Clarence Blakiston (23 April 1864 – 21 March 1943) was a British film and stage actor, comedian and singer who during his career across five decades played the title role in the Sherlock Holmes parody ''

Sheerluck Jones, or Why D’Gillette Him Off ''Sheerluck Jones, or Why D'Gillette Him Off'' is a burlesque on the popular 1899 play ''Sherlock Holmes (play), Sherlock Holmes''. The comedy starred Clarence Blakiston as Sheerluck Jones and ran at Terry's Theatre (1901-02) for 138 performanc ...

'' at

Terry's Theatre Terry's Theatre was a West End theatre in the Strand, in the City of Westminster, London. Built in 1887, it became a cinema in 1910 before being demolished in 1923. History The theatre was built in 1887, near Fountain's Court, on the site of a ...

(1901–02) which ran for 138 performances and who appeared in the original production of ''

The Admirable Crichton ''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. Origins Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving Ernest is p ...

'' 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 1902.

Early life

He was born at

Giggleswick Giggleswick, a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, lies on the B6480 road, less than north-west of the town of Settle and divided from it by the River Ribble. It is the site of Giggleswick School. T ...

in North Yorkshire in England, one of five children of Marie Jane ''née'' Simon (1825–1908) and John Richard Blakiston (1829–1917), HM Chief Inspector of Schools and Headmaster of

Giggleswick School Giggleswick School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Giggleswick, near Settle, North Yorkshire, England. Early school In 1499, Giggleswick School was founded on half an acre of land leased by the Prior an ...

(1858–1866). In 1880 aged 16 Clarence Blakiston joined the Merchant Navy as an apprentice 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 ...

while in 1884 he was awarded a Certificate of Competency to serve as Second Mate. In 1888 he married Glasgow-born Clementina Lindsay ''née'' Low (1864–1936) and they had a daughter, Marie Blakiston (1889–1890).

Stage career

After leaving the Merchant Navy Blakiston determined to try his hand at the theatre. His brief biography in ''

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 ...

'' review of '' The Blue Moon'' in 1905 recorded that:

Blakiston's first engagement was with a modern, but somewhat shady, repertoire Company whose manager cast him for juvenile lead, only because he possessed a presentable wardrobe. The thirsty members of the company were most eager to show him how his parts really should be played, but stipulated that the coaching was done in the nearest bar-parlour. Soon after joining, his manager called him aside and said, "My boy, you're too good for juveniles. When I see real talent I always help it on. I'll sacrifice myself by exchanging parts with you – I'll lend you my clothes (take care of them as it has taken me years to collect them), and you shall lend me yours." "Whereupon this gentleman" says Mr. Blakiston, "possessed himself of all my available suits and linen, and two weeks later gave me 12/- for two weeks' work, explaining with tears in his eyes that business was so bad owing to my inability to play such important parts. I never saw my clothes again. The manager's clothes (mostly rags) I sold for a few shillings, and got insulted over the transaction." After going through many vicissitudes Mr. Blakiston obtained an introduction to Mr. Edward Compton who engaged him as prompter, and thenceforth he worked his way up to the position of leading man, which position he retained for five years before trying his fate in town.

His stage roles included Chastelard in ''The Queen's Room'' (1891) at the

Opera Comique The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway. ...

; Harry Dornton in ''The Road to Ruin'' (1891) at the Opera Comique; Roger Conant in ''The Mayflower'' (1892); Captain Simmonds in ''Delia Harding'' (1895) at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

; Mr Goldie in ''A Breezy Morning'' (1895) at the Comedy Theatre; Butler in ''The Manoeuvres of Jane'' at the Haymarket Theatre (1899); Stingo in ''

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18t ...

'' (1900) at the

Theatre Royal Haymarket 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 Foot ...

; Mr Fenwick in ''The Second in Command'' (1900) at the Theatre Royal Haymarket; Captain Trent in ''The New Clown'' and Sheerluck Jones in the Sherlock Holmes parody ''

'' (1901) and Edgar Blatcher in ''A Tight Corner'' (1901) at

; Harry Brandon in ''The Little French Milliner'' (1902) at the

Avenue Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

; John Treherne in ''

'' (1902) at the

; Dr Topping in ''Little Mary'' (1903); Grieve in ''Du Barry'' (1905) at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...

; Sm in ''The Faddists'' (1905) at

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 ...

; Prince Badahur Sanatsinjhi of Kharikar in '' The Blue Moon'' (1905) at the Lyric Theatre; Prince Hassan in '' A Persian Princess'' (1909) at the Queen's Theatre; Richard Gilder in '' Within the Law'' (1916) at the Theatre Royal in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in Australia and the same role at the Kingsway Theatre (1920); Dr Macfarlane in ''The Unknown'' by

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

at the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

(1920) starring Basil Rathbone and

Lady Tree Helen Maud Holt (5 October 1863 – 7 August 1937), professionally known as Mrs Beerbohm Tree and later Lady Tree, was an English actress. She was the wife of the actor Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and the mother of Viola Tree, Felicity Tree and Ir ...

; Harding in ''Send for Dr. O'Grady'' (1923) at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began developmen ...

; Sir Robert Shale in ''The Lie'' (1924) at the Regent Theatre, and Archbishop in ''High Treason'' at the Strand Theatre (1928).

Film roles

Blakiston's film roles include Richard Gilder in the Australian film '' Within the Law'' (1916), M. Duval in ''The Lady of the Camellias'' (1922), Sir John Edmonds in '' Somebody's Darling'' (1925), Sir George Venning in ''

Rogues of the Turf ''Rogues of the Turf'' is a 1923 British silent sports film directed by Wilfred Noy and starring Fred Groves, Olive Sloane and James Lindsay.Low p.438 The screenplay involves a plot to kidnap a race horse. Cast * Fred Groves as Bill Higgi ...

'' (1923), Henry Leslie in '' A Peep Behind the Scenes'' (1929), Mr Peabody in '' The Girl in the Crowd'' (1935), ''

Love Up the Pole ''Love Up the Pole'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Clifford Gulliver and starring Ernie Lotinga, Vivienne Chatterton and Wallace Lupino. It was made at the Cricklewood Studios in London, and distributed by Butcher's Film Service wh ...

'' (1936), and the

Duke of Sussex Duke of Sussex is a substantive title, one of several royal dukedoms, that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is a hereditary title of a specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. It takes its name fr ...

in ''

Victoria the Great ''Victoria the Great'' is a 1937 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook and Walter Rilla. When Laurence Housman's play ''Victoria Regina'' was banned by the Lord Chamberlain (in 1935 the royal ...

'' (1937). By 1939 Clarence Blakiston was living in

Ainsdale Ainsdale is an area of Southport in Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. Originally in the Historic counties of England, Historic County of Lancashire, at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census it had a ...

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

, Merseyside and here he died in 1943. In his will he left £221 3s 11d to Ellen Rosemary Blakiston.Clarence Blakiston in the England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1966
–

Ancestry.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

References

External links

Blakiston
on

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blakiston, Clarence 1864 births 1943 deaths People educated at Giggleswick School English male silent film actors English male film actors English male stage actors English male musical theatre actors English operatic baritones 19th-century English male actors 20th-century English male actors