Scott Sunderland (19 September 1883 – 1956) was an English actor. Principally working on the stage, his few film roles included Colonel Pickering in the 1938 film adaptation of Shaw's ''
Pygmalion
Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to:
Mythology
* Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue
Stage
* ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau
* ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...
'' and Sir John Colley in the 1939 film adaptation of ''
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...
''.
Life
Educated in England and Germany, his first professional theatrical appearance was with the F.R. Benson company at
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...
in 1909 as Douglas in ''
Henry IV, Part 2'', followed later that year with his London debut.
Other roles he played during his stage career included Feste 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 Vio ...
'',
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
in ''Abraham Lincoln'', Peter Dais in ''North of the Moon'', Petruchio in ''
The Taming of the Shrew
''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...
(during his late forties in the late 1920s), and several of
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 influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's plays (including ''
The Apple Cart
''The Apple Cart: A Political Extravaganza'' is a 1928 play by George Bernard Shaw. It is a satirical comedy about several political philosophies which are expounded by the characters, often in lengthy monologues. The plot follows the fictional ...
'').
His stage experience of Shaw and his move to 'grand old man' roles by the late 1930s led to his being cast in the 1938 film of ''Pygmalion'' as Colonel Pickering and in the 1939 film of ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips''. He appeared in ''Here's to Our Enterprise'', a one-night show in May 1938 based on
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 ( ...
's life (as part of the celebrations surrounding the centenary of Irving's birth) and, though this marked his last major appearance on the London stage, also performed in revivals and new work for the Birmingham Repertory Company between 1942 and 1945 before retiring in the late 1940s.
[ He was gay and his life-long partner was the director, Sir Barry Jackson.]
Filmography
References
External links
*
Scott Sunderland
at allmovieguide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunderland, Scott
1883 births
1956 deaths
People from Birkenhead
English male stage actors
English male film actors
English gay actors
20th-century English male actors