Edmund Willard
Encyclopedia
Edmund Willard born 19 December 1884 in Brighton
, Sussex
, England – †
6 October 1956 in Kingston upon Thames
, England, was a British
actor of the 1930s and 1940s.
Born in Brighton
in 1884, the nephew of Victorian era
actor Edward Smith Willard
, in 1920 Willard appeared in the plays of William Shakespeare
at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
in Stratford-upon-Avon
. He appeared in Hamlet
, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice
, Richard III
, and The Taming of the Shrew
.
Willard's first film role was as The Fourth Party in A Window in Piccadilly (1928). His other film appearances include The Private Life of Don Juan
(1934) with Douglas Fairbanks
and Merle Oberon
, The Scarlet Pimpernel
(1934) with Leslie Howard
and Raymond Massey
, The Mystery of the Marie Celeste
(1935) with Bela Lugosi
, Van Zeeland in Rembrandt (1936) with Charles Laughton
and Gertrude Lawrence
, the Chief Steward in Underneath the Arches
(1937) with Bud Flanagan
, Chesney Allen
and The Crazy Gang
, the Chief of German Intelligence in Dark Journey
(1937) with Vivien Leigh
and Conrad Veidt
, Hoots Mon!
(1940) with Max Miller, Penn of Pennsylvania
(1942) with Clifford Evans
and Deborah Kerr
, and The Young Mr Pitt
(1942) with Robert Donat
and Robert Morley
.
His television roles included appearances in Fabian of the Yard
(1954), The Errol Flynn
Theatre (1956) and The Scarlet Pimpernel (1956).
Willard married Mabel Theresa Tebbs (born 1885) in 1907 at Steyning
in Sussex
. They had a daughter, the children's author Barbara Willard
, and a son, Christopher Willard (died 1944).
Edmund Willard died in 1956 in Kingston
, London
, aged 71.
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England – †
6 October 1956 in Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
, England, was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor of the 1930s and 1940s.
Born in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
in 1884, the nephew of Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
actor Edward Smith Willard
Edward Smith Willard
Edward Smith Willard was an English actor. He was born at Brighton and made his debut upon the stage at Weymouth in 1869. In 1881 he went to London, and with Wilson Barrett at the Princess Theatre played in The Lights of London, The Silver King, and other well-known pieces...
, in 1920 Willard appeared in the plays of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon...
in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
. He appeared in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
, Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, and The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
.
Willard's first film role was as The Fourth Party in A Window in Piccadilly (1928). His other film appearances include The Private Life of Don Juan
The Private Life of Don Juan
The Private Life of Don Juan is a 1934 British comedy-drama film about the life of an aging Don Juan, based on the 1920 play L'homme à la Rose by Henry Bataille. The movie stars Douglas Fairbanks and Merle Oberon.-Plot:...
(1934) with Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
and Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon was an Indian-born British actress best known for her screen performances in The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Cowboy and the Lady . She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII . She travelled to the United States to make films for Samuel...
, The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934 film)
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1934 adaptation of The Scarlet Pimpernel, the classic adventure novel by Baroness Orczy. It was produced by Alexander Korda, directed by Harold Young and stars Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon, along with Raymond Massey.-Plot:...
(1934) with Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard (actor)
Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
and Raymond Massey
Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
, The Mystery of the Marie Celeste
The Mystery of the Marie Celeste
The Mystery of the Marie Celeste is one of the early films from Hammer Film Productions and was directed by Denison Clift. The leading actor is Béla Lugosi....
(1935) with Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
, Van Zeeland in Rembrandt (1936) with Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
and Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence was an English actress, singer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End theatre district of London and on Broadway.-Early life:...
, the Chief Steward in Underneath the Arches
Underneath the Arches (film)
Underneath the Arches is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Redd Davis and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Stella Moya, Lyn Harding and Edmund Willard who formed part of the comedy ensemble known as the Crazy Gang....
(1937) with Bud Flanagan
Bud Flanagan
Bud Flanagan was a popular English music hall and vaudeville entertainer from the 1930s until the 1960s. Flanagan was famous as a wartime entertainer and his achievements were recognised when he was awarded the O.B.E. in 1960.- Family background :Flaganan was born Chaim Reuben Weintrop in...
, Chesney Allen
Chesney Allen
Chesney Allen was a popular English entertainer of the Second World War period. He is best remembered as part of the double act with Bud Flanagan, Flanagan and Allen.-Life and career:...
and The Crazy Gang
The Crazy Gang
The Crazy Gang were a group of British entertainers, formed in the early 1930s. In the mature form the group's six men were Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox, Charlie Naughton and Jimmy Gold...
, the Chief of German Intelligence in Dark Journey
Dark Journey (film)
Dark Journey is a 1937 British spy film directed by Victor Saville set in the First World War. Its plot concerns two secret agents on opposite sides, played by Conrad Veidt and Vivien Leigh, who fall in love.-Cast:* Conrad Veidt as Baron Karl von Marwitz...
(1937) with Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
and Conrad Veidt
Conrad Veidt
Conrad Veidt was a German actor best remembered for his roles in films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari , The Man Who Laughs , The Thief of Bagdad and Casablanca...
, Hoots Mon!
Hoots Mon! (1940 film)
Hoots Mon! is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Max Miller, Florence Desmond and Hal Walters. An English comedian attempts his luck on the Scottish stage, and develops a rivalry with a local performer.-Cast:...
(1940) with Max Miller, Penn of Pennsylvania
Penn of Pennsylvania
Penn of Pennsylvania is a 1941 British historical drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Deborah Kerr, Clifford Evans, Dennis Arundell, Henry Oscar, Herbet Lomas and Edward Rigby. The film depicts the life of the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn...
