Brian Kenneth Dean Paul, 6th Baronet Paul of Rodborough

Brian Kenneth Dean Paul, 6th Baronet Paul of Rodborough (1904-1972) was, like his sister Brenda Dean Paul, a participant to the Bright Young Things scene.

Biography

Brian Kenneth Dean Paul, known as Napier or Napper, was born in 1904, the son of Sir Aubrey Edward Henry Dean Paul, 5th Baronet and Irene Regina "Poldowski" Wieniawski. His sister was the Bright Young Things Brenda Dean Paul.

In 1930 Napper Dean Paul took over the grillroom of a restaurant in Burlington Gardens, which he christened the breakfast-room. He specialized in a supper-breakfast menu of Anglo-American dishes, with dancing and a cabaret.[1]

Dean Paul also published a volume of poems, called "Patchwork."[1]

In 1931 he was involved in the scandal that was to lead his sister to Prison.[2] Scotland Yard described Napper Dean Paul as a "young man of effeminate habits and manners, who does not appear to follow any occupation".[2] Like his sister, he was an alcoholic and opiate user.[2] He got his nickname from his habit of falling asleep in doorways due to a serious drug addiction.[3] In the late 1930s he was friend with Dylan Thomas.[4] Together with his sister Brenda, they frequented the Gargoyle Club, owned by David Tennant, Brenda's lover and brother of Stephen Tennant.[5][4] He was also friend with Anna Wickham, whom she knew from frequenting the Kleifeldts' tavern.[6]

Napper Dean Paul was gay, Ken Leech remembered meeting him at the Golden Lion, a well-known gay pub in Soho. Nevertheless, in 1937, he married the pianist Muriel Lillie, widow of Arthur Weigall and sister of Beatrice Lillie.[2]

He was a cross-dresser, and supported himself with petty crimes, even if in the early 1930s he tried a career as interior designer.[2] In 1941 he went to work for Kensington ARP, thanks to the recommendation of Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley, a friend and head of the association.[2]

In the 1950s he was friend with painter Lucian Freud, who took his portrait in 1954.[3]

He died in 1972 and the title of Paul baronets became extinct.

References

  1. 1 2 "18 May 1930, Sun • Page 51". The Courier-Journal: 51. 1930. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Script Doctors and Vicious Addicts" (PDF). LSHTM Research Online. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Head (Napper Dean Paul), 1954 (oil on canvas)". Bridgeman Images. Missing or empty |url= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. 1 2 Lycett, Andrew (2014). Dylan Thomas: A New Life. Hachette UK. p. 1809. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Haslam, Dave (2015). Life After Dark: A History of British Nightclubs & Music Venues. Simon and Schuster. p. 11. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  6. ↑ Jones, Jennifer Vaughan (2003). Anna Wickham: A Poet's Daring Life. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 243. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
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