{{Short description|English singer and actor (1887–1968)}} {{Use British English|date=August 2011}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} [[File:Derek Oldham, 1925.jpg|thumb|right|Oldham in a 1925 publicity photo for ''[[Rose-Marie]]'']] '''Derek Oldham''' (29 March 1887 – 20 March 1968) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the [[tenor]] roles of the [[Savoy Operas]] with the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]].
After performing in concerts as a [[boy soprano]] and working as a bank clerk, Oldham began a professional performing career in 1914. With the outbreak of World War I, he joined the [[Scots Guards]], serving with valour. After the war, he joined the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]], singing the tenor leads in the [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] operas for three years. He then starred in musicals and operettas in the [[West End theatre|West End]] in the 1920s, including ''[[Madame Pompadour (operetta)|Madame Pompadour]]'', ''[[The Merry Widow]]'', ''[[Rose-Marie]]'' and ''[[The Vagabond King]]''. He returned to the D'Oyly Carte for brief periods from 1929 to 1937.
Oldham continued singing, recording and acting through the 1940s, also appearing in several films. He concentrated on legitimate theatre in the 1950s, acting until the age of 70. He maintained a lifelong interest in Gilbert and Sullivan, serving as an officer of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society. He finally retired to [[Hampshire]] during the last ten years of his life.
==Life and career== [[Image:Derek Oldham Marco (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|upright|Oldham as Marco in ''[[The Gondoliers]]'']] Oldham was born '''John Stephens Oldham''' in [[Accrington]], Lancashire, the son of Thomas Oldham and his wife Harriett, ''née'' Stephens. He had an elder brother, George, and a sister. As a child, Oldham was a [[boy soprano]] in demand for over five years in oratorios (including Sullivan's ''[[The Golden Legend (cantata)|The Golden Legend]]'' and ''[[The Prodigal Son (Sullivan)|The Prodigal Son]]''), concerts (including "Neath My Lattice" from Sullivan's ''[[The Rose of Persia]]''), and [[pantomime]]s. As a young man, he worked as a bank clerk and sang in amateur operatic societies.<ref name=who>Gaye, pp. 1028–29</ref><ref name=Memories>Taylor, Roy. [http://pinafore.www3.50megs.com/remembers.html "Derek Oldham Remembers"], at the ''Memories of the D'Oyly Carte'' website, accessed 21 December 2009</ref>
He debuted on the professional adult stage in 1914, as Julien in ''The Daring of Diane'', an operetta by Alfred Anderson and [[Heinrich Reinhardt (composer)|Heinrich Reinhardt]], presented at the [[London Pavilion]]. He made an immediate mark: ''[[The Observer]]'' said that he "has an exceptionally charming tenor voice, uses it with fine art, and acts with engaging simplicity and sincerity."<ref>''The Observer'', 26 April 1914, p. 9</ref> Later that year, at the [[Lyric Theatre, London|Lyric Theatre]], he played Bumerli in ''[[The Chocolate Soldier]]'', in which he also won excellent notices.<ref>''The Observer'', 6 September 1914, p. 5; and ''[[The Times]]'', 7 September 1914, p. 12</ref> At the end of that year, after the outbreak of World War I, he joined the [[Scots Guards]], a year later was commissioned in the [[East Lancashire Regiment]] and was awarded the [[Military Cross]] for gallantry in Macedonia in 1918.<ref name=who/> During the war, he formed a concert group to entertain his fellow servicemen, also producing ''The Chocolate Soldier'' not far from enemy lines.<ref>Taylor, Roy. [http://pinafore.www3.50megs.com/d-oldham.html Derek Oldham] at the ''Memories of the D'Oyly Carte'' website, accessed 21 December 2009</ref>
===D'Oyly Carte and musical comedy years=== [[File:Winnie Melville, Mrs Derek Oldham, by Philip Alexius De László (1869-1937).jpg|thumb|upright|Winnie Melville, later Oldham's wife, in 1920]] Oldham was demobilised in July 1919 and joined the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]] the following month, when the company opened its first London season in over a decade. He immediately assumed the leading [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] [[tenor]] roles of Alexis in ''[[The Sorcerer]]'', Lord Tolloller in ''[[Iolanthe]]'', Cyril in ''[[Princess Ida]]'', Nanki-Poo in ''[[The Mikado]]'', Colonel Fairfax in ''[[The Yeomen of the Guard]]'', and Marco in ''[[The Gondoliers]]''.<ref name=who/> The following year, he also took on the roles of Ralph Rackstraw in ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'', Frederic in ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'', and Richard Dauntless in ''[[Ruddigore]]''. In 1921 he exchanged Cyril for Prince Hilarion in ''Princess Ida''.<ref>Rollins and Witts, pp. 136–40</ref>
