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26-725: In 1913 financier Sir Alfred Butt rented an area in Paris . Built according to English music hall principles and style during World War I , the theatre was originally named the "Palace Theatre", after the like-named one in London, in order to appeal to British soldiers. The name was shortly thereafter changed to "Théâtre Mogador", Mogador being the old name of the town of Essaouira in Morocco . The 21 April 1919 official inauguration guests included US President Woodrow Wilson , in France to negotiate

52-484: A family of East End merchants dealing in sea sponges and cigars. In the 1890s Cohen left the family business and moved into retail, becoming a director of D.H.Evans and Harrods. He was the first to introduce taxi-cabs to the streets of London in about 1907 and was involved in the theatre, providing financial support for Lillie Langtry when she refitted and renovated the Imperial Theatre in London. He made

78-575: A fortune in his lifetime and spent it, dying in 1933 and leaving just £5 in his will. Butt moved from Harrods in 1898 to the Palace Theatre , London, where he was first appointed the secretary and then became the business manager. The chairman at the Palace was his uncle, art dealer Count Max Hollender, who had married Solomon's daughter, Rose in 1879. Another family connection was the theatre's solicitors who were Beyfus & Beyfus. Butt became

104-614: A joint company, the "Variety Theatres Controlling Company Limited", with Walter de Frece . VTCC became the second largest chain of music halls in the United Kingdom, second only to Moss Empires . Among their London theatres managed by Butt were the Globe and Queen's Theatres . Outside London Butt opened two new theatres, firstly, the Alhambra Theatre , Glasgow, in 1910, designed by Sir John James Burnet and, secondly,

130-526: A scandal concerning a leak of budget details from which he was believed to have benefited financially. With the end of his political career, Butt concentrated on his interest in the horse-racing industry. He purchased the Brook Stud near Newmarket . His two most successful horses were Steady Aim , winner of The Oaks , and Petition , winner of the Ascot New Stakes , both in 1946. He

156-494: A son who became the renowned barrister Gilbert Hugh Beyfus , QC. He represented clients such as Liberace , John Aspinall and Aneurin Bevan . Alfred Beyfus had another child from a previous relationship who was named Alfred Butt (1878–1962). Butt began his career as a clerk at the department store Harrods , where his uncle, Edgar Israel Cohen , was a director. Cohen, who had married Solomon's daughter Ada in 1876, came from

182-552: A whalebone manufacturer. In 1910 Alfred Butt and Walter de Frece joined forces to form the Variety Theatres Controlling Company, the second largest such organisation in the country after Moss Empires . Gertrude Beyfus married Michael John Garcia, who was a partner in the fruit importers and distributors, Simons, Jacobs & Co . The senior partner of this business, Michael Simons, was the founder and chairman of Howard & Wyndham Ltd ., one of

208-849: The Adelphi Theatre , the Empire Theatre , the Gaiety Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , as well as theatres outside London. He continued as a theatre impresario until 1931. During the First World War , also, Butt became Director of Food Rationing at the Ministry of Food . He was knighted for his services to the ministry, and for his work for war charities, in 1918. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Balham and Tooting in 1922. In 1929, he

234-548: The Theatre Mogador , Paris in 1919 (delayed by the First World War ), designed by Bertie Crewe . Butt became managing director of three West End theatres during the war: the Adelphi Theatre (1915–19), the Empire Theatre (1914–28) and the Gaiety Theatre (1915–19). He became joint owner and managing director of London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane from 1925 to 1931. Also during the First World War, he

260-642: The Treaty of Versailles , as well as his successor Franklin Delano Roosevelt . From 1920, it gained fame with the performances of Sergei Diaghilev 's Ballets Russes , as well as with the Thés Mogador – performances of operettas and plays in the afternoon. In 1923–1924, it was renamed "Théâtre Cora Laparcerie" for a brief period, after the name of its then owner, Cora Laparcerie , before acquiring its current name from its street address. In 1924, it

286-606: The Palace. In 1906 he became managing director, a position he held for 14 years. He developed close links with the Orpheum Vaudeville Circuit and its associates in the United States, and brought numerous American stars to London. He also introduced British audiences to continental performers such as Anna Pavlova and Yvette Guilbert . In 1910 he greatly expanded his theatre business when he took control of Thomas Barrasford 's music halls and formed

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312-560: The awards' sixteenth and seventeenth editions on 1 April 2002 and 12 May 2003, respectively. On 26 September 2016, a fire damaged several parts of the theatre, including the stage and props that would be used in the French-language production of The Phantom of the Opera . Because of this, the show's French premiere was indefinitely postponed. Alfred Butt Sir Alfred Butt, 1st Baronet (20 March 1878 – 8 December 1962)

338-484: The brothers were selling furniture, bill discounting and money lending. In 1853 their sister, Eliza, married collar manufacturer Jacques Vanderlinden. After the death of Eliza in 1867 Vanderlinden was living at Solomon Beyfus's house, 50 Bedford Square, and trading in loans. Other members of Solomon's family involved in this business included his eldest son Henry and son-in-law, Albert Isaac Boss. This became public knowledge in 1875 when Albert Boss and Henry Beyfus sued

