Warren Peace (1st April 1904 - ???) is a German-born cabaret performer, writer and impresario who, forged an early career in the cabarets and beerhalls of Berlin, building a reputation as one of the leading cabaret emcees of the Weimar Republic.

EARLY YEARS

Little is known of Peace's formative years, but he began his career under the tutorship and guidance of the renowned Bavarian comedian Karl Valentin. Despite this early success Peace turned his back on show-business in 1928 to concentrate on writing. It was during this period that he moved into a boarding house in the Schöneberg district of Berlin. Here he met an aspiring actress and cabaret performer known professionally as Baroness Guillem and they embarked on a brief and adulterous affair, with her enticing him back to the stage.

THE 'ENFANT TERRIBLE' OF WEIMAR CULTURE (1928 - 1933)

On 31st August 1928, at the request of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, Peace was the opening act for the première performance of 'Die Dreigroschenoper' (The Threepenny Opera). Accounts of the performance agree that the audience sat in stony silence through most of the act, until Peace ripped off his trousers to reveal his slender, stocking-clad legs. At that point, and for whatever reason, that act of controversy broke the ice, and the suddenly frenzied crowd demanded an encore then and there. From then on, Warren Peace's performances were assured success, despite the fact that many critics didn’t know quite what to make of him. That balmy night in 1928 has passed into legend as a cultural high-point of the Weimar Republic, with Peace himself assured a place in history as the 'enfant terrible' of Weimar culture. This Berlin revival, however, was short-lived, as in 1933 he left Germany when his work, together with that of most other cabaret performers, was deemed unsuitable by the Nazis.

DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON (1933 - 1937)

Following a short time in Prague he took to the road, honing his performance skills at the many clubs and theatres across Europe, even being employed for a while as compère at Moulin Rouge in Paris. However, his French was not deemed proficient enough and on 4th June 1937 he was sensationally fired on-stage minutes before 'Le Cotton-Club de New York' began their performance.

Out of work and down at heel, in late 1937 Peace took a boat across the English Channel and moved into a small garret room in Soho, London. The only work he could find was in a dingy back-street club that was a front for prostitution. It seemed Peace had hit rock bottom and his career was over...

NEW YORK! NEW YORK! (1937 - 1961)

After a chance meeting one evening with the American socialite and producer Humphrey Weinstein, Peace was given the chance to revive his career in the cabaret clubs of New York. Peace left London in 1939 and moved into an apartment in Greenwich Village which he shared with a male prostitute called Billy Layton. The two were rumoured to be lovers, but in 1942 tragedy struck when Billy was found dead in the street outside their apartment following a gruesome attack by one of his clients.

Peace was devastated and withdrew from performance. His upcoming six-month residency at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Lower Manhattan was cancelled as Peace became a recluse. The publicity material for the review, designed by a young commercial artist called Andy Wahol, never seeing the light of day.

In 1957, after fifteen years away from the stage, Warren Peace was persuaded by Edith Piaf to perform at the opening night her triumphant Carnegie Hall show. However, whilst Piaf was hailed a success, his performance was widely panned by the critics. This time, however, Peace was not going to allow himself to become disheartened. He returned to Berlin and worked tirelessly, appearing in cabaret in music-halls, clubs and revues across Europe (including opening for Jacques Brel at the Paris Olympia in 1961).

LAND OF SMILES / LAND OF CONFUSION (1963 - UNKNOWN)

In 1963, Peace left Europe and travelled across Asia before finally settling Thailand. It is here the story of Warren Peace becomes embroiled in mystery and conspiracy...

It is believed that he owned, albeit briefly, a katoey cabaret revue bar in the Ratchada district of Bangkok, but his last confirmed sighting was in 1973 when, during the student riots that brought about the fall of the military government, he was seen being bundled into the back of a tuk-tuk.

Since then Warren Peace has been reportedly spotted in the most unlikely of places...

* Working in a fish & chip shop (Salford - 1978)

* A memorial for John Lennon (New York - 1980)

* Picketing during the miners strike (Rotherham, 1984)

THE ICONOCLAST AND POLYMATH OF NEO-CABARET

More recent sightings have been reported at a variety of live music, burlesque and cabaret events across the UK. These have been confirmed by a number or reliable sources, including the local media. Wherever he may be now, Warren Peace is without doubt an entertainment legend...he truly is “The iconoclast and polymath of neo-cabaret....”