Graham Payn, 87; Singer, Actor Was Noel Coward’s Companion

Graham Payn, 87, a South African-born singer and actor who was the longtime companion of playwright Noel Coward, died Nov. 2 in a hospital in the Swiss village of Les Avants.

Payn was the main executor of Coward’s estate, according to London-based Alan Brodie Representations Ltd. Payn was co-editor of Coward’s diaries, published in 1982. He also wrote “My Life With Noel Coward,” a 1994 memoir.

Payn, a product of the white-tie-and-tails school of song and dance, made his breakthrough in Coward’s 1945 “Sigh No More,” highlighted by his singing of the haunting feature number “Matelot.”

That song, written for him by Coward, marked the beginning of Payn’s personal and professional relationship with the British playwright, which lasted until Coward’s death in 1973.

But while Payn became a West End regular, appearing in a number of Coward stage productions, he never rose to stardom as Coward had hoped.

He also performed in films, including the British cult favorite “The Italian Job” alongside Coward, Michael Caine and Benny Hill.

A native of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Payn moved with his family to England in 1929. He was buried last week near Montreux, Switzerland, according to a death notice in the Lausanne-based daily 24 Heures.