Remembering the great Australian entertainers is somewhat difficult, as their memory fades when those who admired them pass. This is particularly difficult when they die during war time—as we, their public, are pre-occupied with other matters. It happened to Australian’s Billy Williams (1878–1915) and Florrie Forde (1875–1940)—also to the lad from Korweinguboora, Victoria—the tenor James Foran.
Born to publicans James and Sarah Foran, Edward James (Jim) Foran arrived at the Korweinguboora hotel on 19 March 1897. The following year James closed the hotel and moved his growing family to Barramunga—not far from Dean’s Marsh where a future soprano named Marjorie Lawrence (1907–1979) was to ‘put Dean’s Marsh on the map’. Farming and dairy cows seemed a more prosperous career choice for James and Sarah—young Jim and his three brothers and seven sisters worked the land where Jim proved himself an excellent horseman.
Fast forward to 1914—the outbreak of the Great War. Patriotic Australians enlisted to ‘do their bit’ and all four Foran lads wanted to join the adventure. Parental concern intervened especially for 17-year-old Jim. A family decision was agreed where two boys would stay and run the farm, the other two could join up. Jim and brother Charles drew the short straws and their parents somewhat reluctantly agreed.
Enlisting in the 13th Australian light horse in Daylesford, Victoria on 17 August 1915, Jim Foran was soon headed to Egypt. Singing for and with his mates became daily entertainment—with the often repeated ‘you’ve got a great voice there Jim, you should go on the stage’.
Serving in Belguim, France and Palestine, Jim eventually clocked up over 1200 days in the military. Now in the 4th Australian Light Horse with the 1st Australian Imperial Forces, sometime during the early months of 1918 in France, Jim was wounded and gassed. Sent to a convalescent camp in Le Havre, Jim could not speak and struggled to even whisper. While recovering he met boxing and wrestling enthusiast Billy Meeske, who suggested physical exercise to repair his health. Before long, Jim won the middle weight boxing championship in a camp event. His damaged lungs however continued to ail him at times and family and friends wondered how he ever managed to undertake a vocal career.
After peace was declared and while heading home, further prompting from ‘cobbers’ on-board ship praised his vocal talents. Not long after arriving in Australia on 20 May 1919, Jim sought out local specialist vocal teacher A.C. Bartleman (1878–1972), the Italian trained baritone responsible for the early training of Australian tenor Browning Mummery (1888–1974).
What could a returned soldier do? The Victorian Police force offered employment as a mounted officer—they recognized his horsemanship. Residing in North Melbourne, it appears that Jim was reluctant to return to the land—his health and lungs still vulnerable and as the popular song of the day suggested, ‘How ’ya gonna keep ’em down on the farm, after they’ve seen Paree’. Bartleman generously offered to teach him free of charge and praised his vocal performances at police socials.
Enter Vera Carew (Minnie Veronica Carew), pianist and soprano from North Carlton, Victoria. A reference has her born in Melton, Victoria in 1891, but her daughter claimed she was born in North Carlton, Victoria on 28 November 1893. Vera went to school in North Fitzroy with the Australian Order of the Good Samaritans. The nuns encouraged her musical abilities but when family funds were low for further external studies, they offered to teach her in exchange for teaching kindergarten. In 1914 at age 21, mezzo-soprano Vera supported the New Zealand born vocalist Walter Kirby (1877–1934) on his Australian tours. By the early 1920s, Vera had established herself as a competent and in-demand soprano, but a somewhat reluctant performer. She later realised that her strength was as an accompanist, happy to support others at the keyboard and not taking the limelight. Our loss is that she never recorded.
Jim married Vera on 12 April 1925 and soon after they both joined the successful touring company of ‘Pat Hanna’s Diggers’. New Zealand-born Pat Hanna (1888–1973) as actor and producer, scored a sweeping success with his stage revue based around Great War soldiers. This tour continued to New Zealand and in early 1926 Vera found herself pregnant. The couple decided to leave the show once the NZ leg was completed. They returned to Melbourne where daughter Moia was born that November.
