- Born
- Died
- Thomas Beecham was born on April 29, 1879 in St. Helens, Merseyside, England, UK. He is known for The Red Shoes (1948), Atonement (2007) and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). He was married to Shirley Hudson, Betty Humby-Beecham and Utica Celestia Welles. He died on March 8, 1961 in London, England, UK.
- SpousesShirley Hudson(1959 - March 8, 1961) (his death)Betty Humby-Beecham(January 19, 1943 - September 2, 1958) (her death)Utica Celestia Welles(1903 - January 14, 1943) (divorced, 2 children)
- His eldest son Adrian Welles Beecham succeeded him in the baronetcy.
- The eldest son of the late Sir Joseph Beecham, the wealthy manufacturer of pills and the famous Beecham's Powders.
- Met future wife Betty Humby when she was 12. She played at several of his concerts.
- He was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 1916 King's Honours List for his services to music.
- Succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father (who had been made a Baron in 1914) in 1916.
- [To lady cellist playing badly at rehearsal] "Madam, you have between your legs an instrument capable of giving pleasure to thousands - and all you can do is scratch it."
- [Describing the harpsichord] "Like two skeletons copulating on a corrugated tin roof."
- All the arts in America are a gigantic racket run by unscrupulous men for unhealthy women.
- There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between.
- When a horse defecated on stage during a Covent Garden performance of Verdi's "Aida": "A distressing spectacle, to be sure, but, Gad, what a critic!"
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