Philip Braham was an English composer who worked in both film and theater. His most famous song, “Limehouse Blues” with lyrics by fellow Englishman Douglas Furber, was introduced in America by actress Gertrude Lawrence who was touring the U.S. with a British production of Andre Charlot’s London Revue of 1924. It has been recorded by numerous artists, including the Mills Brothers in a jazzy vocal version, Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt, Warne Marsh, and Luther Hughes.

Braham began by contributing songs to English revues in the 1910s and eventually played a larger role in the productions. In 1918 he wrote the music for Tails Up which enjoyed a respectable run of 467 performances. That was followed by several musical comedies, including Noel Coward’s On with the Dance in 1925 for which he wrote much of the music. That same year he collaborated with John Hastings Turner on Bubbly which starred Cyril Richard.

He moved to Wembley Studios in the 1930s to become the musical director of films until his death in 1934, the same year that Fox Films (later 20th Century Fox) took over the studio in England.

- Sandra Burlingame