George Grossmith, son of a law reporter and entertainer, was born in 1847. For some years he worked as a journalist, reporting Police Court proceedings for The Times, and in 1870 began his career as a singer and entertainer. His special connection with Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, many of the chief parts of which were his 'creations' began at the Opera Comique. His A Society Clown: Reminiscences was published in 1888, followed by a further volume of reminiscences, Piano and I: Further Remembrances. He died in 1912.Weedon Grossmith, brother of George, was born in 1854. He was educated at the Slade and the Royal Academy with a view to following a career as a painter, and exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery and the Royal Academy.Joining a theatre company in 1885, he toured the provinces and America. His novel, A Woman with a History, was published in 1896, and the best-known of his many plays, The Night of the Party, was published in 1901. He died in 1919.

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