Sir Charles Hawtrey
Encyclopedia
Sir Charles Henry Hawtrey (21 September 1858 – 30 July 1923) was a celebrated stage actor, comedian
, director and producer
/manager
, knight
ed in 1922 by King George V
.
, where his father, the Reverend John Hawtrey, was master of the lower school. He was educated at Eton College, and at Rugby School
and Pembroke College, Oxford
. His older brother, also named John
, was a leading amateur footballer and represented England at international level.
, the one demolished in 1902, during (1884–1887) and Royal Comedy Theatre (1887–1893, 1896–1898). He was noted for such works as The Private Secretary
(his adaptation of a German farce, 1884), from which he earned the colossal sum of £123,000, but he was a gambler throughout his life (and owned a string of racehorses). In his own words: "I lost half-a-crown at a small race meeting. Ever since, I've been trying to get that half-crown back, and it must have cost me half a million." Another of his major successes was A Message from Mars by Richard Ganthony. He played in omerset Maughams plays Jack Straw and Home and Beauty. He created the role of Lord Goring in Oscar Wilde
's An Ideal Husband.
Sir Charles Hawtrey mentored Noel Coward
. It has been said that Coward idolized Charles Hawtrey, and that it was from him that Coward learned both comic acting techniques and playwriting. A young Hermione Gingold
understudied in some of Hawtrey's theatre productions. He was especially known for his expertise in playing light farce and became somewhat typecast in the role of the liar, especially erring husbands and other "cads", these parts becoming known (according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography) as "Hawtrey parts". . Also associated with a number of famous anecdotes and with the naming of the Hanky-Panky cocktail
.
As a treat, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
celebrated her 14th birthday in a box at the Coliseum Theatre
, London, watching a Charles Hawtrey show (on 4 August 1914). On the same day her future father-in-law, King George V, declared war
on Germany. The Poet Laureate
, Andrew Motion
, refers to this event in the poem celebrating her 100th birthday.
. He married, secondly, at the age of 60 on 10 November 1919, the Honourable Mrs Albert Petre (née Katherine Elsie Clark), daughter of the Reverend William Robinson Clark
and widow of the youngest son of the 11th Baron Petre. There were no children of either of his marriages. His second wife died on 14 November 1930.
was born George Hartree, and took the stage name of Sir Charles. Early in his career, he had claimed to be his son, thinking it would lead to work.)
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, director and producer
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
/manager
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1922 by King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
.
Early life
He was born at Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, where his father, the Reverend John Hawtrey, was master of the lower school. He was educated at Eton College, and at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
and Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2009, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £44.9 million.-History:...
. His older brother, also named John
John Hawtrey
John Purvis Hawtrey was an English amateur footballer who earned two caps for the national team in 1881.He was the brother of the actor, Sir Charles Hawtrey.-References:...
, was a leading amateur footballer and represented England at international level.
Career
He managed London's Globe TheatreGlobe Theatre (Newcastle Street)
The Globe was a Victorian theatre built in 1868 and demolished in 1902. It was the third of five London theatres to bear the name. It was also known at various times as the Royal Globe Theatre or Globe Theatre Royal. Its repertoire consisted mainly of comedies and musical shows...
, the one demolished in 1902, during (1884–1887) and Royal Comedy Theatre (1887–1893, 1896–1898). He was noted for such works as The Private Secretary
The Private Secretary
The Private Secretary is a popular 1883 farce in three acts, by Sir Charles Henry Hawtrey. The play was adapted from the German Der Bibliothekar, a book by Gustav von Moser....
(his adaptation of a German farce, 1884), from which he earned the colossal sum of £123,000, but he was a gambler throughout his life (and owned a string of racehorses). In his own words: "I lost half-a-crown at a small race meeting. Ever since, I've been trying to get that half-crown back, and it must have cost me half a million." Another of his major successes was A Message from Mars by Richard Ganthony. He played in omerset Maughams plays Jack Straw and Home and Beauty. He created the role of Lord Goring in Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's An Ideal Husband.
