Charles Hayden Coffin (22 April 1862 – 8 December 1935) was an English actor and singer known for his performances in many famous Edwardian musical comedies, particularly those produced by George Edwardes.
In his later years, Coffin found success in Shakespearean roles such as Feste in Twelfth Night (1912), and in musicals, a few films and other works, such as the classic comedy The School for Scandal (1929).
Early life
Coffin was born in Manchester. His parents were from Maine in the U.S., and his father, Charles Reuel Coffin (1822–1890),[1] was a dentist. His mother was Sarah Powell (née Munsey) Coffin (1831–1913).[2][3]
His foundation schooling was at University College, London where he was captain of the school for the whole of his final year.[4] Coffin passed the preliminary examinations to enter the College of Surgeons, but decided instead to become a singer. He studied under Edith Abell from Boston and was a member of the Royal Choral Society for three years led by Joseph Barnby.[4][5]
Career
In 1883, he performed as an amateur at St. George's Hall in London as Tom Gilroy in H. J. Byron's Partners for Life[6] and as Vivid in Monsieur Jacques.[7]
Coffin made his professional stage debut as John Smith in Edward Solomon and Sydney Grundy's Pocahontas (1885). He then played in Lady of the Locket (1885), by William Fullerton Jr. and Henry Hamilton, which was the first production designed by his friend Percy Anderson,[8] and Coriolon in Lily of Leoville by Ivan Caryll (1886).[9] Coffin rose to fame as Harry Sherwood in Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson's record-setting hit Dorothy (1886), in which he introduced the popular song, "Queen of My Heart." Coffin's good looks and powerful voice made him one of the most popular stage baritones of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[10] Early in his career, he also had successes with the same team's Doris (1889), Solomon and Henry Pottinger Stephens' The Red Hussar (1889, as Sir Harry Leighton), F. C. Burnand's adaptation of Edmond Audran's La Cigale (1890), and Captain Therese (1890), among others. He spent the 1892–93 season in New York City co-starring in several productions with soprano Lillian Russell. He also starred in a number of pantomimes.[citation needed]
Coffin was first engaged to the songwriter Hope Temple but married actress Adeline de Leuw.[2] De Leuw had been divorced by her first husband, the composer Alberto Randegger, on the grounds of her adultery with Coffin.[17] Coffin had an older brother, Walter, and a long affair with Maud ("Mamie") Ella Cohn Christie (1877–1966), which produced two children: Crystal (b. 1914) and Errol (b. 1918) Hayden Christie.[2]
Coffin died in Kensington, London, at the age of 73 and was buried in a plot containing his mother and the ashes of his father on 11 December 1935 at St John the Baptist, Woking, Surrey.[18]
^"The Law Courts". London Evening Standard. 15 March 1892. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^"Charles Hayden Coffin", Surrey, England, Church of England Burials, 1813–1987, Surrey History Centre (WOKJ/4/7), via Ancestry.co.uk, retrieved 9 January 2019 (subscription required); "Charles Reuel Coffin", Surrey, England, Church of England Burials, 1813–1987, Surrey History Centre (WOKJ/4/7), via Ancestry.co.uk, retrieved 9 January 2019 (subscription required); and "Sarah Powell Coffin", Surrey, England, Church of England Burials, 1813–1987, Surrey History Centre (WOKJ/4/5), via Ancestry.co.uk, retrieved 13 January 2019 (subscription required)
^Bennett, J. R. Voices of the Past: Vol. I A Catalogue of vocal recordings from the English Catalogue of The Gramophone Company, etc. (Oakwood Press, 1955).
Sources
Coffin, C. Hayden. Hayden Coffin's Book: Packed with Acts and Facts, London: Alston Rivers (1930).