by that clever comedian was more English than 'Marsovian'." Graves did not stay in The Merry Widow for the whole of its long run. In 1908, he left the Edwardes management, and appeared in The Belle of Brittany. The other comic lead was Walter Passmore, who was judged less effective than Graves because he stuck to a weak script instead of improvising as Graves did. The Times wrote of Graves, "Time after time, as in his favourite manner he hugs a lady close and delivers to her a monologue, he introduces so much that is new that when the lady's turn does come she is quite unable to speak for laughter. And the audience never stops laughing." In 1909 he played King Khayyam in A Persian Princess at the Queen's Theatre in London. Pantomime was another prominent part of Graves's theatrical career. He was, in the words of The Times, "a pillar of Drury Lane at Christmas". His roles included Abanazar in Aladdin (1909), Jack's mother in Jack and the Beanstalk (1910), The King in Hop o' my Thumb (1911), and the Duke of Monte Blanco in The Sleeping Beauty (1912). These and appearances in music hall shows interspersed his career in musical comedy. First World War and later years When the First World War began in 1914, Graves concentrated on charity shows, revue and variety. One such revue was Nuts and Wine. His only wartime appearance in musical comedy was in 1916, when he appeared with Gertie Millar in Houp La!. This, the first production by C. B. Cochran, opened the new St. Martin's Theatre. After the war, Graves continued to work in variety and revue. In 1918 Graves married actor Madge Compton ( Mussared), but he left her in 1921, and she successfully sued for divorce in 1923. His return to musical comedy was in 1923, in a revival of The Merry Widow, with Evelyn Laye, Carl Brisson and Derek Oldham. Graves once again received high praise for his performance as Popoff. The production was so popular that it transferred from Daly's to the larger Lyceum Theatre. In 1925, Graves made the first of many broadcasts for the BBC. His first new musical comedy of the 1920s was in 1926, when Robert Courtneidge directed Lehár's The Blue Mazurka on tour and then at Daly's, with Gladys Moncrieff and Bertram Wallis. The Times thought Graves not altogether comfortable in