Ivor Emmanuel

Ivor Emmanuel

Ivor Lewis Emmanuel (7 November 1927 – 20 July 2007) was a Welsh musical theatre and television singer and actor. He is probably best remembered, however, for his appearance as "Private Owen" in the 1964 film Zulu, in which his character rallies outnumbered British soldiers by leading them in the stirring Welsh battle hymn "Men of Harlech" to counter the Zulu war chants. After losing his parents at an early age, Emmanuel began working as a coal miner. He developed a keen interest in music and singing, however, and was drawn to the stage. At the age of 20, he had his first professional theatre job in the musical Oklahoma!. He served as a chorister for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1950–1951 but soon went on to play small roles in the West End productions of South Pacific, The King and I and Plain and Fancy. His first leading role was Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees (1957), followed by a tour as Woody Mahoney in Finian's Rainbow. In 1966, he appeared on Broadway in A Time for Singing and then in the West End in 110 in the Shade. He continued to play in summer seasons of theatre and in cabaret and variety into the 1980s. During the late 1950s, he participated in the Welsh language singing television programme Dewch i Mewn, and from 1958 to 1964 was lead singer on the TWW show, Gwlad y Gan (Land of Song), among other TV shows. In 1960, he performed in the first televised edition of the Royal Variety Performance. He continued to perform on TV through the 1970s. He also performed in concerts and is heard on cast recordings of Show Boat, Kiss Me, Kate, The King and I and A Time for Singing. He is also featured on the box set, The Greatest Musicals of the 20th Century, on the 1966 RCA Victrola recording of The Pirates of Penzance, and in a solo album, The Best of Ivor Emmanuel.

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