Overview
George Dryden Wheeler Sr. (6 June 1863 – 21 April 1939), known as Leo Dryden, was an English music hall singer and vocal comic.
Life and career
George Dryden Wheeler, known as Leo Dryden, was born in London, the son of Sarah Ann (Frost) and George Kingman Wheeler.
Leo Dryden became a music hall entertainer, and was best known as the Kipling of the Halls, noted for his patriotic and colonial songs including "The Miner's Dream of Home" (1891).
Marriage and family
In 1892, he met Hannah Chaplin (stage name Lily Harley) also a music hall performer. They had an affair and a son, George Dryden Wheeler Jr, which resulted in the breakdown of her marriage to Charles Chaplin Sr. (She had already had a son with her husband, who later became known as actor and director Charlie Chaplin) The couple split up and Dryden kept his son because of Hannah's mental instability.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).