Alfred Drayton (1 November 1881 – 26 April 1949) was a British stage and

film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

. Drayton worked in a brewery when he was 18 but having a good deal of amateur dramatics experience decided to go on stage. His first appearance on stage was ''The Beloved Vagabond'' at

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in 1908 and his

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

debut was at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

the following year. He featured in several West End plays before going into films, including ''

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...

'' (1921) and ''

Dear Brutus ''Dear Brutus'' is a 1917 fantasy play by J. M. Barrie, depicting alternative realities for its characters and their eventual return to real life. The title is a reference to a line from Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar'': "The fault, dear Brutus, is ...

'' in 1922. On both screen and stage he had a successful partnership with the actor

Robertson Hare John Robertson Hare, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the popular BBC sitcom, ''All Gas ...

a veteran of the

Aldwych Farces The Aldwych farces were a series of twelve stage farces presented at the Aldwych Theatre, London, nearly continuously from 1923 to 1933. All but three of them were written by Ben Travers. They incorporate and develop British low comedy styles, ...

. He was appearing with Hare in the play ''

One Wild Oat ''One Wild Oat'' is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Stanley Holloway, Robertson Hare and Sam Costa with a notable appearance by a pre-stardom Audrey Hepburn as an extra. Plot Barrister Humphrey Proudfoot ...

'' at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...

at the time of his death in 1949.

Filmography

* '' Iron Justice'' (1915) * '' A Little Bit of Fluff'' (1919) * ''

A Temporary Gentleman ''A Temporary Gentleman'' is a 1920 British silent comedy film directed by Fred W. Durrant and starring Owen Nares, Madge Titheradge and Alfred Drayton. It was shot at Isleworth Studios.Harris p.65 Plot A clerk's service as subaltern spoil ...

'' (1920) * ''

The Honeypot ''The Honeypot'' is a 1920 British silent romance film directed by Fred LeRoy Granville and starring Peggy Hyland, Campbell Gullan and James Lindsay.Low p.383 It was made at Isleworth Studios. A sequel ''Love Maggy'' was released the follow ...

'' (1920) * ''

Love Maggy ''Love Maggy'' is a 1921 British silent drama film directed by Fred LeRoy Granville and starring Peggy Hyland, Campbell Gullan and James Lindsay.Quinlan p.121 It was made at Isleworth Studios as a sequel to the 1920 film '' The Honeypot''. ...

'' (1921) * '' A Scandal in Bohemia'' (1921) * '' The Squeaker'' (1930) * ''

The W Plan ''The W Plan'' is a 1930 British spy film produced and directed by Victor Saville and starring Brian Aherne, Madeleine Carroll, Gibb McLaughlin, and Gordon Harker. The screenplay was written by Saville with Miles Malleson and Frank Launder, ...

'' (1930) * ''

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) * ''

The Happy Ending ''The Happy Ending'' is a 1969 drama film written and directed by Richard Brooks, which tells the story of a repressed housewife who longs for liberation from her husband and daughter. It stars Jean Simmons (who received an Oscar nomination), ...

'' (1931) * '' The Calendar'' (1931) * ''

Lord Babs ''Lord Babs'' is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Bobby Howes, Jean Colin and Pat Paterson. It was based on the 1925 play of the same title by Keble Howard. It was once believed to be a lost film, but was redis ...

'' (1932) * '' It's a Boy'' (1933) * '' Falling for You'' (1933) * '' The Little Damozel'' (1933) * '' Friday the Thirteenth'' (1933) * '' Red Ensign'' (1934) * ''

Jack Ahoy ''Jack Ahoy'' is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Jack Hulbert, Nancy O'Neil, Alfred Drayton and Sam Wilkinson. Its plot follows a humble seaman falls in love with an Admiral's daughter, whilst trying to battle Ch ...

'' (1934) * ''

Lady in Danger ''Lady in Danger'' is a 1934 British comedy thriller film directed by Tom Walls and starring Walls, Yvonne Arnaud and Anne Grey. The screenplay was by Ben Travers. Plot In the mythical European country of Ardenberg, General Dittling (Leon M. L ...

