Lupino Lane

How far back can you trace the Lupino family in the theater?

Well, uh I hear that it's uh sixteen hundred and thirty four.

Of course your real name is Lepino. Lane is your stage name, is that right?

Well, it isn't my stage name. It was a name uh that I had to take because of my great-aunt's wishes. Uh you see, she was uh the famous uh actress and proprietess of the Britannia Theatre Hoxton, Mrs. Sarah Lane. She had no off offspring of her own. And when I started uh entering the profession, She wanted me to take the name of Lane. Well, my father didn't want me to take up uh a new name. Uh so he uh hummed and hard about it, and my mother made a brilliant suggestion that to call me the two surnames. And that's why I became Lupina Lane.

If you made your first appearance on the stage at the ripe old age of three, where was that?

At the Prince of Wales set of Birmingham. Besta Tilly was a principal boy and uh amongst the cast they all happened to have boys, uh uh uh children, you know. and it was decided for Vestatilli's benefit to give her a big surprise. Salary has all the kids. to walk round and follow her round the stage in one of her songs. Wow. Well, a great night came and we were all s lined up there and waiting to go on. and suddenly one of the bunch of kids started to cry. Well as you know, once uh w when one uh one kid starts to cry, the the rest follow suit. And I was too young to um know anything about it, and I was standing there with my mouth open wide. And um My I suddenly felt a push from behind, and it was my father, and I followed Vesta Tilly round the stage. This caused quite a hero amongst the audience, but I was a tiny toddler at the time. But it was such a big success that the following night, which was the last night of the pantomime, The management sent round to my mother to know if I they'd uh she would allow me to do it again.