Sir Charles Hawtrey mentored Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
. It has been said that Coward idolized Charles Hawtrey, and that it was from him that Coward learned both comic acting techniques and playwriting. A young Hermione Gingold
Hermione Gingold
Hermione Gingold was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother reportedly encouraged her not to remove. She starred on stage, on radio, in films, on...
understudied in some of Hawtrey's theatre productions. He was especially known for his expertise in playing light farce and became somewhat typecast in the role of the liar, especially erring husbands and other "cads", these parts becoming known (according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography) as "Hawtrey parts". . Also associated with a number of famous anecdotes and with the naming of the Hanky-Panky cocktail
Hanky-Panky cocktail
The Hanky-Panky cocktail was the brainchild of Ada Coleman. Her benefactor was Rupert D'Oyly Carte, a member of the family that first produced Gilbert and Sullivan operas in London and that built the Savoy Hotel...
.
As a treat, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
celebrated her 14th birthday in a box at the Coliseum Theatre
Coliseum Theatre
The London Coliseum is an opera house and major performing venue on St. Martin's Lane, central London. It is one of London's largest and best equipped theatres and opened in 1904, designed by theatrical architect Frank Matcham , for impresario Oswald Stoll...
, London, watching a Charles Hawtrey show (on 4 August 1914). On the same day her future father-in-law, King George V, declared war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
on Germany. The Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, Andrew Motion
Andrew Motion
Sir Andrew Motion, FRSL is an English poet, novelist and biographer, who presided as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009.- Life and career :...
, refers to this event in the poem celebrating her 100th birthday.
Personal life
Hawtrey was twice married. He married on 3 June 1886 Madeline ("Mae") Harriet, daughter of Thomas Bowen Sheriffe, who divorced him in 1893 and died in 1905. In 1909 his then partner Olive Morris bore him a son, Anthony HawtreyAnthony Hawtrey
Anthony John Hawtrey was an English actor on stage and screen, and theatre director.-Life:He was born in Claygate, Surrey, on 22 January 1909, the illegitimate son of Sir Charles Hawtrey and Olive Morris. He was educated at Bradfield College, then studied for the stage under Bertha Moore...
. He married, secondly, at the age of 60 on 10 November 1919, the Honourable Mrs Albert Petre (née Katherine Elsie Clark), daughter of the Reverend William Robinson Clark
William Robinson Clark
William Robinson Clark FRSC was a Scottish-Canadian theologian. He was born in Daviot, Aberdeenshire, son of James Clark. Originally educated for the Congregationalist ministry at New College London, he later conformed to the Church of England. After graduating from King's College, Aberdeen MA...
and widow of the youngest son of the 11th Baron Petre. There were no children of either of his marriages. His second wife died on 14 November 1930.
Death
He died on 30 July 1923 and is buried at Richmond, London. His biography The Truth at Last, was edited and finished by Somerset Maugham, and posthumously published in 1924. (The later actor named Charles HawtreyCharles Hawtrey (film actor)
George Frederick Joffre Hartree , known as Charles Hawtrey, was an English comedy actor and musician.Beginning at a young age as a boy soprano, he made several records before moving on to the radio...
was born George Hartree, and took the stage name of Sir Charles. Early in his career, he had claimed to be his son, thinking it would lead to work.)
Films
Towards the end of his career, Hawtrey appeared in several silent films:- A Message from Mars (1913) as Horace Parker,
- Honeymoon for Three (1915) as Prince Ferdinand,
- Masks and Faces (1918) with George AlexanderGeorge AlexanderGeorge Alexander may refer to:*George Alexander , British actor*George Alexander , mayor of Los Angeles*George T. Alexander , US Army soldier*George W...
, George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge 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...
and J. M. BarrieJ. M. BarrieSir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
Publication
- The Truth at Last, (autobiography)1924, edited and with an introduction by William Somerset Maugham.