Roy Rene

Roy Rene (15 February 1891 – 22 November 1954), born Harry van der Sluys, was an Australian comedian and vaudevillian. As the bawdy character Mo McCackie, Rene was one of the most well-known and successful Australian comedians of the 20th century.

A 1927 recording of Rene and Nat Phillips performing as Stiffy and Mo, called The Sailors, was added to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's Sounds of Australia registry in 2011.

Biography

Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Rene was the fourth of seven children of a Dutch Jew and an Anglo-Jewish wife. Named Henry van de Sluice (later spelt variously "van der Sluys"), aged 10 "Harry" won a singing competition at an Adelaide market and in 1905 appeared professionally in the pantomime, Sinbad the Sailor, at the Theatre Royal and later at the Tivoli, in a black face, singing and dancing act.

About 1905 the Sluice family moved to Melbourne, Harry (as he was called) was briefly an apprentice jockey and thereafter maintained a keen interest in racing. Despite his father's opposition, in July 1908 he secured an engagement with James Brennan's vaudeville at the Gaiety Theatre. Of medium height with a distinctly Jewish profile, with dark hair, a pale smooth complexion and large soulful brown eyes, 'Boy Roy' (his stage name) had an appealing pathos. Most of his spare time was spent studying the famous English music-hall comedians at Harry Rickards' Opera House. Unsuccessful in Melbourne, he appeared at Brennan's National Amphitheatre, Sydney in 1910 and had adopted the new stage name Roy Rene (Rene after a famous French clown). Later he joined J. C. Bain's suburban vaudeville in Sydney and toured New South Wales with bush companies.