Walter Louis Bradfield (13 June 1866 – 12 August 1919), was an English actor and singer who starred in

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

and other theatrical works.

Biography

The son of William Bradfield, a civil servant, Bradfield was born on 13 June 1866, educated at the Grocers' School, Hackney, and first appeared on stage in 1889 in a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

at the Theatre Royal,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

. In 1888, before taking up the theatrical life, he had married Jessie B. Best. Bradfield's notable roles include playing the

leading man A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...

, Captain Coddington, in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of the

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

'' In Town'', which opened in New York in 1897, in which Bradfield played a hard-up army officer who takes all the actresses of the Ambiguity Theatre out to lunch and marries one of them.Gerald Martin Bordman, ''American Musical Theatre'' (2001
p. 175
/ref> His other stage engagements in leading roles, most of them in London's West End, included ''

A Gaiety Girl ''A Gaiety Girl'' is an English musical comedy in two acts by a team of musical comedy neophytes: Owen Hall (book, on an outline by James T. Tanner), Harry Greenbank (lyrics) and Sidney Jones (music). It opened at Prince of Wales Theatre in ...

'' (1893–1894), as Bobbie Rivers; ''

The Geisha ''The Geisha, a story of a tea house'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and James ...

'' (1896), as Dick Cunningham; ''

The Girl from Kays ''The Girl from Kays'' is a musical comedy in three acts, with music by Ivan Caryll and book and lyrics by Owen Hall. Additional songs were by Paul Rubens, Howard Talbot, Adrian Ross, Percy Greenbank and others. The farcical story concerns a ...

'' (1902–1903), as Harry Gordon; ''

The Little Michus ''Les p'tites Michu'' (The Little Michus) is an opérette in three acts, with music by André Messager and words by Albert Vanloo and Georges Duval (journalist), Georges Duval. The piece is set in Paris in the years following the French Revolutio ...

'' (1905–1906); and ''

The Merveilleuses ''The Merveilleuses'' is a musical play in three acts, with a book adapted from the French original of Victorien Sardou by Basil Hood, lyrics by Adrian Ross, and music by Hugo Felix. The main plot is a love story, concerning Dorlis, an ''émigré'' ...

'' (1906–1907), as Lagorille, ''the Incroyable''. On 4 September 1905 Bradfield played in a one-day

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

match at Lord's, representing "The Actors" against "The Jockeys". He scored six runs and was bowled by Chaloner. In 1908 ''The Actors' Birthday Book'' said of Bradfield - He died at Brighton on 12 August 1919.Walter Louis Bradfield
at cricketarchive.com, accessed 28 July 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradfield, W. Louis 1866 births 1919 deaths Male actors from London English male stage actors 19th-century British male singers Singers from London