Hanna’s Diggers promoting their show—Dunedin, New Zealand, 1926
Jim was offered a contract with local theatrical producers J.C. Williamson in the later part of 1926 which had him touring the Australian provincial theatres until 1931. After the stock market crash in 1929, Jim was grateful for the regular employment. Their two most popular touring shows at the time were The Student Prince and The Desert Song.
James Foran with unknown player in The Student Prince for J.C. Williamson’s, c. 1930
During the lay off periods, Hugh D. MacIntosh (1876–1942) offered him work at his Tivoli Theatres with Vera as his piano accompanist. This double act proved popular with patrons—Jim laying on the Irish brogue singing the popular songs of the day with a green lining on his coat and hat.
Things were tough in 1932 once the J.C. Williamson contact ended, so Jim took a job at the Prince Edward Theatre in Sydney. This mixture of live entertainment and sound film was extremely popular and his services were continually extended to cheer up depression-era patrons.
Our Glad—the hugely popular soprano Gladys Moncrieff (1892–1976) was hired to star in the comic operetta by Oscar Strauss, The Chocolate Soldier, for Sydney audiences. Gladys liked Jim and asked his availability for a supporting role—the show ran at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Sydney during the later part of 1932. Amazingly popular with depression audiences, it was broadcast from the theatre by radio station 2FC for a national audience on 3 December that year. Jim later said that Gladys liked to be flanked by tall men on each side to ‘take the weight off her’.
At a ‘smoke night’ in 1933 at either Melbourne or Sydney, Jim met the famous South Australian bass-baritone Peter Dawson (1882–1961). The vocal veteran was then in a somewhat unhappy Australian tour with the Tait Brothers. Commencing in Perth on 15 April, Dawson toured with supporting accompanist and pianist the Chilean, Arnaldo Tapia Caballero (1907–2002). The tour was abruptly terminated by Dawson in Melbourne on 16 August 1933. It has been suggested that old ‘Pedro’ was dissatisfied with attendances, low takings and not being supported by a first-rate experienced pianist (memories of his successful earlier tour with Russian pianist Mark Hambourg (1879–1960)). Dawson strongly suggested to Jim to come to the UK and the advice stuck—yet another Aussie heading to the ‘old dart’ to try their luck. The usual round of farewell concerts were organized around Victoria, including a final farewell at the Melbourne Town Hall on 27 February 1934. Funds of £1,222 were enthusiastically raised for the singing soldier—Vera wisely took control of the finances, ensuring there were sufficient funds to ensure a return to Australia if things didn’t work out.
Arriving at Southampton in April 1934, Jim became James Foran and started to secure work, armed with letters of introduction from Peter Dawson and Walter Kirby. ‘Digs’ were found in Hammersmith and an invite to sing at Australia House during celebrations to promote the 1934 England to Australia air race organized by Fitzroy, Victoria chocolate baron Sir Macpherson ‘Mac’ Roberston (1859–1945). Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons (1879–1939) was most impressed and offered to help the Aussie war veteran in any way he could. A letter from Lyons to Arthur Dent, Managing Director of Wardour Films dated 29 May 1935 worked its magic—film work and a contract to tour with a chain of UK theatres as vocalist resulted.
Dubbed as the ‘Irish Tenor’—reference to Australia sadly removed, James toured with wife Vera as his accompanist. An audition for His Masters Voice resulted in a contract for six sides (three gramophone records), accompanied by the Ray Noble orchestra. The Gramophone company needed someone to compete with popular Polish tenor Jan Kiepura—his records selling well on a rival label. Five of his six HMV recordings have been identified:
In your arms tonight / My song for you / I’m away in Killarney with you / The rose of Tralee / With all my heart.
Work was also sourced with Radio Luxemburg but as pseudonym Dennis Hayden so as not to upset his film and HMV recording contracts. Elstree film studios came calling—they needed a ghost singer for actor John Loder (1898–1988) in the 1936 film Queen of Hearts staring Gracie Fields (1898–1979). A supporting role that same year in the film Men of Yesterday has him credited as Dennis Hayden.
