Henry Hinchliffe Ainley (21 August 1879 – 31 October 1945) was an English actor.
Life and career
Early years
Ainley was born in
Morley Morley may refer to:
Places England
* Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish
* Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish
* Morley, Cheshire, a village
* Morley, County Durham, a village
* Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish
* M ...
, near
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, on 21 August 1879, the only son and eldest child of Richard Ainley (1851–1919), a textile worker, and his wife, Ada ''née'' Hinchliffe (1850–1928). After education at the church school of St Peter's, Morley, Ainley became a bank clerk in Sheffield, where he took part in amateur dramatics.
When the actor-manager
George Alexander was on tour in 1899 in
H. A. Jones's play ''The Masqueraders'', Ainley obtained his permission to "walk on" (i.e. appear as a non-speaking extra). He made his professional stage début in
F. R. Benson
Sir Francis Robert Benson (4 November 1858 – 31 December 1939), known professionally as Frank Benson or F. R. Benson, was an English actor-manager. He founded his own company in 1883 and produced all but two of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare ...
's company as a messenger in ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
''. He remained with Benson for two years, making his London début at the
Lyceum Theatre as the Duke of Gloster to Benson's king in ''
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
'', in a cast that also featured
Constance Benson
Gertrude Constance Cockburn Benson ( Samwell; 26 February 1864 – 19 January 1946) was a British stage and film actress. Before her marriage to Frank Benson, she was known by the stage name Constance Featherstonhaugh, pronounced "Fanshaw" ().
B ...
,
Leslie Faber,
Harcourt Williams
Ernest George Harcourt Williams (30 March 1880 – 13 December 1957) was an English actor and director. After early experience in touring companies he established himself as a character actor and director in the West End. From 1929 to 1934 he ...
,
Charles Doran
Charles Doran (1 January 1877 – 5 April 1964) was an Irish actor, one of the last of the touring actor-managers in the tradition of Frank Benson, John Martin-Harvey and Ben Greet. Among those who joined his company at the start of their care ...
and
Oscar Asche
John Stange(r) Heiss Oscar Asche (24 January 1871 – 23 March 1936), better known as Oscar Asche, was an Australian actor, director, and writer, best known for having written, directed, and acted in the record-breaking musical ''Chu Chin C ...
.
[Parker, pp. 206–208]
In 1902 Alexander saw Ainley in Benson's production of ''
The Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.
Although classified as ...
'' and engaged him for the juvenile lead role of Paolo in
Stephen Phillips's ''Paolo and Francesca'' at the
St James's Theatre
The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham; it lost money and after three seasons he retired. A succ ...
; this propelled him to stardom.
[
]
Shakespearean roles
After his first Shakespeare roles Ainley returned to Leeds to play at the Grand Theatre. Later roles included Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
, Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...
in ''Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
'' and Macbeth himself. He played Malvolio
Malvolio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's comedy ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will''. His name means "ill will" in Italian, referencing his disagreeable nature. He is the vain, pompous, authoritarian steward of Olivia's househo ...
(1912) and Leontes
King Leontes is a fictional character in Shakespeare's play ''The Winter's Tale''. He is the father of Mamillius and husband to Queen Hermione. He becomes obsessed with the belief that his wife has been having an affair with Polixenes, his child ...
under the direction of Granville-Barker and portrayed Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
several times, including a 1930 production that was chosen for a Royal Command Performance
A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom.
Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...
.
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...
held Ainley in high regard and fulfilled a longstanding ambition to perform with him when Gielgud played Iago
Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago hates ...
opposite Ainley's Othello
''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
in a 1932 BBC Radio broadcast. But he described Ainley's Prospero
Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''.
Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda) to sea ...
as "disastrous", writing in the ''Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' in 1996.
Other roles
Ainley played Robert Waring in '' The Shulamite'' at the Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Pala ...
in London in 1906. He played Joseph Quinney in '' Quinneys'' on stage in 1915 and on film in 1919. He appeared in A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
's '' The Dover Road'' opposite Athene Seyler
Athene Seyler, CBE (31 May 188912 September 1990) was an English actress.
Early life
She was born in Hackney, London; her German-born grandparents moved to the United Kingdom, where her grandfather Philip Seyler was a merchant in London. Athe ...
in 1922 and as the Bishop of Chelsea in Bernard Shaw's ''Getting Married
''Getting Married'' is a play by George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influenc ...
'' at the Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...
. In 1929, he played James Fraser in St. John Ervine
St John Greer Ervine (28 December 1883 – 24 January 1971) was an Irish biographer, novelist, critic, dramatist, and theatre manager. He was the most prominent Ulster writer of the early twentieth century and a major Irish dramatist whose work in ...
's '' The First Mrs. Fraser'', a role he reprised for the film version in 1932. He also starred in stage and radio productions of James Elroy Flecker
James Elroy Flecker (5 November 1884 – 3 January 1915) was a British novelist and playwright. As a poet, he was most influenced by the Parnassian poets.
Biography
Herman Elroy Flecker was born on 5 November 1884 in Lewisham, London, to Willia ...
's ''Hassan''.
