An English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance and style. He achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as Hay Fever, Private Lives, Design for Living, Present Laughter and Blithe Spirit, have remained in the regular theatre repertoire. He composed hundreds of songs, in addition to well over a dozen musical theatre works (including the operetta Bitter Sweet and comic revues), poetry, several volumes of short stories, the novel Pomp and Circumstance, and a 3-volume autobiography. His stage and film acting and directing career spanned 6 decades, during which he starred in many of his own works. In the 1950s he achieved fresh success as a cabaret performer.