Douglas Alexander Clarke-Smith (2 August 188812 March 1959), professionally known as D. A. Clarke-Smith or sometimes Douglas A. Clarke-Smith was a British actor. In a stage career lasting from 1913 to 1954, with interruptions to fight in both World Wars, he played a wide range of roles, in modern commercial plays and established classics. He was seen onstage in the West End, on tour in Britain, and on

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 ...

. In addition to his stage career, he appeared frequently on

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Early years

Montrose

Blackheath

Pembroke College, Oxford

Oxford University Dramatic Society The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England. Not all student productions at Oxford University ...

He made his professional stage debut at the Kingsway Theatre in 1913 in

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

's ''The Great Adventure'', succeeding Clarence Derwent in the role of Ebag. On tour in the same play he was promoted to the leading role, Ilam Carve, created by Henry Ainley. In 1914 on the outbreak of 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 ...

Clarke-Smith joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, and was mentioned in despatches three times."Mr D. A. Clarke-Smith", ''The Times'', 13 March 1959, p. 15 In 1919 he joined the Birmingham Repertory Company where his roles included Young Marlowe in ''

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18t ...

'', John Worthing in ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'', Joseph Surface in ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sn ...

'' and in Shakespeare, Malvolio 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 ...

'', Benedick in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'', Shylock in ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' and Hotspur in '' Henry IV, Part 1''. Clarke-Smith was producer for the Lena Ashwell Players for nearly a year from December 1919. In 1920 he married the actress Alice Bowes. They had two children. The marriage was later dissolved. In the 1920s and 1930s Clarke-Smith was often seen on the West End stage in new plays including ''

Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist fiction, absurdist metatheatrical, metatheatric play about th ...

'', and also in classics, playing Bonnington in '' The Doctor's Dilemma'', Rank in ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' ( Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having be ...

'', Kroll in ''

Rosmersholm ''Rosmersholm'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in Danish—the common written language of Denmark and Norway at the time—and originally published in 1886 in Copenhagen by the Danish publisher Gyldendal. ''Rosmersholm'' ...

'', Brack in ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been ca ...

'' and Solness in ''

The Master Builder ''The Master Builder'' ( no, Bygmester Solness) is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's more significant and revealing works. Performance The play was published ...

'', and Shakespearean roles including Peter Quince in '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', Malvolio and Benedick. He appeared on

in 1930 in ''Insult'', by J. E. Harold Terry and Harry Tighe.

Later years

In 1928 Clarke-Smith made the first of his many broadcasts for the

...
."D. A. Clarke-Smith"
BBC Genome. Retrieved 4 August 2021 In 1939 he joined the BBC Repertory Company but left later in the year to serve once more in the Army, becoming a staff captain. He was invalided out in 1944 and returned to the stage at the

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actres ...

as a member of the visiting

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

Company. In June 1945 he married for the second time; his spouse was Catherine Rosemary Ellis; they had three children. Clarke-Smith's post-war stage career followed the pattern of his earlier years, interspersing new commercial plays with revivals of classics. The latter included ''

Man and Superman ''Man and Superman'' is a four-act drama written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The series was written in response to a call for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme. ''Man and Superman'' opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London o ...

'' in its entirety, including the rarely staged "Don Juan in Hell" episode; he played Roebuck Ramsden in the main play and the Statue of Don Gonzalo in the Hell scene. His final stage role was Mr Myers, QC, in ''

Witness for the Prosecution In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

'' in 1953–54.Parker, Gaye and Herbert, pp. 459–461 Clarke-Smith died on 12 March 1959, in

Withyham Withyham is a village and large civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The village is situated 7 miles south west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from Crowborough; the parish covers approxi ...

in Sussex, aged 70.

Filmography

References and sources

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke-Smith, D. A. 1888 births 1959 deaths British male film actors Alumni of the University of Oxford People from Montrose, Angus 20th-century British male actors People from Withyham