Clarence Johnstone Biography

Clarence Johnstone was born in Harlem in 1885. It was a seedy area of rat-infested tenements and a huge black population living cheek-by-jowl with immigrants from Eastern Europe. As a kid, Clarence Johnstone busked for nickels on the sidewalk and one day he was spotted by the manager of a minstrel troupe, who engaged him as a juvenile turn. It was in that environment that Clarence Johnstone started crooning. He developed a speciality which he retained throughout his career, breaking into a startling falsetto which spiralled upwards and then gently merged back into his natural baritone intonation. Clarence made a name for himself in Vaudeville, burlesque and cabaret.

Clarence Johnstone was a good-looking man with snow-white hair. Unlike Turner Layton, who led a quiet life well within his means, Johnstone spent every last penny of his share of their considerable earnings. He revelled in the good life and was a familiar figure in the streets of the West End, immaculately clad, complete with bowler hat, kid gloves and umbrella. His sunny nature and prosperous appearance showed that he gave little thought to the future - and even less to the tax man.

By 1935, Layton and Johnstone were enormous stars in Britain, France and the USA but overnight their popularity crumbled. Clarence Johnstone was named as co-respodent in a white couple’s divorce case. The fact that the aggrieved husband was the very popular violinist Albert Sandler only made it worse. They had been on the bill together and that was how he met Sandler's pretty young wife Mildred. Sandler was outraged and took the couple to court. He sued for alienation of his wife's affection, which was one of the legal justifications for divorce, and was granted decree nisi. Sandler was granted custody of his daughter, and Clarence Johnstone was ordered to pay the £2,500 costs of the action. The newspapers went to town, building up the case as a scandal and casting Johnstone as the villain of the piece. The Layton and Johnson partnership was severely shaken. Colour prejudice could be an almost unsurmountable obstacle in those days, and the resultant scandal brought about hostile demonstrations outside theatres where Layton and Johnstone were playing. Moreover, cat-calls from the audience during their act meant that managements tried to annul existing contracts. The end of the partnership was inevitable and they made their last appearance together in November 1935 at the Palace Theatre, Plymouth.

Johnstone announced his intention to continue in show business and teamed up with another pianist, but the result was a disaster. In Dublin at one of his first appearances, he was booed off the stage. The partnership ended almost as soon as it began. Then, only eight weeks after his last appearance with Layton, his extravagant lifestyle caught up with him and he was declared bankrupt for £40,000 - his assets, nil. His wife had divorced him in the wake of the Sandler scandal and his life hung around him in tatters. The only person to stand by Johnstone was the former Mrs. Sandler. The couple decided to marry and go to America to start a new life. They moved into an apartment in Harlem and Johnson found work as a messenger for Western Union. After 8 years his wife left him and the downhill slide accelerated. He finished up as a janitor at a down town, off Broadway flop house. Completely forgotten, Clarence Johnson died penniless in 1953 aged 68. It was several weeks before the world of show business heard, but then the BBC immediately cancelled a scheduled 15 minute variety interlude and substituted a programme of Layton and Johnson records. One obituary read: “That this great star of long ago should die alone and penniless is bad enough. That his death should have remained unnoticed for seven weeks is further proof of the vicissitudes ever present for those who choose a career in show business.”