Oldham left the D'Oyly Carte company in 1922 to star in a great number of musicals and operettas during the 1920s at the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]] and other [[West End theatre|West End]] theatres. His first musical was ''[[Whirled into Happiness]]'' at the [[Lyric Theatre, London|Lyric Theatre]], as Horace Wiggs, where his leading lady was his future wife, [[Winnie Melville]]. They married in 1923.<ref name=mg33>''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'', 12 June 1933, p. 13</ref> She later joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company as a principal soprano for a single London season in 1929–1930.<ref name=rw154>Rollins and Witts, p. 154</ref> Oldham wrote, "The sheltered, almost student life of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company gave place to the hard glitter and luxury of the West End theatre – a world of restaurants, supper parties, and all the trappings that went with London theatrical life between the two wars".<ref name=Memories/> Other musicals in which Oldham starred included ''[[Madame Pompadour (operetta)|Madame Pompadour]]'' (1923, as Rene), ''[[The Merry Widow]]'' (1923, as Camille), and ''[[Rose-Marie]]'' (1925, as Jim).<ref name=who/> In 1927, Oldham and Melville starred together in the European première of ''[[The Vagabond King]]'', he as [[François Villon]], and she as Katherine de Vaucelles.<ref>''The Manchester Guardian'', 5 April 1927, p. 14</ref> They separated in 1933,<ref>"Judicial Separation for Mr Derek Oldham", The Times, 12 July 1933, p. 4</ref> and she died in 1937.<ref name=tt>''The Times'', 22 March 1968, p. 12</ref>
[[Image: Henry Lytton, Elsie Griffin and Derek Oldham in The Sorcerer, 1920.jpg|thumb|left|[[Henry Lytton]], [[Elsie Griffin]] and Oldham in ''[[The Sorcerer]]'']] Oldham returned several times to D'Oyly Carte, appearing in the 1929–30 season and on tour in his old roles of Ralph, Frederic, Tolloller, Hilarion, Nanki-Poo, Fairfax, and Marco.<ref name=rw154/> In the 1934–35 season, he played these roles on the company's first major American tour in the 20th century.<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 159</ref> In 1936, during the company's season at [[Sadler's Wells]], he played Hilarion,<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 160</ref> and he was leading tenor in the 1936–37 season, which included another long American tour.<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 161</ref> Oldham's presence was a condition demanded by the American promoters.<ref name=Stone>Stone, David. [https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/O/OldhamDerek.htm Derek Oldham] at ''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company'', 27 August 2001, accessed 21 December 2009</ref> During this tour he and [[Sylvia Cecil]] were excused by the company for one night to sing a programme of classical and popular favourites, including "Prithee, pretty maiden" from ''Patience'', the evening before President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|Roosevelt]]'s 2nd inauguration, at a party at the [[White House]].<ref name=tt/><ref>The White House programme, 19 January 1937</ref>
===Later years=== Oldham later played in many musicals and plays, including ''The Song of the Drum'' at Drury Lane, as Captain Anthony Darrell (1931).<ref>[http://library.kent.ac.uk/library/special/icons/playbills/PLAYDAT4.htm List of roles 1930–39], Play Pictorial, accessed 21 December 2009</ref> He appeared at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] as Chibiabos in ''Hiawatha'' in 1938, conducted by [[Malcolm Sargent]].<ref name=who/><ref>''The Times'', 13 June 1938, p. 12</ref> After 1948 he developed a career as a [[Lieder]] singer and lecture-recitalist and later as a character actor in non-musical plays.<ref name=who/> His last role in London was Dr. Stoner in the [[Agatha Christie]] play ''[[Verdict (play)|Verdict]]'' (1958). Between 1934 and 1957, he also appeared in several films.<ref name=Stone/>
