As Sam Vagg (1827-65) he was a chimney sweep but as Sam Collins he was an "Irish" singer. In 1862 he took over the Lansdowne Arms, turned it into a music hall and renamed it after himself. Sam died young but 'Collins' survived. Rebuilt in 1897 it was wrecked by fire in 1958. Only a shell remained and in 1963 all but the front elevation was demolished.
The 1958 film 'Davy' is set largely in this theatre, and is, mainly, filmed at the actual location. See ArthurLloyd for details.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Collins Music Hall
Actor, singer and songwriter. Born in New York, son of actor Jack Cassidy. He became a teenage idol playing Keith Partridge in the television musical show 'The Partridge Family'. He found it diffic...
Person, Music / songs, Seriously Famous, Theatre, TV & Radio, USA
designed by architect James George Buckle in 1884. From WW1 onwards it endured periods of closure until Joan LIttlewood arrived with her Theatre Workshop Company in 1953. The image shows the theatr...
Novelist and playwright. Born Enid Algerine Bagnold at Borstal Cottage, Rochester, Kent. She spent several years of her childhood in Jamaica, where her father, a military engineer had been posted. ...
Father of modern ventriloquism. Popularised the use of a single dummy. Born in Poplar. Died Wembley.
