Edward Henry Abbot-Anderson (14 April 1864,
Sandhurst, Berkshire
Sandhurst is a town and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest borough in Berkshire, England. It is in the south eastern corner of Berkshire, and is situated west-southwest of central London, north west of Camberley and south of Bracknell. ...
– 22 August 1959,
Camberley, Surrey
Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Camb ...
), known professionally as Allan Aynesworth, was an English actor and producer. His career spanned more than six decades, from 1887 to 1949, and included the role of Algernon Moncrieff in the 1895 premiere of
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
's ''
The Importance of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
''.
Aynesworth generally appeared in
drawing room comedy A drawing room play is a type of play, developed during the Victorian period in the United Kingdom, in which the actions take place in a drawing room or which is designed to be reenacted in the drawing room of a home. The common practice of entertai ...
and contemporary high-society dramas, usually avoiding old classics and modern plays about social problems. He retired from the stage in 1938, and made his final acting appearance in the film ''
The Last Days of Dolwyn'' in 1949.
Life and career
Early years
Aynesworth was born at the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst
The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...
, the third son of
Major-General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Edward Abbot-Anderson and his first wife, Martha, ''née'' Birkett, who died the day after Aynesworth was born. The eldest son, John Henry, followed his father into the army, and rose to be a
Brigadier-General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...
; the middle son, William Maurice, entered the medical profession and became physician to the
Princess Royal
Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been se ...
.
[Parker, pp. 38–39] Aynesworth attended
Chatham House Grammar School
(May Chatham House Flourish)
, established = 1797
, free_label_3 = Merged
, free_3 = 2011
, closed =
, type = Grammar schoolAcademy
, religious_affiliation =
, president =
, head_label =
, head ...
, and was then sent to France and Germany to complete his education.
[ While in France he became an habitué of the ]Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...
, where he studied the techniques of French acting. ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' said of this period in his life:
:His determination to be first rate, his respect for acting as an art, his insistence on clarity of diction and intimate timing, his reluctance to undertake parts to which he felt he could not do justice, not least his ''panache'' – all this could be traced to the influence of the French theatre on him in his formative years.["Mr Allan Aynesworth – Accomplished Playing of High Comedy", ''The Times'', 25 August 1959, p. 10]
After returning to England, Aynesworth resolved to pursue a theatrical career, and made his stage debut in April 1887 as an uncredited extra in ''The Red Lamp'' by Outram Tristram, produced by and starring Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager.
Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous progra ...
.[ He then went as a student to ]Sarah Thorne
Sarah Thorne (10 May 1836 – 27 February 1899) was a British actress and actress-manager of the 19th century who managed the Theatre Royal at Margate for many years. She ran a school for acting there which is widely regarded as Britain's fir ...
's theatre at Margate
Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook.
The town has been a significan ...
, before returning to London in November 1887, when he played a small role in a blank-verse tragedy, ''The Witch'', at the St James's Theatre
The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham; it lost money and after three seasons he retired. A succ ...
. '' The Standard'' observed, "Mr. A. E. Aynesworth spoke the few lines allotted to him with distinction". In March 1888 Aynesworth played in a short-lived piece, ''To the Death'', written by and starring Rutland Barrington
Rutland Barrington (15 January 1853 – 31 May 1922) was an English singer, actor, comedian and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his p ...
. before rejoining the company at the St James's the following month, under the management of John Hare and William Kendal; he played General de Pontac in a revival of ''The Ironmaster'' by Arthur Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (24 May 185523 November 1934) was an English playwright and, early in his career, actor.
Pinero was drawn to the theatre from an early age, and became a professional actor at the age of 19. He gained experience as a supp ...
.[ Later that year the Hare and Kendal management ended, and Barrington took over as lessee of the St James's; he cast Aynesworth as Lord Ashwell in ''The Dean's Daughter''. Reviewers thought it a difficult role – "trying", "ungrateful and generally ridiculous" – and singled Aynesworth out for his success in making it work on stage.
]
1890s
During 1890–1892 Aynesworth played a series of roles at the Court Theatre: George Liptott in ''The Weaker Sex''; Lord St John Brompton in ''Aunt Jack''; the Hon Brooke Twombley in ''The Cabinet Minister''; the Hon Gilbert Stukeley in ''The Volcano''; and Richard Webb in ''The Late Lamented''.["Mr. E. Allan Aynesworth", ''The Era Almanack'', January 1896, p. 32]
After appearing at the Avenue, Globe
A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...
, Criterion, Daly's and Garrick Garrick may refer to:
* Garrick (name), for the name's origin and people with either the surname or given name, the most famous being:
** David Garrick (1717–1779), English actor
* Garrick Club, a London gentlemen's club named in honour of David ...