In 1940, on 29 February, the character Frederic came of age, as described in ''The Pirates of Penzance'', Act II. This was a significant date for any G&S tenor.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1940/02/29/archives/frederic-goes-free.html?sq=%2522Pirates%2520of%2520Penzance%2522%25201940&scp=3&st=cse "Frederic Goes Free"], ''The New York Times'', 29 February 1940, p. 18</ref> In New York, the Gilbert and Sullivan Society journal, "The Palace Peeper", marked the event by publishing an original ode to Frederic, in which Oldham was honoured as the archetype of the romantic Frederic. A member of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society in London from 1924, Oldham was elected vice-president of the society in 1947.<ref name=Stone/>
During his last decade, Oldham lived in retirement in [[Hayling Island]], Hampshire, but he often visited London. He acted as compère for the D'Oyly Carte company's last night revelries at the close of its 1961–62 London season at the Savoy Theatre.<ref>Joseph, p. 303</ref> In September 1966 he appeared on the BBC radio programme ''[[Desert Island Discs]]''.<ref>[[Roy Plomley|Plomley, Roy]]. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009y385 "Derek Oldham"], ''Desert Island Discs'', BBC, 12 September, 1966</ref> He died in [[Portsmouth]] in 1968, just before his 81st birthday.<ref name=Stone/>
==Recordings and films== {| style="float:right;" |- |{{Listen |filename=OldhamOIsThereNotOneMaidenBreast1920.ogg |title=Oh! Is There Not One Maiden Breast |description=Derek Oldham as Frederic in the 1920 [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] acoustic recording of ''The Pirates of Penzance'' |format=[[Ogg]]}} |}
Oldham played leading tenor roles in nineteen full and abridged [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] Savoy opera recordings, as follows: Defendant in ''[[Trial by Jury]]'' (1928), Alexis in ''The Sorcerer'' (1933), Frederic in ''The Pirates of Penzance'' (1920, 1929 and 1931), the Duke of Dunstable in ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'' (1930), Earl Tolloller in ''Iolanthe'' (1922 [part] and 1929), Hilarion in ''Princess Ida'' (1924 and 1932), Nanki-Poo in ''The Mikado'' (1926 and 1936), Richard Dauntless in ''Ruddigore'' (1924 and 1931), Colonel Fairfax in ''The Yeomen of the Guard'' (1920, 1928 and 1931) and Marco in ''The Gondoliers'' (1927 and 1931).<ref>Rollins and Witts, pp. xi–xiii</ref> He also made numerous recordings of songs, musicals and operettas.{{cn|date=September 2025}}
He also appeared in several films between 1934 and 1957, including ''[[The Broken Rosary]]'' (1934), as Giovanni; ''[[Charing Cross Road (film)|Charing Cross Road]]'' (1935), as Jimmy O'Connell; ''[[Melody of My Heart]]'' (1936), as Joe Montfort, and ''Dangerous Exile'' (1957), as William.{{cn|date=September 2025}}
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==References== *{{cite book|last=Ayre|first=Leslie|year=1972|title=The Gilbert & Sullivan Companion|location=London|publisher=W.H. Allen & Co Ltd}} Introduction by [[Martyn Green]]. *{{cite book|last=Gaye|first=Freda|year=1967|title=Who's Who in the Theatre|location=London|publisher=Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd}} *{{cite book|last=Joseph|first=Tony|year=1994|title=D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 1875–1982: An Unofficial History|location=London|publisher=Bunthorne Books}} {{ISBN|0-9507992-1-1}} *{{cite book|last=Rollins|first=Cyril|author2=R. John Witts|year=1961|title=The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas|location=London|publisher=Michael Joseph, Ltd}}
==External links== *[http://pinafore.www3.50megs.com/d-oldham.html Profile of Oldham] *[http://pinafore.www3.50megs.com/remembers.html Reminiscences by Oldham] *{{IMDb name|0646146|Derek Oldham}} *[http://library.kent.ac.uk/library/special/icons/playbills/PLAYDAT3.htm Theatre pictorial collection; lists several of Oldham's operetta and musicals roles] *[http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/G-S-DOyly-Carte-autographed-card-Derek-Oldham_W0QQitemZ230393670531QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_Theatre_Opera_Ballet_Theatre_Programmes_Brochures_Flyers_CV?hash=item35a4886b83 Photo of Oldham]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oldham, Derek}} [[Category:1887 births]] [[Category:1968 deaths]] [[Category:Scots Guards officers]] [[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]] [[Category:Recipients of the Military Cross]] [[Category:English actors]] [[Category:English opera singers]] [[Category:People from Accrington]] [[Category:20th-century English singers]]