George Henry Elliott passed away in 1962. He had performed for over 50 years as the Chocolate-Coloured Coon, a stage name chosen with all the characteristic sensitivity of the blackface minstrel.

G.H. Elliott, born in the George and Dragon Inn, Blackwater Street in November 1882, was the son of Henry Elliott and Alice Gray. The family came from the Birmingham area and appear to have spent to more than five years in Rochdale. Certainly, by 1885 they had left the area, possibly for the United States.

It would seem that George Henry Elliott found early success as a child star in the U.S.A., performing with a number of touring companies including the Primrose West Point Minstrels. By 1894, however, the family was back in Britain and on 1st September of that year "Master George Elliott, the wonderful boy soprano" appeared at the Circus of Varieties on Newgate in Rochdale.

In the first three decades of last century Elliott, now performing blackfaced, was an entertainment phenomenon - at least as big as Gracie Fields - and the momentum of his massive popularity (both on stage and on records) carried him triumphantly through the decline of the music halls. His last appearance in Rochdale was at the Theatre Royal in 1941. However, being well into his forties by the time talkies arrived, Elliott was not destined for stardom on the silver screen.

G.H. Elliott continued to top the bill as a song-and-dance man on the variety stage. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1957 and, in the following year, appeared on the Royal Variety Performance.