Noël Coward

flashback

Vanity Fair, November 1932

Noel Coward (1899-1973) first wrote for Vanity Fair in 1921, when he arrived in New York with £17 in his pocket. Back in London, he made the twenties roar—with rage at the depravities of The Vortex, with glee at the catty repartee of Hay Fever. Steichen photographed him in 1932, when he'd perfected his public life as the ageold Mayfair mandarin with the clipped accent and the slithery dressing gown. Not everyone thought Coward the cat's pajamas—while Marlene, Tallulah, and Gertie were mad about the boy, T. S. Eliot pronounced his work an ethical wasteland. But during the war his upper lip was never stiffer. Churchill sent the "playboy of the West End world" to Washington on a propaganda tour: he sang "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" to Franklin and Eleanor—twice. This month Coward is belatedly inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at a gala ceremony—on Broadway, of course. Should be a marvelous party.