Roy Royston MC (born Roy Charles Crowden, 5 April 1899 – 7 October 1976) was an English actor who appeared in a large number of films between 1912 and 1966, beginning as a child actor. Most of his films were silents made before 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 ...

, during the last year of which he served as a pilot in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. He later developed a career in musical theatre, and his swan song was an appearance as an elderly clergyman in a

Hammer Horror Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

film of 1966.

Life

Born at

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18, ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

, Roy Charles Crowden took the stage name of "Roy Royston" while still a boy. He was educated at Lynton College and also privately and first appeared on the stage on 19 December 1910 in a revival of

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

's play '' The Blue Bird'' 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 ...

.John Parker, 'Royston, Roy (Roy Crowden)' in ''Who's who in the Theatre'' vol. 13 (1961), p. 1003 Between 1912 and 1914 Royston was the child star of a large number of silent films, most made by Lewis Fitzhamon. His younger brother also became an actor and took the stage name of Gerald Royston.John Holmstrom, 'Roy Royston' in ''The moving picture boy: an international encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'' (1996), pp. 13–14 Under his real name of Roy Crowden, in the later stages of the

he was commissioned into 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 ...

as a temporary

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

and joined the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. In June 1918 he was awarded the

,''

London Gazette 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 ...

'', issue 30761 dated 21 June 1918 (Supplement)
p. 7407
/ref>Kurt Gänzl, ''The British Musical Theatre: 1915–1984'' (1986), p. 487: "The war saw Roy Royston back in the air force where he had won the MC in the First War, and when he returned to the theatre in 1943 it was as Squadron Leader Royston." the citation reading – After the war Royston briefly resumed his early career in

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

s, playing leading roles in '' Mr. Wu'' (1919) and ''The Magistrate'' (1921), but he then turned his attention to the possibilities of musical theatre. From February to April 1923 he appeared in '' The Cousin from Nowhere'' at the

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

, London, in which he did well enough to be cast as one of two leading men in C.B. Cochran's London production of the hit Broadway musical ''

Little Nellie Kelly ''Little Nellie Kelly'' is a 1940 American musical-comedy film based on the stage musical of the same title by George M. Cohan which was a hit on Broadway in 1922 and 1923. The film was written by Jack McGowan and directed by Norman Taurog. It ...

'', which had a long run at the New Oxford Theatre between July 1923 and February 1924. In the show Royston played the part of New York millionaire and man about town Jack Lloyd, who is hot in pursuit of Nellie but is pipped at the post by an Irish-American labourer. Having played an American in London, Royston moved to Broadway. In May 1924 he opened at the Jolson Theatre, New York, playing Jerry in ''Peg o' My Dreams'', and in August at the Shubert, as Brian Valcourt in ''Marjorie''. From August 1925 he appeared in the romance ''June Days'' as Austin Bevans, a young man who inherits a school for girls and experiments with his theory that girls need to learn nothing except charm. On 8 October 1928 Royston opened in '' Ups-a-Daisy'' at the Shubert, playing Roy Lindbrooke, an adventurous young author. Also in the cast was

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

, as a butler. ''Ups-a-Daisy'' ran for 64 performances. In 1930 Royston starred opposite

Lillian Hall-Davis Lillian Hall-Davis (23 June 1898 – 25 October 1933) was an English actress during the silent film era, featured in major roles in English film and a number of German, French and Italian films. Born Lilian Hall Davis, the daughter of a London ...

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

's British

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

Just for a Song ''Just for a Song'' is a 1930 British musical film directed by Gareth Gundrey and starring Lillian Hall-Davis, Roy Royston and Constance Carpenter. It was made at Islington Studios.Wood p.67 Some singing and dancing sequences were photograph ...

'', and in 1935 he appeared on screen again in the comedy ''

The Big Splash ''The Big Splash'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Frank Pettingell, Finlay Currie and Marguerite Allan. A millionaire hires a man to play his look-alike, double. It was made as a quota quickie at Beaconsf ...

''. He became part of a regular company with

Leslie Henson Leslie Lincoln Henson (3 August 1891 – 2 December 1957) was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall comed ...

