Langford Reed (11 November 1878 – 8 March 1954) was a British author, writer and collector of

limericks A limerick ( ) is a form of verse, usually humorous and frequently rude, in five-line, predominantly trimeter with a strict rhyme scheme of AABBA, in which the first, second and fifth line rhyme, while the third and fourth lines are shorter and ...

, scriptwriter, director and actor of the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

era.

Biography

Reed was born in

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

in London in 1878 as Herbert Langford Reed, the son of Emma Mary ''née'' Williams (1848–) and John Herbert Reed (1834-1919), a manufacturer of hosiery. 'Bertie' Reed was educated in Clapham and at

Hove College Hove College is a private not for profit further education provider in Brighton and Hove, UK which offers training in multimedia, business, and design studies. History Hove College was formerly part of the British Study Centres School of Engl ...

. In 1911 aged 32 he was a journalist living with his parents with the family home now being a boarding house. He married the theatre and film costume designer Henrietta 'Hetty' Elizabeth Spiers (1881-1973) at Lambeth in London in 1912. Their daughter, the actress Joan Mary Langford Reed (1917-1997) made her screen début aged 2 years in ''

The Heart of a Rose ''The Heart of a Rose'' is a 1919 British silent drama film directed by Jack Denton and starring Stella Muir, Henry Victor and Douglas Payne. The film has a northern setting and was filmed in Sheffield. Described as ‘a simple story of the nov ...

'' (1919), written by her father. She went on to appear in ''

Testimony In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. ...

'' (1920), '' The Wonderful Wooing'' (1925) and '' The Luck of the Navy'' (1927). She was the first winner of the ‘Navana Juvenile Beauty Competition’ in 1922 and in 1923 featured in the Glaxo Baby Food advertising campaign. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Langford Reed served as a Private in the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers R ...

with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in France. He was a prolific scriptwriter for

and was the author of a number of books of 'clean' or 'laundered'

which he collected or wrote and various of which were illustrated by

H. M. Bateman Henry Mayo Bateman (15 February 1887 – 11 February 1970, Mgarr, Malta) was a British humorous artist and cartoonist. H. M. Bateman was noted for his "The Man Who..." series of cartoons, featuring comically exaggerated reactions to minor and u ...

among others, including ''The Complete Limerick Book'' (1924); ''The Indiscreet Limerick Book'' (1925); ''Nonsense Verses - An Anthology'' (editor, c1925); ''Daphne Goes Down'' (1925), written with his wife; ''Further Nonsense: Verse and Prose by Lewis Carroll'' (editor, 1926); ''Nonsense Tales for the Young'' (1927); ''Who's Who in Filmland'' (1931) with Hetty Spiers; ''The Life of Lewis Carroll'' (1932); ''Limericks for the Beach, Bathroom and Boudoir'' (1933); ''Mr Punch's Limerick Book'' (editor, 1934); ''The Limerick Calendar'' (1935); ''Sausages & Sundials: A Book of Nonsense Ballads'' (c1935); ''The Complete Rhyming Dictionary'' (1936); ''My Limerick Book'' (1937); ''Another Limerick Calendar'' (c1939); with his wife Hetty Spiers he wrote ''The Mantle of Methuselah: A Farcical Novel'' (1939); and ''The Writer's Rhyming Dictionary'' (1961). A prolific film writer and director, he was known for '' The Tempest'' (1908); wrote the

intertitle In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...

s for and edited ''Chase Me Charlie'' (1918), a seven-reel montage of Charlie Chaplin's Essanay films released in Great Britain; ''

'' (1919); ''

A Lass o' the Looms ''A Lass o' the Looms'' is a 1919 British silent drama film directed by Jack Denton and starring Stella Muir, Henry Victor and Douglas Payne.Palmer p.895 Cast * Stella Muir as Nellie Hesketh * Henry Victor as Jack Brown * Douglas Payne D ...

'' (1919) and ''

Potter's Clay ''Potter's Clay'' is a 1922 British silent drama film directed by H. Grenville-Taylor and Douglas Payne and starring Ellen Terry, Dick Webb, and Peggy Hathaway.Low p.429 Cast * Ellen Terry as Lady Merrall * Dick Webb as Clifford Merrall ...

