George Grossmith

Diary of a Nobody George Grossmith

George Grossmith (1847-1912) was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. He is best remembered for creating a series of characters in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, including Sir Joseph Porter, in H. M. S. Pinafore, the Major-General in The Pirates of Penzance and Ko-Ko in The Mikado, and for writing the comic 1892 novel (with his brother Weedon), Diary of a Nobody. He was also famous in his day for performing his own comic piano sketches, becoming the most popular British solo performer of the 1890s. His son, George Grossmith, Jr., became a famous actor, playwright and producer of Edwardian musical comedies. Walter Weedon Grossmith (1854-1919) was an English writer, painter, actor and playwright, best known as coauthor of Diary of a Nobody (1892) with his famous brother George Grossmith. Weedon Grossmith also illustrated the book to much acclaim. He also published another novel, A Woman with a History, in 1896. He wrote a number of plays, the most successful of which was The Night of the Party (1901).