As James was establishing himself as an in-demand vocalist and actor, both he and Vera became ‘war-worried’. If things became nasty, they planned to head to the Surrey countryside but as the UK winters were tough on James physically, by late 1937, the family decided to return to Australia.
Changing ships and resting in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), James performed for Radio Colombo after they heard about the recently arrived vocalist. This engagement delayed their departure for a few weeks but a return to live with family in Melbourne resulted, residing with Vera’s parents in Richardson Street, North Carlton. His part war pension enabled them to survive and with the remaining funds earned in the UK and Columbo.
James managed to find work with local ABC Radio station 3AR—their ‘Old time dance night’ programs were popular and studio singing at Broadcast House in Melbourne occurred. Radio station 3XY also requested James to be involved with their weekly community singing program held at the Prahran Town Hall. The Melbourne Tivoli also welcomed James and Vera back and trips taken on the Indian-Pacific train to Perth to appear at the Luxor Theatre. Previously known as the Shaftesbury (1911 to 1924), the Luxor (1925–1944) welcomed James to provide much needed light entertainment. It later changed name to the Perth Tivoli (1944–1949) before becoming the Perth Ice Palais.
Advert for Melbourne Tivoli featuring James Foran
Sgt. Foran and buddies as ‘official entertainers’ —Melbourne Sun, 26 June 1940
A few other small concerts in Melbourne and Victoria were undertaken, but James’ health started to deteriorate. Once war was declared again in September 1939, military command approached James to join their entertainment unit, despite him really being medically unfit.
Before long, Staff Sargent James Foran was assigned to the Caulfield, Victoria repatriation hospital to recuperate—his lung troubles had returned and halted his singing engagements.
To further complicate the families troubles, Vera suffered her first stroke in 1941 and could no longer assist or accompany her husband. At Richardson Street on 18 December 1943, a blood clot sadly ended the career and life of James Foran at age 46 years. He (and Vera) are both buried together at the Melbourne General Cemetery.
After suffering two further strokes and remaining bedridden at home, Vera lived until 8 August 1958. Her happy disposition and interest in friends and the world around her never waned—visitors came with tales of woe to see her, and she was the one who cheered them up! A television set built and provided by her clever future son-in-law Harry in 1956 gave her great joy in her final years.
Fast forward to 1995—the author was living in Hurstville, NSW and a neighbour told me about the local school drama teacher. She said the lady’s father had been on the stage and he had made records for His Masters Voice in England. Naturally my curiosity was aroused and a visit to meet her arranged.
Moia Veronica Braidwood (nee Foran) was James and Vera’s only daughter. After her father’s death, Moia had followed an acting career in Melbourne obtaining work at the Union Theatre Repertory Company. She studied with John Sumner and performed with locals Zoe Caldwell, Kevin Miles, John McMahon, Ray Lawler and Noel Ferrier. It took no prompting to put a microphone in front of Moia and obtain her family history. What came through loud and clear was here was a positive lady and family—you always looked on the bright side of life and simply carried on. Both James and Vera had passed this legacy on to their daughter. She had nothing but happy memories of being a child in the UK in the 1930s. With husband, Harry, she moved to Sydney in 1966 and made her career in the school system as a drama teacher. She died on 12 March, 2014 aged 87 years.
With Moia’s passing the door closes on an amazingly talented family—James the tenor who served his country, Vera the soprano and pianist who accompanied him, and daughter Moia who took to the stage and taught acting to the next generation. James lives on tangibly with the three 78rpm discs he recorded and his appearances on film.
References
Oral history— recorded interview with Mrs. Moia Braidwood, Beverly Hills, N.S.W., 1995
Scrapbook—My father James Foran—borrowed from Mrs. Moia Braidwood
Trove—Brisbane Courier, Friday 25 November 1932
Russell Smith and Peter Burgis, Peter Dawson—The World’s Most Popular Baritone, Currency Press, Sydney, 2001
Ballan Shire Historical Society Inc., The Settler, Vol. 6, No. 6, December 2001
Sheet music for ‘Somebody lied about me’ featuring James Foran, 1927. Lyrics: Gus Kahn, Music: Carl & Frank Emler.
Author’s collection