George Grossmith

George Grossmith (1847–1912) was an English comedian, singer and writer. After working as a court reporter at Bow Street, he became a popular entertainer at the piano and was chosen by Gilbert and Sullivan to create the leading comic roles in their operas, among them Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore, the Major-General in The Pirates of Penzance and Ko-Ko in The Mikado. With his brother Weedon, an artist and actor, he wrote The Diary of a Nobody, first serialized in Punch, which became a classic of English comic writing. He also composed many comic songs.