From there, he moved down to London to learn stage lighting in suburban theatres, before working in the West End on the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Dora Bryan.

BBC: Theatre stalwart takes final bow

Loos ("Gentlemen Prefer Blondes") wrote "Happy Birthday" as a starring vehicle for her friend, Helen Hayes, and Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein produced it on Broadway in 1946, where it ran for nearly a year and a half.

WSJ: Review: 'Happy Birthday' a booze-filled romp