Cyril George Butcher (31 July 1909 – 23 February 1987) was an English actor and director and longtime companion of

Beverley Nichols John Beverley Nichols (9 September 1898 – 15 September 1983) was an English writer, playwright and public speaker. He wrote more than 60 books and plays. Career Between his first book, the novel, ''Prelude'' (1920) and his last, a book of po ...

Biography

Butcher was born on 31 July 1909, in Suffolk, England. In 1930, the magazine ''

Film Weekly ''Film Weekly'' was one of the leading popular film magazines published in the United Kingdom during the late 1920s and 1930s. Background Launched in 1928, the magazine became known for its gossipy interest in contemporary film stars. Columnist ...

'' sponsored a pair of film acting scholarships. The two winners (Cyril Butcher and

Aileen Despard Aileen Despard was an actress, born on July 19, 1908 in Mullynure, County Armagh, Ireland. She died August 25, 1981 in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. In 1930, the magazine ''Film Weekly'' sponsored a pair of film acting scholarships. The ...

) went on to appear in the now lost

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

short ''

An Elastic Affair ''An Elastic Affair'' (1930) is a 10-minute short comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock which features the two winners—Cyril Butcher (1909–1988) as "the Boy" and Aileen Despard (1908–1981) as "the Girl"—of a film acting scholarship ...

'' and placed under contract by

British International Pictures Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appro ...

. In the early 1930s, he met novelist and playwright

and they remained lifelong partners from then. Their friends were

Hugh Walpole Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (13 March 18841 June 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among th ...

and

Lord Berners Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners (18 September 188319 April 1950), also known as Gerald Tyrwhitt, was a British composer, novelist, painter, and aesthete. He was also known as Lord Berners. Biography Early life and education ...

, among others. In 1939 Butcher was living with Nichols and a valet at 1 Ellerdale Close, Hampstead, London. In 1934, he published ''In Extremis, Worst Moments in the Lives of the Famous'' with a foreword by Beverley Nichols. In 1939, together with

Albert Arlen Albert Arlen AM (10 January 190524 March 1993) was a Turkish Australian pianist, composer, actor and playwright. He is best known for his musical ''The Sentimental Bloke'' (to the poetry of C. J. Dennis), the "Alamein Concerto", and his setting ...

, he directed the play ''Counterfeit!'' at the Duke of York's, London. In 1953, Butcher adapted ''Evensong'' by Beverley Nichols for the television, while in 1956 he directed the television adaptation of ''Macadam and Eve'' from the play by Roger Macdougall. Butcher was the producer of the 1957 television drama ''Granite Peak''. Between 1959 and 1963, he directed for television: ''Ideal Home Exhibition'' (1963), ''The English Captain'' (1960), ''The Last Hours'' (1959), ''Old People; Part 1'' (1959) and ''Election Results 1959'' (1959). On the death of Nichols in 1984, Butcher was the main beneficiary in his will, amounting to £131,750 (£ in sterling). Butcher died on 23 February 1987 at Sudbrook Cottage, the house he shared with Nichols, at Ham Common in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Surrey.

References

External links

Cyril Butcher
at

IMDb 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:Butcher, Cyril 1909 births 1987 deaths 20th-century English male actors English male film actors English theatre directors LGBT theatre directors 20th-century LGBT people People from Richmond, London Male actors from Suffolk