Early years Le Hay was born in
Bethnal Green, London, although later he would say that he had been born in Ireland. His parents were John Healy (1820–1901) and his wife Sophia Elizabeth Mackway (1823– 1886), both Londoners. He had a younger brother, Joseph (1858–1931). His father worked as a manager in a pawnshop, where Le Hay began his working life. and then travelled with a minstrel troupe, where he developed his gift for
ventriloquism. Later that year he joined the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, serving in the chorus on tour. In July 1879, he survived a boating accident on the
River Avon at
Bathampton in which two other members of the touring company drowned. He appeared in the single copyright performance of
The Pirates of Penzance in
Paignton on 30 December 1879, as James, a role that was included in the libretto only for that performance. During 1880 and 1881, he continued in the chorus and also appeared as Mr. Liverby in
In the Sulks, and Benjamin Walker in
Four by Honours,
curtain-raisers that accompanied
H.M.S. Pinafore. as Sir Tristram Testy (left) and Harry Parker as Friar Tuck|thumb|alt=three male actors in comic medieval costume holding cups and striking exaggerated poses as Scaphio, in
Utopia, Limited, 1893 Le Hay married Marian Lowry (1854–1940), also a member of the D'Oyly Carte company, who performed under the stage name of Marian May for about a decade. The couple had three daughters and a son; two of these, Norah Sophia (1884–1970) and Millicent Marian Rylance (1888–1966), became actresses. He also appeared briefly in the tenor role of Ralph Rackstraw in
Pinafore and played in
pantomime, in low comedies with Cooper Cole's Strand Company, a revival of the comic opera
Les cloches de Corneville alongside
Leonora Braham (1890), and Prince Bulbo in
Augustus Harris's production of a musical adaptation of
The Rose and the Ring (1890–1891). In 1891 Le Hay played Sir Guy of Gisborne in
Maid Marian by
Harry B. Smith and
Reginald De Koven, In November
Richard D'Oyly Carte brought him to London to play Master Guillot in the British premiere of
Messager's
The Basoche at the
Royal English Opera House;
The Era judged it his best performance to date. When
The Basoche closed in early 1892 Le Hay rejoined the
Nautch Girl company, playing Punka for the remainder of the tour. Later in 1892 Le Hay played Sacrovir in
The Wedding Eve, an adaptation of an opérette by
Frédéric Toulmouche, with
Decima Moore as its leading lady, after which he recreated his original role of Tom Strutt in a revival of
Dorothy. In 1893 he was in
The Black Domino, a melodrama starring
Mrs. Patrick Campbell, in which Le Hay played a character role, and
Arthur Williams provided the principal comic relief. The piece was preceded by a curtain-raiser, billed as an "Entertainment", given by Le Hay. He rejoined D'Oyly Carte for the last time in late 1893, creating the part of Phantis in
Utopia, Limited at the
Savoy Theatre, and playing it until the end of the run in June 1894.
Later years Later in 1894 Le Hay appeared with
Lillian Russell in
The Queen of Brilliants, and then as Mats Munck in
Gilbert and
Carr's comic opera
His Excellency. In September 1897 Le Hay starred with
Florence St. John in a new production of
Offenbach's
La Périchole at the
Garrick Theatre. the critic in
The Pall Mall Gazette wrote, "Mr John Le Hay as the Viceroy was simply admirable. Not only have we not seen this part better rendered, but we can hardly imagine it so. … pure comedy". Le Hay appeared in New York as Hassan in
Hood and Sullivan's
The Rose of Persia (1900, opposite
Ruth Vincent as the Sultana), and as Coquenard in the American premiere of Messager's
Véronique (1905). He toured America three times and South Africa once. The reviewer in
Punch wrote, "Mr John Le Hay gave us a superb little study of an old countryman which richly deserved the enthusiastic applause that rewarded it". On 1 November 1926 Le Hay was struck by a car on his way home from the
Lyceum Theatre in London, where he had been appearing as Florent, the butler, in
The Padre. He died the next day at the age of 77. He was survived by his wife, Marian May, a former D'Oyly Carte performer. ==References==