John Martin-Harvey
Encyclopedia
John Martin Harvey known after his knighthood in 1921 as Sir John Martin-Harvey, was a romantic actor of the English
theatre
.
Born at Bath Street, Wivenhoe
in the English
county of Essex
, he was the son of John Harvey, a yacht
-designer and shipbuilder, and Margaret Diana Mary Goyder. His father expected him to follow his own profession, but Martin Harvey had his sights set on the stage.
One of his father's clients was the dramatist W. S. Gilbert
, and it was through Gilbert that young "Jack" Martin Harvey met his first teacher, John Ryder.
Martin Harvey joined Sir Henry Irving
's Lyceum Theatre
company in 1882. For many years he played only minor parts in Irving's productions.
Martin Harvey's most famous play was first produced at the Lyceum on 16 February 1899. This was The Only Way, an adaptation of Charles Dickens
' A Tale of Two Cities
in which Martin Harvey played the lead role of Sydney Carton
.
Many other plays followed and many tours in both Great Britain
and North America
. His success was always greater in Canada
than the United States
.
After Sir Henry Irving
's death in 1905, Martin Harvey continued to revive his old manager's plays, often using Irving's own props which he had bought. These plays included The Bells
and The Lyons Mail.
His early successes included Pelleas in Maeterlinck's Pelleas and Melisande
, with Mrs Patrick Campbell as Melisande and incidental music written for the production by Gabriel Fauré
.
His later successes included A Cigarette-maker's Romance, Oedipus
(in Max Reinhardt
's Covent Garden
production), Bernard Shaw
's The Devil's Disciple
, and Maeterlinck's The Burgomaster of Stilemonde.
By the time he retired, Martin Harvey claimed to have performed The Only Way more than 3,000 times, though this would not have been possible in reality.
In 1889 he married Angelita Helena Maria de Silva Ferro
, daughter of a Chilean consul and a fellow actor in Irving's company who used the stage name Miss N. de Silva. They had two children, Muriel Martin-Harvey
and Michael Martin-Harvey, both successful actors.
Martin Harvey died at his home in East Sheen
, Richmond, Surrey
aged 80.
One of Martin Harvey's admirers was Robertson Davies
, who used him as a model for Sir John Tresize in The Deptford Trilogy
(1970–75).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
.
Born at Bath Street, Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe is a town in north eastern Essex, England, approximately south east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two separate settlements but with considerable development in the 19th century the...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, he was the son of John Harvey, a yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
-designer and shipbuilder, and Margaret Diana Mary Goyder. His father expected him to follow his own profession, but Martin Harvey had his sights set on the stage.
One of his father's clients was the dramatist W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
, and it was through Gilbert that young "Jack" Martin Harvey met his first teacher, John Ryder.
Martin Harvey joined Sir Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
's Lyceum Theatre
Lyceum Theatre (London)
The Lyceum Theatre is a 2,000-seat West End theatre located in the City of Westminster, on Wellington Street, just off the Strand. There has been a theatre with this name in the locality since 1765, and the present site opened on 14 July 1834 to a design by Samuel Beazley. The building was unique...
company in 1882. For many years he played only minor parts in Irving's productions.
Martin Harvey's most famous play was first produced at the Lyceum on 16 February 1899. This was The Only Way, an adaptation of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With well over 200 million copies sold, it ranks among the most famous works in the history of fictional literature....
in which Martin Harvey played the lead role of Sydney Carton
Sydney Carton
Sydney Carton is the central character in the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. He is a shrewd young Englishman and sometime junior to his fellow barrister C.J. Stryver. In the novel, he is seen to be a drunkard, self-indulgent and self-pitying because of his wasted life...
.
Many other plays followed and many tours in both Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. His success was always greater in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
than the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
After Sir Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
's death in 1905, Martin Harvey continued to revive his old manager's plays, often using Irving's own props which he had bought. These plays included The Bells
The Bells (play)
The Bells is a play in three acts by Leopold Davis Lewis which was one of the greatest successes of the British actor Henry Irving. The play opened on November 25 1871 at the Lyceum Theatre in London and initially ran for 151 performances...
and The Lyons Mail.
His early successes included Pelleas in Maeterlinck's Pelleas and Melisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (play)
Pelléas and Mélisande is a Symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck about the forbidden, doomed love of the title characters. It was first performed in 1893....
, with Mrs Patrick Campbell as Melisande and incidental music written for the production by Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
.
His later successes included A Cigarette-maker's Romance, Oedipus
Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King , also known by the Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BCE. It was the second of Sophocles's three Theban plays to be produced, but it comes first in the internal chronology, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone...
(in Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (theatre director)
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
's Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
production), Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's The Devil's Disciple
The Devil's Disciple
The Devil's Disciple is an 1897 play written by Irish dramatist, George Bernard Shaw. The play is Shaw's eighth, and after Richard Mansfield's original 1897 American production it was his first financial success, which helped to affirm his career as a playwright...
, and Maeterlinck's The Burgomaster of Stilemonde.
By the time he retired, Martin Harvey claimed to have performed The Only Way more than 3,000 times, though this would not have been possible in reality.
In 1889 he married Angelita Helena Maria de Silva Ferro
Angelita Helena Maria de Silva Ferro
Angelita Helena Margarita de Silva Ferro was an English actress better known by her stage name Miss N. de Silva.She was born in 1986 the daughter of Don Ramon de Silva Ferro and was supposedly descended from royalty on both sides of the family.She married John Martin-Harvey in 1889 and become the...
, daughter of a Chilean consul and a fellow actor in Irving's company who used the stage name Miss N. de Silva. They had two children, Muriel Martin-Harvey
Muriel Martin-Harvey
Muriel Martin-Harvey was a British stage actress. She also played the leading role in two silent films. She was the daughter of the actors John Martin-Harvey and Angelita Helena Maria de Silva Ferro. Her brother was the actor Michael Martin-Harvey....
and Michael Martin-Harvey, both successful actors.
Martin Harvey died at his home in East Sheen
East Sheen
East Sheen, also known as 'Sheen', is an affluent suburb of London, England in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It forms part of the London post town in the SW postcode area....
, Richmond, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
aged 80.
One of Martin Harvey's admirers was Robertson Davies
Robertson Davies
William Robertson Davies, CC, OOnt, FRSC, FRSL was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best-known and most popular authors, and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies is variously said to have gladly accepted for himself...
, who used him as a model for Sir John Tresize in The Deptford Trilogy
The Deptford Trilogy
The Deptford Trilogy is a novel trilogy by Canadian novelist Robertson Davies.-Overview:The trilogy consists of Fifth Business , The Manticore , and World of Wonders...
(1970–75).
External links
- Sir John Martin-Harvey
- John Martin-Harvey on Flickr
- University of Bristol Theatre Collection, University of BristolUniversity of BristolThe University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...