'' (1934) * ''

Radio Parade of 1935 ''Radio Parade of 1935'' (1934), released in the US as ''Radio Follies'', is a British comedy film directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Will Hay, Clifford Mollison and Helen Chandler. It followed on from the 1933 film '' Radio Parade''. Pl ...

'' (1934) * ''

Oh, Daddy! ''Oh, Daddy!'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Graham Cutts and Austin Melford and starring Leslie Henson, Frances Day, Robertson Hare, and Barry MacKay. It was made at Islington Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art dir ...

'' (1935) * ''

Look Up and Laugh ''Look Up and Laugh'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Basil Dean and starring Gracie Fields, Alfred Drayton and Douglas Wakefield. The film is notable for featuring an appearance by Vivien Leigh in an early supporting role. Plot Gracie ...

'' (1935) * ''

Me and Marlborough ''Me and Marlborough'' is a 1935 British comedy film, directed by Victor Saville, and starring Cicely Courtneidge, Tom Walls, Barry MacKay, Peter Gawthorne, Henry Oscar and Cecil Parker. Plot Sergeant Cummings searches Kit Ross's pub for a des ...

'' (1935) * '' The Dictator'' (1935) * ''

First a Girl ''First a Girl'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Jessie Matthews. ''First a Girl'' was adapted from the 1933 German film ''Viktor und Viktoria'' written and directed by Reinhold Schünzel. It was remade as th ...

'' (1935) * ''

Tropical Trouble ''Tropical Trouble'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Douglass Montgomery, Betty Ann Davies and Alfred Drayton. It was based on the novel ''Bunga-Bunga'' by Stephen King-Hall. A series of misunderstandings lea ...

'' (1936) * '' The Crimson Circle'' (1936) * '' Aren't Men Beasts!'' (1937) * ''

A Spot of Bother ''A Spot of Bother'' is the second adult novel by Mark Haddon, who is best known for his prize-winning first novel ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time''. Like ''Curious Incident'', ''A Spot of Bother'' examines mental health iss ...

'' (1938) * '' So This Is London'' (1939) * ''

The Big Blockade ''The Big Blockade'' is a 1942 British black-and-white war propaganda film in the style of dramatised documentary. It is directed by Charles Frend and stars Will Hay, Leslie Banks, Michael Redgrave and John Mills. It was produced by Michael Bal ...

'' (1942) * '' Banana Ridge'' (1942) * ''

Women Aren't Angels ''Women Aren't Angels'' is a 1943 black and white British comedy film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Aldwych Theatre farceurs Robertson Hare and Alfred Drayton, with Polly Ward and Joyce Heron. It was made at Welwyn Studios and bas ...

'' (1943) * ''

Don't Take It to Heart ''Don't Take It to Heart'' is a 1944 British comedy film directed by Jeffrey Dell and starring Richard Greene, Alfred Drayton, Patricia Medina, Moore Marriott and Richard Bird. It was shot at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith with sets de ...

'' (1944) * ''

The Halfway House ''The Halfway House'' is a 1944 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Mervyn Johns, his daughter Glynis Johns, Tom Walls and Françoise Rosay. The film tells the story of ten people who are drawn to stay in an old Welsh cou ...

'' (1944) * '' They Knew Mr. Knight'' (1946) * ''

Things Happen at Night ''Things Happen at Night'' is a 1947 British supernatural ghost comedy film directed by Francis Searle and starring Gordon Harker, Alfred Drayton, Robertson Hare and Garry Marsh. The film is based upon a stage play, ''The Poltergeist'', by Fran ...

'' (1947) * ''

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...

'' (1947)

References

* Film Star Who's Who on the Screen 1932, 1934 and 1938.

External links

* 1881 births 1949 deaths English male film actors Male actors from Brighton 20th-century English male actors {{england-film-actor-stub