And he changed his name from Fred Shaw just because he thought Mark Sheridan would be more catchy.

In the end, it seems that the most remarkable thing about him is his end.

While most comedians who try to "kill" an audience are only kidding, Mark Sheridan seemed to take his craft very seriously. Evidently by his definition, the quota of laughs he got from the audience one night wasn't enough of a "kill." So he killed himself, instead.

There is, no doubt, more reason behind the suicide of Mark Sheridan than this, but that's how the newspapers of the day reported the incident. He's remembered now as much for his gruesome fate as for his sprightly music hall songs.

Sheridan sang novelty numbers such as "All the Little Ducks Went Quack Quack Quack" and "Here We Are, Here We Are, Here We Are Again."
According to the lovely "Comedians at 78RPM" scholarly reference book, he was best known for a pair of beach blanket novelties, "You Can Do A Lot of Things At the Seaside That You Can't Do In Town" and "I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside." The latter tune was so memorable that no less a frustrated song-and-dance man than Basil Rathbone performed it with many an exaggerated flourish in 1939's film The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

During World War I, Sheridan headed his own burlesque company and spread cheer throughout Great Britain, singing tunes like "Belgium Put the Kybosh on the Kaiser." The shows included his wife and children. But somehow, the more joy he brought to others, the less he seemed to find for himself.

One night in Glasgow, in 1918, Mark Sheridan couldn't hear the laughter. After the show, witness claimed he brooded over the performance. He was sure that he hadn't gotten his usual quota of laughs and applause. He walked into Kelvin Grove Park, more and more convinced that he was no longer the star he once was. The Music Hall comedian shot himself.