Biography
Born William Butters on 21 August 1912 in St. Helier, Jersey, the performer died on 19 November 1995 in Burgh Heath, Surrey, England. Possessing a rich baritone and matinée-idol features, Trent ranked among the most sought-after romantic leads on the British stage throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Early local dance-band engagements led, in the late thirties, to a two-year nationwide tour alongside Jack Hylton’s celebrated showband; he then moved in 1940 to Jack Payne’s newly formed BBC orchestra. Two years later he left Payne to appear opposite Frances Day, Arthur Riscoe, Jackie Hunter and Bud Flanagan in Cole Porter’s Du Barry Was A Lady at His Majesty’s Theatre. Subsequent West End and touring work included The Student Prince, after which he enlisted and performed for servicemen as part of Stars In Battledress. A BBC broadcast with Glenn Miller’s Band of the AEF also featured him as guest soloist alongside Dorothy Carless. Post-war assignments brought leading parts in Carissima (1948) and Brigadoon (1950), followed by London runs in Rainbow Square (1951), Wish You Were Here (1953) and The Burning Boat (1955, Royal Court Theatre). Further tours encompassed Lilac Time, Goodnight Vienna and The Desert Song. In 1958 he joined Tommy Steele, Jimmy Edwards, Yana and Ted Durante in the Rodgers and Hammerstein production of Cinderella at the Coliseum, singing “No Other Love” as the Prince and sharing “Do I Love You (Because You’re Beautiful)” with Yana. Later decades saw additional revivals at home and overseas, among them the role of Arthur in Camelot (1966), plus participation in several cast re-recordings and frequent appearances on BBC light-music broadcasts. Following retirement in the seventies he devoted considerable energy to the Grand Order of Water Rats charity.
Albums