'' (1922), the screenplay of which was adapted with his wife in to a novel in 1923. A Freemason, he joined the Authors' Lodge No. 3456 in 1921.England, United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers, 1751-1921 for Herbert Langford Reed: United Grand Lodge of England, 1910-1921, Membership Registers: London M 3163-3404 to London N 3408-3605 - Ancestry.com
/ref> In his later years he lived at 59 Carlton Hill in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

with his wife Henrietta Elizabeth Reed.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Herbert Langford Reed: 1954 - Ancestry.com
/ref> He died in Hampstead in London in 1954 and was buried in the churchyard of St John-at-Hampstead.Burial of Langford Reed
- Find a Grave Fittingly, Reed has a limerick on his headstone:

There once was a fellow named Reed,
Who knew that the world had a need,
For limericks and fun,
And all hearts he won,
Since laughter and joy were his creed.
The laughter and joy will not die,
As angels laugh with him on high,
While we here on Earth
Should cultivate mirth.
'Tis better to laugh than to cry.

In his will he left £110.

Filmography

Actor

*1906: ''Saved by a Lie'' directed by Percy Stow *1907: ''A Knight Errant'' directed by J. H. Martin

Scriptwriter

*1906: ''Saved by a Lie'' directed by Percy Stow *1907: ''Disturbing His Rest'' directed by Percy Stow *1907: '' A Knight Errant'' directed by J. H. Martin *1907: ''The Wreck of the Mary Jane'' directed by Percy Stow *1907: ''The Story of a Modern Mother'' directed by Percy Stow *1907: ''Adventures of a Bath Chair'' directed by Percy Stow *1907: ''An Awkward Situation'' directed by Percy Stow *1907: ''The Water Babies'' directed by Percy Stow *1907: ''The Pied Piper'' directed by Percy Stow *1907: ''That's Not Right: Watch Me!'' directed by Percy Stow *1907]: ''An Anxious Day for Mother'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''The Little Waif and the Captain's Daughter'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''The Captain's Wives'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''Three Maiden Ladies and a Bull'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''Three Suburban Sportsmen and a Hat'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''Mr. Jones Has a Tile Loose'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''If Women Were Policemen'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''The Old Composer and the Prima Donna'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''Follow Your Leader and the Master Follows Last'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''The Cavalier's Wife'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''

Robin Hood and His Merry Men The following are some of the notable adaptations of the Robin Hood story in film and television. Robin Hood, English-language live-action films and television series Theatrical shorts *1908: '' Robin Hood and His Merry Men'', a silent film d ...

'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''Nancy'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''Algy's Yachting Party'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: '' The Tempest'' directed by Percy Stow *''The Puritan Maid and the Royalist Refugee'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''A Modern Cinderella'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''When the Man in the Moon Seeks a Wife'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''The Old Favourite and the Ugly Golliwog'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: '' The Martyrdom of Thomas A Becket'' directed by Percy Stow *1908: ''Ib and Little Christina'' directed by Percy Stow *1909: ''The Love of a Nautch Girl'' directed by Percy Stow *1909: ''The Crafty Usurper and the Young King'' directed by Percy Stow *1909: ''His Work or His Wife'' directed by Percy Stow *1909: ''Hard Times'' directed by Percy Stow *1914: ''The Temptation of Joseph'' directed by Percy Stow *1914: ''The Rival Anarchists'' *1914: ''The Little God'' *1914: ''The Catch of the Season'' *1915: ''The Angel of the Ward'' directed by Tom Watts *1918: ''Chase Me Charlie'' *1919: ''

'' directed by

Jack Denton John Fleming St. Andrew Denton (11 September 1872 – 19 April 1949) was a British actor and film director of the silent era. Denton was born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire and died at age 76 in Redhill, Surrey. Selected filmograph ...

*1919: ''

'' directed by Jack Denton *1920: ''The Woman Hater'' directed by Sidney M. Goldin *1920: ''The Bird Fancier'' directed by Sidney M. Goldin *1922: ''

'' directed by H. Grenville-Taylor and

Douglas Payne Douglas Payne (1875 in England – 3 August 1965 in London, England) was a British actor of the silent era. Selected filmography * '' Maria Marten'' (1913) * '' The Harbour Lights'' (1914) * ''In the Ranks'' (1914) * ''Enoch Arden'' (1914) * '' ...

*1945 '' He Snoops to Conquer'' (contributor)Filmography of Langford Reed
-

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

database

Director

*1914: ''The Temptation of Joseph'' *1914: ''The Rival Anarchists'' *1914: ''The Little God'' *1914: ''The Catch of the Season'' *1914: ''The Cleansing of a Dirty Dog'' *1918: ''Chase Me Charlie''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Langford 1878 births 1954 deaths Actors from the London Borough of Lambeth British Army personnel of World War I Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England English male film actors English male silent film actors 20th-century English male actors Silent film screenwriters Silent film directors Comedy fiction writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English screenwriters British anthologists People from Clapham