George Procter Hawtrey (1847–1910) was a British actor, playwright and pageantmaster, and former schoolmaster.

Early life and education

Hawtrey was son of Reverend John William Hawtrey, headmaster of the Alden House School at Slough. Hawtrey's two brothers, William and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, were also actors. He was educated at Eton College and

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

. A cousin was the economist

Alfred Marshall Alfred Marshall (26 July 1842 – 13 July 1924) was an English economist, and was one of the most influential economists of his time. His book '' Principles of Economics'' (1890) was the dominant economic textbook in England for many years. I ...

Academia

Having been assistant master at the school founded by his father, Hawtrey decided to leave teaching and follow his brother, Charles, onto the stage.

Stage career

Hawtrey did not make a notable success as an actor, raising his family in "straitened circumstances" which inspired his son, Ralph, to follow the more remunerative path of the civil service. Hawtrey's most notable achievement in connection with the stage was his adaptation of Baron von Moser's

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

''Mit Vergnügen'' (The Pickpocket), in which his brother Charles acted. He also assisted in preparing ''A Message From Mars'' for the stage. In 1908, Hawtrey became master of the Gloucestershire Historical Pageant at Cheltenham, followed by the National Pageant of Wales at Cardiff in October 1909 and the Chester Pageant in July 1910.

Personal life

Hawtrey married firstly, in 1873, Eda (died 1892), daughter of William Strahan; he married secondly, Gertrude Jessie Rolls, daughter of Captain John Simon Chandos Harcourt, of Ankerwycke, Buckinghamshire. He fathered one son- the economist Ralph George Hawtrey- and two daughters.The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal, Essex volume, Melville Henry Massue, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1994 (reprint), p. 611 According to an obituary published in '' The Times'', Hawtrey died of heart failure on 17 August 1910 at his London residence, Clarence Gate Mansions, at Marylebone (today Clarence Gate Gardens) following a severe bout with asthma while putting on the Chester Pageant in July of that year. He was 63 years old.

References

Finding Aid for the George P. Hawtrey Papers
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawtrey, George Procter Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford English male stage actors People educated at Eton College 1847 births 1910 deaths 19th-century English male actors