Norman Forbes-Robertson (24 September 1858 – 28 September 1932), known professionally as Norman Forbes, was an English actor and art dealer. He was the brother of actor Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson and a friend of

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

, Oscar Wilde, Edward Elgar and

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

. Together with Bram Stoker, he helped to organize Irving's funeral; a large body of letters connected with this event still exist.

Biography

Forbes was the son of John Forbes-Robertson (1822–1903) and one of the 11 siblings of Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson. He was educated at

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

, London and studied acting under

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 ...

. Forbes-Robertson was a prominent member of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's exclusive

Garrick Club The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in the heart of London founded in 1831. It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world and, since its inception, has catered to members such as Charles Kean, Henry Irving, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Ar ...

. According to "The History of the Tie", one afternoon in the 1920s, he wore a salmon-and-cucumber tie to lunch at the Garrick Club, joking that it was the official club tie. Thereafter it was adopted as such. His first stage appearance was on 20 November 1875 when he played Sir Harry Guildford in Shakespeare's ''King Henry VIII'' at the Gaiety Theatre. His final performance was as Sir Andrew Aguecheek in

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

at the New Theatre in 1932, a role for which he had become famous. Forbes also had a career as an art dealer and in 1901 was credited with discovering the painting

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary (also referred to as Christ in the House of Martha and by other variant names) refers to a Biblical episode in the life of Jesus in the New Testament which appears only in Luke's Gospel (), immediately after th ...

Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

. Forbes had an intimate friendship with Oscar Wilde. Their friendship, which began some time before May 1879, was described as intense but entirely platonic. In the early 20th century, he owned and restored Stocks Mill in

Wittersham Wittersham is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It is part of the Isle of Oxney. History The Domesday Book of 1086 does not mention Wittersham, but it does assign the manor of Palstre to Odo, Bishop ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Forbes-Robertson was knocked down by a motor car in September 1932 and died in Exeter,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. He was an early motorist, employing his own chauffeur. He was the father of Norman, Olivia and Jill.

References

1858 births 1932 deaths 19th-century theatre 20th-century theatre People from Wittersham Road incident deaths in England {{theat-bio-stub