Claude Flemming (1884–1952) was an Australian actor, writer, producer and director of theatre and film whose varied stage career spanned the first half of the 20th century. He performed in Shakespeare and other drama, as well as opera, and became a music comedy specialist.Howarth, Paul

, the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 17 October 2014

Biography

Flemming was born in

Camden, New South Wales Camden is a historic town and suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, located 65 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district. Camden was the administrative centre for the local government area of Camden Council until July/August ...

. He made his stage début for

George Rignold George Richard Rignold, born George Richard Rignall, (1839 – 16 December 1912) was an England, English-born actor, active in Britain and Australia. Early life Rignold was born in Birmingham, England. He was the son of William Rignall, an actor ...

's Shakespeare company in Sydney in 1903. Soon afterwards, in England, he appeared on tour with

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 ...

's Company and then performed in grand opera at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

(''Die Meistersinger'', ''The Angelus''). He later played in

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

and operetta in the West End, including in ''

Fallen Fairies ''Fallen Fairies''; ''or, The Wicked World'', is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Edward German. The story is an operatic adaptation of Gilbert's 1873 blank-verse fairy comedy, '' The Wicked World''. In Fairy ...

'' (1909) and in New York. During and after the First World War, he toured in his homeland with the J. C. Williamson company in such musicals and operettas as ''

The Chocolate Soldier ''The Chocolate Soldier'' (German: ''Der tapfere Soldat''

he courageous soldier He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

or ''Der Praliné-Soldat'') is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus (composer), Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, ''Arms and the Man' ...

The Maid of the Mountains ''The Maid of the Mountains'', called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or "Edwardian" musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W. Tate, lyrics by Harry Graham an ...

A Southern Maid ''A Southern Maid'' is an operetta in three acts composed by Harold Fraser-Simson, with a book by Dion Clayton Calthrop and Harry Graham and lyrics by Harry Graham and Harry Miller. Additional music was provided by Ivor Novello and George ...

, The Firefly, The Cousin from Nowhere, Sybil'' and '' Lilac Time''. He acted and directed in several silent films in 1917 and 1918. Later, in America, he had a stint as a voice coach in Hollywood during the early years of sound films and as a company director for

Efftee Studios Efftee Studios was an early Australian film and theatre production studio, established by F.W. Thring (the name 'Efftee' deriving from his initials, 'FT' for Francis Thring) in 1930. It existed until Thring's death in 1935. Initially Efftee Films ...

. He directed '' The Magic Shoes'' (1935), the first screen performance of

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...

. He also worked as supervisor of productions at radio station 2CH in Sydney. His last stage work in Australia was as Col. Buffalo Bill in the Australian premiere in Melbourne, and subsequent three-year tour, of '' Annie Get Your Gun'' from 1947–50.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 83.

Selected filmography

* '' The Test'' (1916) *''Trilby'' (1917) – actor *''

The Lure of the Bush ''The Lure of the Bush'' is a 1918 Australian silent film starring renowned Australian sportsman Snowy Baker. It is considered a lost film. Synopsis Hugh Mostyn (Snowy Baker) is sent from his family station to England for an education and returns ...

'' (1918) – director, actor *''

£500 Reward ''£500 Reward'' is a 1918 Australian silent film starring, written, produced, financed and directed by Claude Flemming who later described it as "a very lurid melodrama". Synopsis A "five-act" drama about a couple who travel from the Rocky Mo ...

'' (1918) – director, actor, producer, writer * '' The Sword of Damocles'' (1920) – actor *'' Captain of the Guard'' (1930) - actor *''

Too Many Wives ''Too Many Wives'' is a 1937 comedy film directed by Ben Holmes and starring Anne Shirley. It lost $35,000. Plot To gain a job as a newspaper reporter, desperate dog walker Barry Trent lies that he is married with children and needs the employme ...

'' (1933) - actor *''

Dear Old London ''Dear Old London'' is a 1933 Australian short film directed by Claude Flemming for Efftee Studios. It is a travelogue of London. External links''Dear Old London''at National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of ...

'' (1933) (short) – director *''

Sheepmates ''Sheepmates'' was a proposed Australian film from director F. W. Thring based on a 1931 novel by William Hatfield. Development Thring bought the rights to Hatfield's novel in mid 1933. He paid a reported £300."Counting the Cash in Australian ...

'' (1934) (uncompleted film) – actor *'' The Magic Shoes'' (1935) (short) – director

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flemming, Claude 1884 births 1952 deaths Australian film producers Australian film directors Male actors from New South Wales Australian expatriate male actors in the United Kingdom Australian expatriate male actors in the United States