DOUGLAS COY BYNG, died on this date (b: 3/17/1893) was an English comic singer and songwriter in West End theatre, revue and cabaret. Billed as “Bawdy but British”, Byng was famous for his female impersonations. His songs are full of sexual innuendo and double entendres. An openly gay performer, Byng was noted for his camp performances in the music halls and in cabaret. Byng made a large number of recordings, many of which have been transferred to CD. Byng was also a noted pantomime dame and appeared in over 30 pantomimes.

Byng never really retired from the stage and was working in his late eighties. His career was revived when he made a guest appearance on the BBC’s Parkinson show in 1977 with Carol Channing.

In the last years of his life he briefly teamed up with another veteran variety artiste, Billy Milton, in the touring revue Those Thirties Memories, directed by Patrick Newley. He made his last appearance in 1987 in a one-man show at the National Theatre in London at the age of 93. He also wrote an autobiography, As You Were. He features prominently in Patrick Newley’s autobiographical memoir The Krays and Bette Davis.