Jack Pleasants The Bashful Yorkshire Comedian Antique Theatre Postcard

NR28  Antique very scarce postcard of Jack Pleasants historic Yorkshire actor and theatre star known as the Bashful Comedian with corner places from former album storage (where lifted) to allow but just on reverse - front of card shows age fading but otherwise great - please allow for reverse corners and reverse ageing but this is the other side only - otherwise unused and (bar some age fading) is excellent (vg+).

Jack Pleasants (born Squire Pleasants; 27 August 1874 2 January 1924) was an English music hall comedian and singer. Jack Pleasants was born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England in 1874. After entering a talent contest in Leeds, he had his first music hall appearances there. He made his London debut in 1901, but was not an immediate success and returned to provincial theatres for several years, gradually increasing his popularity in the north of England.

From then his status as one of the top Northern dialect comedians grew. Billed as The Bashful Limit, he typically played the part of a "bashful fool", whose ostensible lack of experience with women could turn out to reveal hidden purpose. He wore make-up, a black frock coat, trousers, and a bowler hat, and sported a large marguerite flower. He popularised the songs Im Twenty-One Today and Im Shy, Mary Ellen, Im Shy, which remain the songs for which he is best remembered.

Jack Pleasants died in 1924 aged forty-nine.He died of a perforated appendix after an evening pantomime performance of Little Red Riding Hood at the Prince's Theatre, Bradford. One source suggests that Pleasants dropped dead on stage, and that he had been only "subbing" for Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane of Old Mother Riley fame.