364-683: The counting-house of Harrod's department store where his uncle, Edgar Cohen , through the Beyfus family was a director. He subsequently joined the Palace Theatre , a music hall in Cambridge Circus , London, largely controlled by the Beyfus family and associates. He became company secretary of the Palace Theatre Limited in 1898, at the young age of 19. He quickly advanced to the position of assistant manager, and when Charles Morton retired in 1904, he became manager of

390-1009: The largest non-variety theatre companies in Britain. Solomon was said to be deeply religious, generous, a gambler and a "character". He was admitted to the Freedom of the City of London on 25 November 1858, declaring that his father, Gotze Philip Beyfus late of Birmingham, was teacher of languages and had lived at 7 Bury Street in the City of London, a location adjacent to the Bevis Marks Synagogue . Solomon died on 27 March 1893, leaving £81,326; his executors were his sons Alfred and Philip plus his son-in-law Michael John Garcia. His wife Charlotte predeceased him, having died in 1887. The legal firm of Beyfus & Beyfus passed down to Solomon's grandchild Harry Max Beyfus (son of Philip and Ellah). Harry eventually became bankrupt after gambling on

416-546: The newspaper World for publishing "malicious and defamatory libel". Evidence was given that Solomon Beyfus was a cabinet maker based in City Road, and also operated as a bill discounter with an establishment in Old Burlington. Two of Charlotte and Solomon's sons, Alfred and Philip, became solicitors and established the legal firm of Beyfus & Beyfus. Alfred married Emma Plumstead in 1884 and they had one child,

442-563: The party at parliamentary elections at Walworth and Paddington North , he was elected as member of parliament for Balham and Tooting at the 1922 general election . In 1929 he was created a baronet "of Westminster in the County of London" for his services to political and public life. He held the seat at successive elections until he was forced to resign from the Commons in June 1936 over

468-475: The youngest theatre manager in London when he replaced 86-year-old Charles Morton in 1904. In 1902 Butt married Georgina Mary Say, who was the niece of Emma Plumstead. Solomon and Charlotte had two other children with links to the theatre; they were Albert Beyfus and Gertrude Beyfus: Albert married Essie (Esther) de Frece, American born cousin of impresario Sir Walter de Frece . Essie's father, Benjamin, had emigrated to America prior to 1850 where he traded as

494-398: Was a Cine-variety for a few months, before closing. The Isola brothers, Émile and Vincent Isola , re-opened it in 1925, launching the new American style of performances exemplified by shows such as No, No, Nanette , Rose-Marie and L'Auberge du Cheval blanc . Until the 1970s, Théâtre Mogador was mainly used for performances of operettas, including Mistinguett . Marcel Merkès

520-543: Was a British theatre impresario, Conservative politician and racehorse owner and breeder. During a fourteen-year tenure as manager of London 's Palace Theatre , beginning in 1904, Butt built a theatre empire, expanding firstly with the Alhambra Theatre , Glasgow in 1910, followed by the London Victoria Palace a year later, to rival that of Edward Moss and others. He became managing director of several London West End theatres beginning in 1914, including

546-536: Was a regular performer here from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s. An extensive renovation restored the building to new splendour in 1983. In 2005, it was purchased by the Stage Entertainment group (then called the "Stage Holding - The Theatre Group"). The theatre hosted the nineteenth Molière Awards (French theatre awards, known locally as the Nuit des Molières ) on 9 May that year. It had previously hosted

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572-770: Was a trader in London's East End and the head of a family that became influential in both the theatres and courtrooms of Britain. His father, Gotz Philip Beyfus, a Jewish émigré from Hamburg in Germany, was born about 1788; he was a professor of language, the secretary of the Jews' Free School and taught in the Western Synagogue. Solomon's mother, Cippy, was born about 1784 in Plymouth, Devon, England. They had at least three children, Solomon, Philip and Eliza. Solomon, born in Plymouth, married Charlotte Abrahams in 1841; she

598-586: Was appointed in 1917 by the new Prime Minister David Lloyd George as the Director of Food Rationing, and introduced compulsory food rationing with the support of his principal civil servant William Beveridge . He was knighted for his services to the Ministry, and for his work for war charities, in 1918. Butt was a supporter of the Conservative & Unionist Party. After standing unsuccessfully for

624-444: Was created a baronet "of Westminster in the County of London" for his services to political and public life. He was forced to resign from the Commons in June 1936 over a financial scandal. After this, Butt concentrated on horse racing. Alfred Butt was born in London, the son of solicitor Alfred Beyfus whose forebears had migrated from Hamburg to Glasgow and London, and educated at Emanuel School before entering employment in

650-465: Was married twice. The first marriage in 1908 was to Georgina Mary Say, who died in 1960. His second marriage was to Wilhelmine Wahl later in 1960. He had one son, Kenneth Dudley Butt, from his first marriage. Sir Alfred Butt died at his Newmarket home in December 1962, aged 84. He was cremated at Cambridge Crematorium. Solomon Beyfus (1820-1893)#Alfred Butt Solomon Beyfus (1820–1893)

676-468: Was the daughter of Esther and Henry Abrahams, a jeweller of Bevis Marks in the City of London. Solomon and Charlotte's had ten children: In their youth, Solomon and his brother Philip were French goods traders in the Houndsditch area of London, but they were declared bankrupt in 1843. Due to irregularities they were not granted their certificate of discharge until 1853. However, during this period

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