orn in suburban Teddington on 16 December, 1899, Coward was on stage by the age of six, and writing his first drama ten years later. A visit to New York in 1921 infused him with the pace of Broadway shows, and he injected its speed into staid British drama and music to create high-octane rush for the jazz-mad, dance-crazy 20s.
oward's style was imitated everywhere, as quite normal Englishmen donned dressing gowns, stuck cigarettes in long holders and called each other 'draling'; his revues propagated the message, with songs sentimental - 'A Room With A View', 'I'll See You Again' - and satirical - 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen', 'Don't Put Your Daughter On the Stage, Mrs Worthington'. His between-the-wars celebrity reached a peak in 1930 with Private Lives by which time he had become the highest earning author in the Western World.
