Bertie Alexander Meyer (17 June 1877 – mid November 1967) was a British theatre producer and entrepreneur.

Biography

Meyer was born on 17 June 1877 to a Jewish family. In 1902, he worked under director Arthur Lewis 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 ...

who was putting on a series of plays with actress

Gabrielle Réjane Gabrielle Réjane (), ''née'' Gabrielle Charlotte Réju (6 June 1856 – 14 June 1920), was a French actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The daughter of a former actor, Réjane studied at the Conservatoire national supérieur d'ar ...

. He worked with Réjane the following year at

Terry's Terry's is a British chocolate and confectionery maker, formerly based in York, England, until 2005, and re-established in 2019 as Terry's Chocolate Co and based in London. The company was founded in 1767. The company's headquarters and fact ...

. He was appointed manager of the German Theatre in London, becoming business manager for

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

and manager of the Queen's Theatre after his death. Meyer then went on two tours of Australia with

Oscar Asche John Stange(r) Heiss Oscar Asche (24 January 1871 – 23 March 1936), better known as Oscar Asche, was an Australian actor, director, and writer, best known for having written, directed, and acted in the record-breaking musical ''Chu Chin C ...

and

Lily Brayton Elizabeth "Lily" Brayton (23 June 1876 – 30 April 1953) was an English actress and singer, known for her performances in Shakespeare plays and for her nearly 2,000 performances in the First World War hit musical ''Chu Chin Chow''. Early life ...

. He returned to London in 1913, and in October of that year, he was appointed business manager of the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

. He served in the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

from 1914 during World War I, reaching the position of lieutenant and acting as an interpreter. Meyer oversaw the construction of the

St Martin's Theatre St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre which has staged the production of ''The Mousetrap'' since March 1974, making it the longest continuous run of any show in the world. The theatre is located in West Street, near Shaftesbury Avenue, in t ...

in the West End. Following his discharge from military service in 1922, he was appointed general manager of the Ambassadors Theatre, and in 1923 worked with

Owen Nares Owen Ramsay Nares (11 August 1888 – 30 July 1943) was an English stage and film actor. Besides his acting career, he was the author of ''Myself, and Some Others'' (1925). Early life Educated at Reading School, Nares was encouraged by his mo ...

to produce '' The Enchanted Cottage'' and ''

If Winter Comes ''If Winter Comes'' is a 1947 drama film released by MGM. The movie was directed by Victor Saville and based on the 1921 novel by A.S.M. Hutchinson. The film tells the story of an English textbook writer who takes in a pregnant girl. The novel ...

'' on stage. He was the producer of the Grand Guignol Season in 1927–28 at the Little Theatre. The

Cambridge Theatre The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an "irregular triangular site". Design and construction It was des ...

in the West End, which opened on 4 September 1930, was built for Meyer by the architects Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie. . In January 1932, he married the second time; the wedding to the American film actress

Rosemary Ames Rosemary Ames (December 11, 1906 – April 15, 1988) was an American film actress who had a brief career in the early 1930s. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Ames's father was Knowlton Lyman (Snake) Ames, who played fullback for Princeton Uni ...

, occurred at St Martin's register office in London. Two years later, Ames filed for divorce in Chicago on the grounds of desertion. During the period 1936 to 1939, he lived abroad. From Christmas 1954, he produced a stage adaption of

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have be ...

's Noddy, ''Noddy in Toyland'', with stage director

André van Gyseghem André van Gyseghem (18 August 1906 – 13 October 1979) was an English actor and theatre director who also appeared in many British television programmes. Early life Van Gyseghem was born on 18 August 1906 in Eltham, Kent, the son of Georges Em ...

at the large

Stoll Theatre Stoll is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Barbara J. Stoll, American pediatrician and professor * Cal Stoll, American football coach * Caspar Stoll, entomologist * Clifford Stoll, American astronomer * David Stoll, American an ...

in Kingsway, London. Meyer was 77 at the time. Due to the success of the pantomime, which sold out, Meyer and Blyton agreed to continue with it, and it ended up being shown for a further five or six years. In 1958, Meyer announced that in association with Geraldo, he would produce a musical version of

Gerald du Maurier Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (26 March 1873 – 11 April 1934) was an English actor and manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1903, he m ...

's ''

Trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in Britain Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. Barnes & Noble. and ...

''. Meyyer had been involved with the adaptation of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's books into plays as early as 1928 with ''

Alibi An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...

''.Gale, p. 963 However, when Meyer was approached by Christie in 1950 to produce a stage adaption of her novel ''

The Hollow ''The Hollow'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United States by Dodd, Mead & Co. in 1946 and in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in November of the same year. The US edition ...

'', he turned it down as he believed it would be too difficult to cast, although it has been speculated that the

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

in the novel was the primary reason. Meyer also turned down her ''Towards Zero'', causing annoyance to Christie for his sudden aversion to her. Meyer took over the St Martin's Theatre again in 1960, which he ran intermittently until his death in November 1967, when his son R.A. (Ricky) took over. Meyer was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

on 22 November 1967."Court Circular", ''The Times'', 22 November 1867, p. 12

Notes and references

;Notes ;References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Bertie British theatre managers and producers British Jews People from the London Borough of Camden 1877 births 1967 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Ordnance Corps officers Golders Green Crematorium