Richard Hearne Richard Lewis Hearne (30 January 1908 – 23 August 1979) was an English actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best remembered for his stage and television character Mr Pastry. Career Hearne was born in Norwich, Norfolk, in 1908, the son ...

Louise Brown Louise Joy Brown (born 25 July 1978) is an English woman who was the first human to have been born after conception by ''in vitro'' fertilisation experiment (IVF). Her birth, following a procedure pioneered in Britain, has been lauded among "t ...

and

Fred Emney Frederick Arthur Round Emney (12 February 1902 – 25 December 1980) was an English character actor and comedian. Emney was born in Prescot, Lancashire,GRO Register of Births Mar 1902 Frederick Arthur R Emney 8b 725 PRESCOT1901 Census: ...

. Following a leading part in ''Going Greek'' (1937), in 1938 Royston starred in

Douglas Furber Douglas Furber (13 May 1885 – 20 February 1961) was a British lyricist and playwright. Furber is best known for the lyrics to the 1937 song "The Lambeth Walk" and the libretto to the musical '' Me and My Girl'', composed by Noel Gay, from which ...

's ''Running Riot'' as a film stunt man in love with an out-of-work actress. ''

The Sketch ''The Sketch'' was a British illustrated weekly journal. It ran for 2,989 issues between 1 February 1893 and 17 June 1959. It was published by the Illustrated London News Company and was primarily a society magazine with regular features on roy ...

'' commented During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Royston again reverted to the name of Crowden and served in the Balloon Branch of the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

. On 1 March 1942 he was promoted from Flying Officer to temporary

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

.''London Gazette'', issue 35503 dated 27 March 1942
p. 1391
/ref> He returned to the theatre in 1943. After a break in his film career of some thirty years, Royston played a clergyman in the

film ''

The Plague of the Zombies ''The Plague of the Zombies'' is a 1966 British horror film directed by John Gilling and starring André Morell, John Carson, Jacqueline Pearce, Brook Williams, and Michael Ripper. The film's imagery influenced many later films in the zombie ...

'' (1966).

Private life

Royston married firstly Laura Marguerite Gould, but this marriage was dissolved after his wife petitioned for divorce. He married secondly Dorothy Evelyn Taylor. He died at

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

in Surrey on 7 October 1976.

Filmography

* ''The Pony Who Paid the Rent'' (1912) (short) – Boy * ''Repaying the Debt'' (1912) (short) – Boy * ''A Day in the Country'' (1912) (short) – The Boy * ''Children of the Forest'' (1912) (short) – The Boy * ''A Double Life'' (1912) (short) – Gray * ''A Bore of a Boy'' (1913) (short) – Bob * ''The Girl Next Door'' (1913) (short) – Bobby * ''A Day on Rollers'' (1913) (short) – Roy * ''Algy's Tormentor'' (1913) (short) – Bob * ''Daddy's Darlings'' (1913) (short) – Boy * ''Little Willie's Apprenticeships'' (1913) (short) – Willie * ''Three Little Vagabonds'' (1913) (short) – Willie * ''Freddy's Dumb Playmates'' (1913) (short) – Freddy * ''When the Hurricanes Visited the Doughnuts'' (1913) (short) – Buster * ''When the Hurricanes Visited the Sawmills'' (1914) (short) – Buster * ''When the Hurricanes Took Up Farming'' (1914) (short) – Buster * ''When the Hurricanes Bought the Lino'' (1914) (short) – Buster * ''The Loosened Plank'' (1914) (short) – The Boy * '' One Summer's Day'' (1917) * '' Mr. Wu'' (1919) – Basil Gregory * '' The Magistrate'' (1921) – Farringdon * ''The Shaming of the True'' (1930) (short) – Sir Frederick Fincke * ''

'' (1930) – Jack * ''

'' (1935) – Jack Trent * ''

'' (1966) – Vicar (final film role)

References

Bibliography

*John Holmstrom, ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 13.

External links

Roy Royston
at BFI Film & TV Database * {{DEFAULTSORT:Royston, Roy 1899 births 1976 deaths English male film actors English male silent film actors English male musical theatre actors Recipients of the Military Cross British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force officers 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English singers 20th-century British male singers