 36. From the British Newspaper Archive on October 11, 2018.
  2. ↑ My fur lady (en) . In: the Guardian , September 1, 2001. Retrieved August 28, 2018. 
  3. ↑ a b Sam Stall: 100 Cats Who Changed Civilization: History's Most Influential Felines ( en ). Quirk Books, 2007, ISBN 9781594741630 , p. 86.
  4. ↑ Exclusive: Cats to return to West End . In: The Stage , July 8, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2018. 
  5. ^ Jan Levy: 50 Shades of Gray: A Contemporary Study of London's Most Historic Theaters . Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  6. ^ Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Justine Hankins: Catopedia: A fascinating collection of feline curiosities ( en ). Headline, 2016, ISBN 9781472224798 ( Accessed August 28, 2018).
  7. ^ A b c Whiskers in the workplace: More cats with careers . In: BBC News , February 3, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.