Theatres, during 1883–1884, Aynesworth joined George Alexander's company at the St James's, where he played Algernon Moncrieff in the first production of ''The Importance of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
''. He recalled that Wilde attended only one rehearsal, and then called the cast together and told them that he had just witnessed "a play that reminded him slightly of one that he'd written", but that the similarity ended there.["Fifty Years in the Theatre: Mr Aynesworth's Jubilee", ''The Observer'', 6 June 1937, p. 13] Despite the author's reservations, the play was enthusiastically received when it opened on 14 February 1895. Looking back in the 1940s, Aynesworth told the journalist and biographer Hesketh Pearson
Edward Hesketh Gibbons Pearson (20 February 1887 – 9 April 1964) was a British actor, theatre director and writer. He is known mainly for his popular biographies; they made him the leading British biographer of his time, in terms of commercia ...
, "In my fifty-three years of acting, I never remember a greater triumph than hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
first night." The role of Algernon brought him to wider public notice than before,[ and his notices were excellent: "Mr Aynesworth hits off to perfection the bland effrontery of Moncrieff"; " ecatches the right vein of grave extravagance";]["exactly catches the tone of well-bred insolence which harmonises best with the author's wit".
Later in 1895 Alexander led the St James's company on tour, and in September they played a command performance of the comedy-drama '']Liberty Hall
Liberty Hall ( ga, Halla na Saoirse), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest ...
'' for Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
at Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen.
The estate and its original castle were bought f ...
.[ During the rest of the decade Aynesworth appeared at seven London theatres, mostly in society dramas and drawing room comedies, but venturing into ]Ruritanian
Ruritania is a fictional country, originally located in central Europe as a setting for novels by Anthony Hope, such as ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1894). Nowadays the term connotes a quaint minor European country, or is used as a placeholder name f ...
romance in an 1896 adaptation of ''The Prisoner of Zenda
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in orde ...
''.[ Later in his career he returned to this play, no longer in a juvenile role but as the fatherly Colonel Sapt.][
]
1900 to 1920
Aynesworth began the 1900s playing Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton in ''Madame Butterfly'', David Belasco's play, which was five years away from becoming much better known in Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...
's operatic version.[ In 1903 he made one of his few appearances in a costume drama, playing Sir John Melville in the 18th-century comedy '']The Clandestine Marriage
''The Clandestine Marriage'' is a comedy by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick, first performed in 1766 at Drury Lane. It is both a comedy of manners and a comedy of errors. The idea came from a series of pictures by William Hogarth entit ...
''. From 1903 to 1907 he established a fruitful stage partnership with Marie Tempest
Dame Mary Susan Etherington, (15 July 1864 – 15 October 1942), known professionally as Marie Tempest, was an English singer and actress.
Tempest became a famous soprano in late Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. Later, s ...
in a series of long-running plays, mostly at the Comedy Theatre
The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011, , but with one excursion to New York to play ''The Freedom of Suzanne'' at the Empire Theatre.[
At the ]Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...
in February 1912 Aynesworth appeared as Captain Nicholas Jeyes in Pinero's ''The "Mind the Paint" Girl
''The "Mind the Paint" Girl'' is a four-act play by Arthur Pinero, first published in 1912.
The play has a large cast of twenty eight named characters. The play was written to incorporate a song written by Jerome Kern. It premiered at the Duke ...
'', after which he went into management for the first time, presenting and starring in ''Ready Money'' at the New Theatre, which ran for more than 200 performances.[ He continued his career as an actor-manager over the next few years at the Garrick Theatre, and, in partnership with ]Bronson Albery
Sir Bronson James Albery (6 March 1881 – 21 July 1971) was an English theatre director and impresario. Second son of James Albery and Mary Moore, and brother to Irving Albery and Wyndham Albery, he was knighted in 1949 for his services to th ...
, the Criterion, and then, with Irving Albery
Sir Irving James Albery (12 May 1879 – 14 November 1967) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Gravesend from 1924 to 1945.
Biography
The eldest of three sons of actress and thea ...
, the Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...
.[
During the ]First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
theatres were asked to keep open to provide entertainment for troops home on leave. Aynesworth complied, and was in demand as actor, producer and contributor to charity performances.[
]
Later years
In 1921 Aynesworth had one of his biggest successes, in the role of Lord Porteus in Somerset Maugham's '' The Circle''. ''The Times'' said that those who saw him would not forget "the rotund perfection of his performance", and ''The Play Pictorial
''The Play Pictorial'' was an English theatrical magazine that was published in London between 1902 and 1939.
''The Play Pictorial'' provided pictorial records of West End theatrical productions. Each issue described a single show, with descrip ...
'' commented:
The following year Aynesworth had another characteristic success in '' The Dover Road'' by A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
, playing "the tremendous butler, Dominic ... an unbelievably grand creature". ''The Play Pictorial'' praised "a masterly study of humorous exposition, and every effect is obtained without apparent effort".