Behind the scenes
In 1921, Ainley became a member of the council of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
and served as its president from 1931 to 1933.
In 1932, Ainley was part of the effort to save the debt-laden Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...
theatre. According to a report in ''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 ...
'' dated 15 March 1932, Ainley considered Sadler's Wells stalwart Samuel Phelps
Samuel Phelps (born 13 February 1804, Plymouth Dock (now Devonport), Plymouth, Devon, died 6 November 1878, Anson's Farm, Coopersale, near Epping, Essex) was an English actor and theatre manager. He is known for his productions of William ...
the "greatest actor of all" and Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson "the greatest of Hamlets".
Ainley died in London and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...
, London.
Personal life
He was married three times – to Susanne Sheldon, Elaine Fearon and the novelist Bettina Riddle, who was known as the Baroness von Hutten zum Stolzenberg."Baron Divorces American Wife"
'' Oregon Daily Journal'' (May 8, 1909): 1. via Newspapers.com
Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites.
In November 2018, ...
He had several children (although the published obituaries in ''The Times'' and ''The Stage'' disagree as to the precise numbers) which include the actors Henry T. Ainley,
Richard Ainley
Richard Ainley (22 December 1910 – 18 May 1967) was a stage and film actor.
He was born in Middlesex, England, the son of Henry Ainley and a half-brother of Anthony Ainley.
Ainley made his stage debut in 1928, initially using the stage name ...
,
Anthony Ainley
Anthony Ainley (20 August 1932 – 3 May 2004) was an English actor. He was the fourth actor to portray The Master (Doctor Who), the Master in ''Doctor Who''.
Early life
Ainley was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, the son of the actor Henry Ainle ...
and Patsy Ainley. He was also the father of Henrietta Riddle who was briefly engaged to
Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke (born Alfred Cooke; 20 November 1908 – 30 March 2004) was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the United States.[Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...]
's widow
Joan Plowright
Joan Ann Olivier, Baroness Olivier, (née Plowright; born 28 October 1929), professionally known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English retired actress whose career has spanned over seven decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony ...
suggest that Ainley may have had a sexual relationship with the younger actor in the late 1930s. The letters – said by Olivier's biographer Terry Coleman to be explicitly homosexual in content – suggest that Ainley was infatuated with Olivier, even if, as some members of Olivier's family insist, notably the actor's son Tarquin Olivier, the feeling was not reciprocated.
Recordings
Henry Ainley made recordings for the
Gramophone Company
The Gramophone Company Limited (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.), based in the United Kingdom and founded by Emil Berliner, was one of the early recording companies, the parent organisation for the ''His Master's Voice (HMV)'' label, and the European ...
by the acoustic method, and also later for the same company (as
HMV
Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom.
The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
) by electric recordings. The early acoustics were as follows:
* 1456 The Day (Chappell) (Ho1100/B393) 10"
* 1457 The Kaiser and God (Pain). 1915. 10"
*B393 The Charge of the Light Brigade (
Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
). 10"
*C490 Why Britain is at War. (coupled with GILBERT, Jhn Bull's budget song)
*D177 Carillon 'Chantez, Belges, chantez!' (Sing, Belgians, sing!) poem by
Emile Cammaerts
Emil or Emile may refer to:
Literature
*''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
* ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life
*''Emil and the Detective ...
, declamation with orchestral music composed by
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
. (two sides) 12". 1915.
Selected filmography
* ''
She Stoops to Conquer
''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18t ...
'' (1914)
* ''
Called Back'' (1914)
* ''
Sweet Lavender'' (1915)
* ''
The Prisoner of Zenda
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order ...
'' (1915)
* ''
Sowing the Wind'' (1916)
* ''
The Marriage of William Ashe
''The Marriage of William Ashe'' is a novel by Mary Augusta Ward that was the best-selling novel in the United States in 1905.(March 8, 1905)Books of the Day - The Marriage of William Ashe ''Boston Evening Transcript'' Hackett, Alice Payne (194 ...
'' (1916)
* ''
The Manxman'' (1917)
* ''
Quinneys'' (1919)
* ''
Build Thy House
''Build Thy House'' is a 1920 British silent film directed by Fred Goodwins, and starring Henry Ainley, Ann Trevor, Reginald Bach and Claude Rains in his film debut. The screenplay was written by Eliot Stannard from the story by S. Trevor Jones. ...
'' (1920)
* ''
The Prince and the Beggarmaid
''The Prince and the Beggarmaid'' is a 1921 British silent drama film directed by A. V. Bramble and starring Henry Ainley, Kathleen Vaughan and Harvey Braban. It was based on a play by Walter Howard.
Cast
* Henry Ainley - Prince Olaf
* Kat ...
'' (1921)
* ''
The Royal Oak
The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...
'' (1923)
* ''
The First Mrs. Fraser'' (1932)
References
Sources
*
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
Henry Hinchliffe Ainley (1879-1945), Actorfrom the
National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom)
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainley, Henry
1879 births
1945 deaths
Bisexual male actors
LGBT actors from England
Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery
English male stage actors
English male film actors
English male silent film actors
20th-century English male actors
Actor-managers
People from Morley, West Yorkshire