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William Graham Moffat (21 February 1866 – 12 December 1951) was a Scottish actor, director, playwright and spiritualist. Moffat formed a
/ref> The third of eight children, he was born in Glasgow, Scotland. There, he was exposed at an early age to the theatres and sixpenny galleries of the city and to numerous famous comedians and entertainers of the day. He was married in 1897 to the stage actress and costume designer, Margaret Liddell Linck (1873–1943). His wife was also a
A few years later his comic play ''Bunty Pulls the Strings'' was a huge hit in London's West End, his biggest success, running for 617 shows at the Haymarket Theatre in 1911. In reviewing the play when it debuted on Broadway late in 1911, the ''New York Times'' classed Moffat beside
Sheet music for ''Bunty Pulls the Strings''
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at Complete Index to World Film {{DEFAULTSORT:Moffatt, Graham 1951 deaths 1866 births 19th-century Scottish male actors 19th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Scottish male actors 20th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights Male actors from Glasgow Scottish emigrants to South Africa Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scottish film directors Scottish spiritualists Scottish suffragists Scottish theatre directors Men and feminism British theatre directors
Men's League for Women's Suffrage The Men's League for Women's Suffrage may refer to:
*The Men's League, United States women's suffrage group, also known as the Men's Equal Suffrage League and the Men's League for Women's Suffrage
*The Men's League for Women's Suffrage (United King ...
in Glasgow in 1907 after his wife Maggie Moffat was arrested at a protest in London and imprisoned for refusing to pay the fine. He is known for his 1910 comedy ''Bunty Pulls the Strings'' which was a hit on Broadway.
Life and career
He was born on 21 February 1866 to William Moffat and Helen Dobson.Clan Moffat Genealogy/ref> The third of eight children, he was born in Glasgow, Scotland. There, he was exposed at an early age to the theatres and sixpenny galleries of the city and to numerous famous comedians and entertainers of the day. He was married in 1897 to the stage actress and costume designer, Margaret Liddell Linck (1873–1943). His wife was also a
suffragist
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
, and in 1907 Graham Moffat founded the Men's League for Women's Suffrage The Men's League for Women's Suffrage may refer to:
*The Men's League, United States women's suffrage group, also known as the Men's Equal Suffrage League and the Men's League for Women's Suffrage
*The Men's League for Women's Suffrage (United King ...
in Glasgow. He also penned a suffrage propaganda play, ''The Maid and the Magistrate''.
A few years later his comic play ''Bunty Pulls the Strings'' was a huge hit in London's West End, his biggest success, running for 617 shows at the Haymarket Theatre in 1911. In reviewing the play when it debuted on Broadway late in 1911, the ''New York Times'' classed Moffat beside J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...
and wrote, "it is the freshest and most wholesome thing that the theatres in New York have housed since the days of ''Peter Pan''." The Scottish actress Molly Pearson played the title role of Bunty in New York. The comic actor James Finlayson played Bunty's father both New York and in London. Moffat toured ''Bunty Pulls the Strings'' in New Zealand in 1914 The play was made into a (now lost) film in 1921.
Moffat himself directed at least one film, ''Till the Bells Ring'', a 46-minute experimental sound film based on the comedy of the same name he mounted in 1908. The film starred Moffat, his wife and his daughter.
He was living in Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, by 1950 and he died there in 1951, aged 85.
Another of Moffat's works, ''Susie Tangles the Strings'', was staged by the Edinburgh Gateway Company as their New Year play in 1956.Elder, Michael (2003), ''What do You do , During the Day?'', Eldon Productions, p. 99,
Publications
Besides his plays, he published at least three books: * ''The Pawky Scot'' (1928), a book of Scottish humour, with illustrations by Arthur Moreland. * ''Towards Eternal Day: the Psychic Memoirs of a Playwright'' (1950) in which he revealed his belief that his dead father and brother helped from the dead in writing his plays. He also wrote on the supposed return from the dead of Sarah Bernhardt. * ''Join Me in Remembering'' (posthumous, 1955) incomplete upon his death and finished by his daughter.References
External links
Sheet music for ''Bunty Pulls the Strings''
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at Complete Index to World Film {{DEFAULTSORT:Moffatt, Graham 1951 deaths 1866 births 19th-century Scottish male actors 19th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Scottish male actors 20th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights Male actors from Glasgow Scottish emigrants to South Africa Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scottish film directors Scottish spiritualists Scottish suffragists Scottish theatre directors Men and feminism British theatre directors