Biography
Born as Dora Broadbent on 7 February 1924 in Southport, Lancashire, England, Dora Bryan earned widespread affection as a singer, actress and comedienne whose work has spanned straight theatre, revue, cabaret, musical comedy, variety, pantomime, television and film across more than six decades. Her professional bow came at twelve in a Manchester pantomime, after which she joined the Oldham Repertory Company two years later. There she encountered future husband Bill Lawton, a professional cricketer; the couple wed in 1953. At twenty-one Bryan relocated to London, where Noël Coward spotted her in No Room At The Inn and subsequently created a role for her in his 1947 occupation drama Peace In Our Time. Film director Carol Reed also took notice and opened the door to cinema, while impresario Binkie Beaumont supplied regular stage employment. Throughout World War II she performed for British troops overseas through the Entertainments National Service Association, and during the 1950s she headlined a succession of intimate satirical revues: Coward’s The Lyric Revue (1951) and The Globe Revue (1952), Alan Melville’s At The Lyric (1953) and Arthur MacRae’s Living For Pleasure (1958). Her West End musical-comedy debut arrived with The Water Gipsies (1955, Lily Bell), a personal success featuring the numbers “Why Did You Call Me Lily?”, “You Never Know With Men” and “It Would Cramp My Style” (with Roy Godfrey); Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1962, Lorelei Lee) followed. In 1966 she assumed the title role in Hello, Dolly! from Mary Martin. A 1979 nervous breakdown prevented her from opening in On The Twentieth Century, after which Bryan publicly discussed her struggles with alcohol. A 1986 return in a revival of Charlie Girl (Kay Connor) proved short-lived despite the presence of Cyd Charisse. Greater fulfilment came with her performance as Ida—“the ideal leader of a septuagenarian brat pack”—in Paul Kerryson’s Chichester Festival staging of 70, Girls, 70, which toured and reached London’s Vaudeville Theatre in June 1991. The ensuing decade brought an honorary MA from the University of Manchester in 1992, a Laurence Olivier Award for Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party at the Royal National Theatre in 1994 and an OBE in 1996. Earlier honours included the British Film Academy’s best leading actress prize for A Taste Of Honey (1961) and, two years later, the Best Bad Record award for her Top 20 novelty single “All I Want For Christmas Is A Beatle.” Late-1990s credits encompassed The School For Scandal, When We Are Married and her solo touring show Memories Of A Life.