Cyril Harcourt (1872–1924) was a noted writer for the

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and

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stages who appeared in his own plays.

Biography

Born in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, on 30 December 1872, Cyril Harcourt (originally named Cyril Worsley Perkins), was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

between 1881 and 1888. He intended to take holy orders but instead qualified as an engineer. He then studied for the operatic stage, ultimately becoming an actor in his own plays. His first play, ''The Axis'', was produced for 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 development ...

in July 1905, and was followed by ''The Reformer'' in 1907, and ''The Recompense'' in 1910. He had greater success with ''A Place in the Sun'', at the

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

in 1913, in which he played a brilliant man of letters soured by early poverty. However, his greatest success and his most well-known play was ''A Pair of Silk Stockings'', produced at the

in 1914, which transferred to

and had been adapted for the cinema three times by 1932. In May 1917, ''Wanted, A Husband'', starring

Gladys Cooper Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an English actress, theatrical manager and producer, whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television. Beginning as a teenager in Edwardian musi ...

, was produced at the

Playhouse 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 ...

. ''In the Night'' was produced at the Kingsway Theatre in 1919, and ''Will You Kiss Me?'' was produced at the

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

in 1920. Cyril Harcourt set up a management company with

Norman Pritchard Norman Gilbert Pritchard (23 June 1875 – 30 October 1929), also known by his stage name Norman Trevor, was a British-Indian athlete and actor who became the first Asian-born athlete to win an Olympic medal when he won two silver medals in ...

at the Comedy Theatre, New York, in 1918. He died in

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, on 4 March 1924, aged 51.Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 7 March 1924, p.15 Cyril Harcourt

Plays

*''The Axis'',

, 1905 *''The Reformer'',

, 1907 *''The Recompense'',

, 1910 *''A Place in the Sun'',

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

, 1913 *''A Pair of Silk Stockings'',

, 1914 *''Wanted, A Husband'',

, 1917 *''In the Night'', Kingsway Theatre, 1919 *''Will You Kiss Me?'',

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

, 1920

Film adaptations

*'' A Lady's Name'', 1916 *''

A Pair of Silk Stockings "A Pair of Silk Stockings" is an 1897 short story written by Kate Chopin. The story follows Mrs. Sommers who prefers spending a windfall on herself, rather than on her children. Plot summary Mrs. Sommers comes into the small fortune of $15. Aft ...

'', 1918 *'' In the Night'', 1922 *''

They Just Had to Get Married ''They Just Had to Get Married'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Slim Summerville, ZaSu Pitts, Roland Young, and Verree Teasdale. The screenplay was written by Gladys Lehman, H.M. Walker, and an ...

'', 1932

Novels

*''The World’s Daughter'', 1913 *''First Cousin to a Dream'', 1914

References

External links

*http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0361986/ *http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=44083 {{DEFAULTSORT:Harcourt, Cyril 1872 births 1924 deaths English male stage actors People educated at Bedford School 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers