Lloyd Mawson Pearson (13 December 1897 – 2 June 1966) was an English actor, who appeared mostly in character roles on stage and screen. He created the roles of Rat in ''

Toad of Toad Hall ''Toad of Toad Hall'' is a play written by A. A. Milne – the first of several dramatisations of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel '' The Wind in the Willows'' – with incidental music by Harold Fraser-Simson. It was originally produced by Willi ...

'' in 1929 and Alderman Helliwell in the West End production of

J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

's ''

When We Are Married ''When We Are Married'' is a comedy by the English dramatist, J. B. Priestley, written in 1934. It was first performed in London at the St. Martin's Theatre, London on 11 October 1938, and transferred to the larger Prince's Theatre in March 1 ...

'' in 1938, a role he reprised in the

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

in 1943.

Life and career

Pearson was born in

Cleckheaton Cleckheaton is a town in the Metropolitan borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds. It ...

, near Batley in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, the son of William Edward Pearson and his wife Ada, ''né'' Farrar.Gaye, pp. 1054–1055 He was educated at Whitcliffe Mount Grammar School and Owen's College. He then became a clerk in the

Midland Bank Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It ...

. After serving in the armed forces in the

First World War 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 ...

he studied for the stage at Lady Benson's Dramatic School and made his first appearance on the stage at the Palace Pier, Brighton in 1919 as the Police Officer in ''Diana of Dobson's''. He made his first appearance in London at the St Martin's Theatre on 21 January 1920, as Lentulus in ''Pompey the Great,'' with Sir Frank Benson and remained with the Benson company for seven years, eventually playing the leading comedy parts in Shakespeare, Sheridan, Goldsmith and others. He then played a short season with the Birmingham Repertory Company, where he appeared as Launce in ''

The Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tentative steps in laying ...

''. In 1927 he joined the company of the Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool, under William Armstrong, and remained until 1937, playing leading parts, including the Water Rat in the word premiere of ''

''. He returned to London in 1937 and appeared as Viscount Pascal in ''The Switchback'', Tubby Pearson in ''Dodsworth'', Harper in ''Nanny'', and at the St Martin's in October 1938 he played Alderman Helliwell in the premiere of ''

''. In the later 1930s and 1940s he played mostly in modern comedies, including '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' (1944). At the Phoenix Theatre in May 1949 he made a rare excursion into costume drama, playing Gibbet in ''

The Beaux' Stratagem ''The Beaux' Stratagem'' is a comedy by George Farquhar, first produced at the Theatre Royal, now the site of Her Majesty's Theatre, in the Haymarket, London, on March 8, 1707. In the play, Archer and Aimwell, two young gentlemen who have fal ...

'', which ran for over a year. Later West End appearances included Mr Marsland in a revival of '' The Private Secretary'' (1954) and the Fire Brigade Captain in '' The Bald Prima Donna''. In 1957 he took over the role of the Tramp in ''

Salad Days "Salad days" is a Shakespearean idiom referring to a period of carefree innocence, idealism, and pleasure associated with youth. The modern use, chiefly in the United States, describes a heyday, when a person is/was at the peak of their abilitie ...

'' for two and a half years. Pearson died in London on 2 June 1966 aged 68.

Films

In addition to his stage career, Pearson acted in films from 1938 to 1964:

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Lloyd 1897 births 1966 deaths English male film actors People from Cleckheaton 20th-century English male actors British military personnel of World War I