In the 1930s Aynesworth continued to appear in West End plays. His Lord Porteus attracted enthusiastic reviews when ''The Circle'' was revived in 1931.[ He maintained a keen interest on the doings of a new generation of actors. Asked by an interviewer in 1937 who he thought were the "real thing" among the younger actors, he replied, "that young fellow who played Hamlet – Gielgud – yes, he's certainly the real thing; and that other boy... ]Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...
, and the little girl who's played some Shakespeare, Margaretta Scott
Margaretta Mary Winifred ScottBrian McFarlane, "Scott, Margaretta Mary Winifred (1912–2005)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Jan 201available online Retrieved 30 August 2020. (13 February 1912 – 15 Apri ...
".[ When Gielgud produced and starred in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' in 1938 he and his colleagues were delighted and encouraged when Aynesworth came backstage after the first night and told them he found the production delightful, catching the original gaiety and "exactly the right atmosphere".
Aynesworth's last stage role was Lord Conyngham in ]Laurence Housman
Laurence Housman (; 18 July 1865 – 20 February 1959) was an English playwright, writer and illustrator whose career stretched from the 1890s to the 1950s. He studied art in London. He was a younger brother of the poet A. E. Housman and his s ...
's ''Victoria Regina Victoria Regina or ''variation'', may also refer to:
* Victoria Regina (or Victoria R.), a latinate form of address for queens named Victoria, see Queen Victoria (disambiguation)
* ''Victoria Regina'' (play), a 1934 stageplay by Laurence Housman ...
''. ''The Times'' commented "it is the wit and authority of Mr Allan Aynesworth's Conyngham that here makes all else seem a trifle amateurish", The play ran for 337 performances, after which Aynesworth retired from theatre performance.[ His final role was on film, as the elderly Lord Lancaster in '' The Last Days of Dolwyn'' (1949).] ''The Times'' summed up his career:
He acted in 25 London theatres, most frequently at the Haymarket and the St. James's; and he took part in plays written by over 50 contemporary dramatists. He never appeared in anything by Shaw
Shaw may refer to:
Places Australia
*Shaw, Queensland
Canada
* Shaw Street, a street in Toronto
England
*Shaw, Berkshire, a village
* Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton
* Shaw, Swindon, a suburb of Swindon
...
(though for a while he rehearsed a part in '' You Never Can Tell'') or Granville Barker
Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directi ...
, for his interest was centred in the comedy of character and he was not sympathetic to the drama of ideas. His favourite part was Charles Surface, which gives a nice indication of his general outlook. He had worked with almost every eminent actor and actress of his day, and appeared before Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, King George V and Queen Mary, and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
Aynesworth died at his home in Camberley
Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Camb ...
at the age of 95.[
]
Films
* ''The Game of Life
''The Game of Life'', also known simply as ''Life'', is a board game originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley as ''The Checkered Game of Life'', the first ever board game for his own company, the Milton Bradley Company. ''The Game of Life'' ...
'' (1922) as John
* '' Flames of Passion'' (1922) as Mr. Forbes
* ''Brown Sugar
Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar.
Brown Sugar may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...
'' (1931) as Lord Knightsbridge
* '' The Calendar'' (1931) as Edmund Garth
* '' Just Smith'' (1933) as Lord Trench
* '' Love, Life and Laughter'' (1934) as King Boris
* '' Little Friend'' (1934) as Col. Amberley
* '' The Iron Duke'' (1934) (with George Arliss
George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...
) as Louis XVIII
* ''Brewster's Millions
''Brewster's Millions'' is a comedic novel written by George Barr McCutcheon in 1902, originally under the pseudonym of Richard Greaves.
The plot concerns a young man whose grandfather leaves him $1 million in a will, but a competing will from a ...
'' (1935) (with Jack Buchanan
Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...
and Lili Damita
Lili Damita (born Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré; 10 July 1904 – 21 March 1994) was a French-American actress and singer who appeared in 33 films between 1922 and 1937.
Early life and education
Lili Damita was born Liliane Marie-Madeleine Car ...
) as Rawles
* ''I, Claudius
''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Ro ...
'' (1937) as Asiatacus, Senator
* '' Young Man's Fancy (film)'' (1939) as Mr. Trubshaw
* '' The Last Days of Dolwyn'' (1949) (with Edith Evans
Dame Edith Mary Evans, (8 February 1888 – 14 October 1976) was an English actress. She was best known for her work on the stage, but also appeared in films at the beginning and towards the end of her career. Between 1964 and 1968, she was no ...
, Emlyn Williams
George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor.
Early life
Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flintsh ...
and Richard Burton
Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
) as Lord Lancashire (final film role)
References and sources
References
Sources
*
*
*
External links
*
* Th
Alan Aynesworth Collection
is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
Theatre and Performance Department.
New production at UWA features family link to original “Earnest”
at University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...
, 18 July 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aynesworth, Allan
1864 births
1959 deaths
English male stage actors
English male film actors
People from Sandhurst, Berkshire
20th-century English male actors