"Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town" is a poem from T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and a song from the Cats musical which is based on that poem.
Bustopher Jones is a parody of an Edwardian gentleman of leisure and is described as the St. James's Street cat, a regular visitor to many gentlemen's clubs in the area, including Drones, Blimp's, and The Tomb. An excerpt from the poem goes as follows:
Bustopher Jones
Is not skin and bones--
In fact, he's remarkably fat.
He doesn't haunt pubsâ€"
He has eight or nine clubs,
For he's the St. James's Street Cat!
He's the Cat we all greet
As he walks down the street
In his coat of fastidious black:
No commonplace mousers
Have such well-cut trousers
Or such an impeccable back.
In the whole of St. James's,
The smartest of names is
The name of this Brummell of Cats;
And we're all of us proud to
Be nodded or bowed to
By Bustopher Jones in white spats!
Due to his constant lunching at these clubs, he is a remarkably fat "25-pounder". He has a fastidiously black coat and apparently has white markings on his paws which resemble spats. Because of these traits, he is described as "the Brummell of cats" â€" a reference to Beau Brummell, the founder of dandyism.
Also it is believed that this cat as many dandys has Senior Education and practices the philanthropy among disadvantaged cats.
Cats, the musical
Bustopher Jones is portrayed by James Barron in the Cats movie. In the original West End show, and for the accompanying album, he was played by Brian Blessed. At times, the actor who portrays him also portrays Asparagus and Growltiger, a trend that began with the original Broadway production where these three parts were played by Stephen Hanan. Other actors to play the part included Bronson N. Murphy, Nathan Morgan, Christopher E. Sidoli, Robert Purdie and Ryan Bailey.