Frederick Barkham Warde (23 February 1851 – 7 February 1935) was an English

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

who relocated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in the late 19th century.

Career

He was born in 1851 in Wardington, Oxfordshire, the son of Thomas Ward and Anne (née Barkham). His surname was altered from 'Ward' to 'Warde' for the stage. In the late 1870s he partnered with his friend actor Maurice Barrymore and the two agreed to tour plays around the United States particularly the play ''Diplomacy''. Warde would have one section of the country while Barrymore and his company toured the other. For a time the venture was very successful. Warde had two notable film achievements, one being the "discovery" of

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...

Sr. and persuading him to move from

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

to join Warde's

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

actors troupe. Fairbanks then made his Broadway debut in 1902. The second achievement was as the star of ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

'' (1912), based on the play by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. This 55-minute film was re-discovered in 1996 by a private film collector who donated it to the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

archive. The film is thought to be the earliest surviving American

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

. In 1916 Warde filmed another Shakespearean tragedy, ''King Lear'', for the Thanhouser company. This film also exists. In 1917 he appeared in a Pathe film ''Under False Colors'' with an up-and-coming beauty named

Jeanne Eagels Jeanne Eagels (born Eugenia Eagles; June 26, 1890 – October 3, 1929) was an American stage and film actress. A former Ziegfeld Girl, Eagels went on to greater fame on Broadway and in the emerging medium of sound films. She was posthumously n ...

.PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE SILENT FILM by Daniel Blum c. 1953 pgs. 98 & 136 Another of his films was ''A Lover's Oath'' (filmed in 1921 and premiered four years later), opposite Ramon Novarro, in which he portrayed

Omar Khayyám Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...

. It is regarded as a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

. Warde also recorded an early sound film ''Frederick Warde Reads Poem, A Sunset Reverie'' (1921) which was made using the short-lived sound-on-disc Phono-Kinema process. Though Warde lived until 1935 he saw no need to come out of retirement to appear in legitimate sound motion pictures.

Filmography

*''

'' (1912) - Richard, Duke of Gloucester, afterward Richard III * '' Silas Marner'' (1916) - Silas Marner *''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

'' (1916) - King Lear * '' The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1917) - Vicar of Wakefield *''Hinton's Double'' (1917) - Joshua Stevens / John Evart Hinton * '' The Fires of Youth'' (1917) - Iron Hearted Pemberton *'' Under False Colors'' (1917) - John Colton *'' The Heart of Ezra Greer'' (1917) - Ezra Greer *'' Rich Man, Poor Man'' (1918) - John K. Beeston *''The Unveiling Hand'' (1919) - Judge Ellis *''Frederick Warde Reads Poem, A Sunset Reverie'' (1921, Orlando Kellum experimental talking short) - Himself *'' A Lover's Oath'' (1925; filmed in 1921) - Omar Khayyam (Last appearance)

Publications

*The Fools of Shakespeare: an Interpretation of their Wit, Wisdom and Personalities, New York: McBridge, Nast & Company, 1913. *Fifty Years of Make-Believe, New York: The International press syndicate (M.M. Marcy). 1920.

References

External links

* * *
''Frederick Warde: North American Theater Online'' biography and photos
*Warde, Frederick, ''The Fools of Shakespeare: An Interpretation of Their Wit, Wisdom and Personalities'' (New York: McBride, Nast and Company, 1913) 214 pages 1851 births 1935 deaths 19th-century English male actors 20th-century English male actors English male stage actors English male film actors English male silent film actors English male Shakespearean actors British emigrants to the United States People from Oxfordshire {{England-stage-actor-stub