(1942) with Clifford Evans
Clifford Evans
Clifford Evans was a Welsh actor. As a conscientious objector he served in the Non-Combatant Corps in World War II.During the summer of 1934 he appeared in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Open Air Theatre in London....
and Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
, and The Young Mr Pitt
The Young Mr Pitt
The Young Mr Pitt is a 1942 British, black-and-white, biographical film, directed by Carol Reed and starring Robert Donat, Robert Morley and John Mills. It was produced by Edward Black, Maurice Ostrer, Twentieth Century Productions Ltd. and Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.-Synopsis:The film...
(1942) with Robert Donat
Robert Donat
Robert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
and Robert Morley
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment...
.
His television roles included appearances in Fabian of the Yard
Fabian of the Yard
Fabian of the Yard was a British police procedural television series based on the real-life memoirs of Scotland Yard detective Robert Fabian, made by the BBC and broadcast between November 1954 and February 1956. It is considered the earliest police procedural to be made for British TV, sharing...
(1954), The Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
Theatre (1956) and The Scarlet Pimpernel (1956).
Willard married Mabel Theresa Tebbs (born 1885) in 1907 at Steyning
Steyning
Steyning is a small town and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles north of Shoreham-by-Sea...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. They had a daughter, the children's author Barbara Willard
Barbara Willard
Barbara Mary Willard, a British historical/children's author, was born in Brighton, Sussex in 1909, the daughter of the Shakespearean actor Edmund Willard and the great-niece of Victorian era actor Edward Smith Willard....
, and a son, Christopher Willard (died 1944).
Edmund Willard died in 1956 in Kingston
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, aged 71.
Selected filmography
- The Private Life of Don JuanThe Private Life of Don JuanThe Private Life of Don Juan is a 1934 British comedy-drama film about the life of an aging Don Juan, based on the 1920 play L'homme à la Rose by Henry Bataille. The movie stars Douglas Fairbanks and Merle Oberon.-Plot:...
(1934) - The Iron DukeThe Iron Duke (film)The Iron Duke is a 1934 British historical film directed by Victor Saville and starring George Arliss, Ellaline Terriss, Gladys Cooper and Peter Gawthorne...
(1934) - The Scarlet PimpernelThe Scarlet Pimpernel (1934 film)The Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1934 adaptation of The Scarlet Pimpernel, the classic adventure novel by Baroness Orczy. It was produced by Alexander Korda, directed by Harold Young and stars Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon, along with Raymond Massey.-Plot:...
(1934) - The Mystery of the Marie CelesteThe Mystery of the Marie CelesteThe Mystery of the Marie Celeste is one of the early films from Hammer Film Productions and was directed by Denison Clift. The leading actor is Béla Lugosi....
(1935) - Moscow NightsMoscow Nights (film)Moscow Nights is a 1935 British drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Laurence Olivier, Penelope Dudley-Ward and Harry Baur. During the First World War a wounded Russian officer Captain Ignatoff falls in love with his nurse...
(1935) - King of the DamnedKing of the DamnedKing of the Damned is a 1935 British action film directed by Walter Forde and starring Conrad Veidt, Helen Vinson, Noah Beery and Cecil Ramage. Convict 83 is a prisoner on an island, where the harsh regime of the Governor pushes him to lead a revolt...
(1935) - Rembrandt (1936)
- The Mill on the FlossThe Mill on the Floss (film)The Mill on the Floss is a 1937 British drama film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Frank Lawton, Victoria Hopper, Geraldine Fitzgerald and James Mason...
(1937) - Dark JourneyDark Journey (film)Dark Journey is a 1937 British spy film directed by Victor Saville set in the First World War. Its plot concerns two secret agents on opposite sides, played by Conrad Veidt and Vivien Leigh, who fall in love.-Cast:* Conrad Veidt as Baron Karl von Marwitz...
(1937) - Underneath the ArchesUnderneath the Arches (film)Underneath the Arches is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Redd Davis and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Stella Moya, Lyn Harding and Edmund Willard who formed part of the comedy ensemble known as the Crazy Gang....
(1937) - Smash and GrabSmash and GrabSmash and Grab is a 1937 British comedy crime film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Jack Buchanan, Elsie Randolph, Arthur Margetson and Anthony Holles...
(1937) - The Stars Look DownThe Stars Look Down (film)The Stars Look Down is a 1940 British film based on A. J. Cronin's novel of the same title, initially published in 1935, which chronicles various injustices in a mining community in North East England. The film, co-scripted by Cronin and directed by Carol Reed, stars Michael Redgrave as Davey...
(1940) - Atlantic FerryAtlantic FerryAtlantic Ferry is a 1941 British film starring Michael Redgrave and Valerie Hobson. It was made at Teddington Studios...
(1941) - Penn of PennsylvaniaPenn of PennsylvaniaPenn of Pennsylvania is a 1941 British historical drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Deborah Kerr, Clifford Evans, Dennis Arundell, Henry Oscar, Herbet Lomas and Edward Rigby. The film depicts the life of the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn...
(1942) - The Young Mr PittThe Young Mr PittThe Young Mr Pitt is a 1942 British, black-and-white, biographical film, directed by Carol Reed and starring Robert Donat, Robert Morley and John Mills. It was produced by Edward Black, Maurice Ostrer, Twentieth Century Productions Ltd. and Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.-Synopsis:The film...
(1942) - Helter SkelterHelter Skelter (1949 film)Helter Skelter is a 1949 British romantic comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Carol Marsh, David Tomlinson and Mervyn Johns. A police detective becomes involved with a wealthy socialite....
(1949)
External links
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0929606/Willard on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
] - Willard on Allmovie.com
- Willard on The Complete Index To World Film since 1895