Hugh Cruttwell (31 October 1918 – 24 August 2002) was an influential English teacher of drama and principal of the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

Biography

Hugh Percival Cruttwell was born in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, but lived in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

from the age of eight. He was educated at

King's School, Bruton King's Bruton is an independent fully co-educational secondary day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in Bruton, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1519 by Richard FitzJames, and received royal foundation status ...

, in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, and studied history at Hertford College, Oxford. He began his career as an assistant stage manager at the

Theatre Royal, Windsor The Theatre Royal is an Edwardian theatre on Thames Street in Windsor in Berkshire. The present building is the second theatre to stand on this site and opened on 13 December 1910. Built for Sir Wiliam Shipley and Captain Reginald Shipley, it was ...

. He soon became an associate director and over a period of three years directed sixty plays. While working at Theatre Royal, he first met his future wife, actress Geraldine McKeown (who later took the stage name

Geraldine McEwan Geraldine McEwan (born Geraldine McKeown; 9 May 1932 – 30 January 2015) was an English actress, who had a long career in film, theatre and television. Michael Coveney described her, in a tribute article, as "a great comic stylist, with ...

). The couple married in 1953, and had two children: daughter Claudia and son

Greg Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadi ...

, an actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. After leaving Windsor, Cruttwell enjoyed much success as a freelance director. Following a spell teaching at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he was approached to take over the principalship of the

, following the resignation of John Fernald in 1965. He was heavily involved in the activities of Renaissance Theatre Company and Renaissance Films; companies established by

David Parfitt David Parfitt (born 8 July 1958) is an English film producer, actor, and co-founder of Trademark Films. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 71st Academy Awards for ''Shakespeare in Love'' (1998). Early life Parfitt was born in Sunder ...

and

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...

. He was a production/creative consultant of Branagh's films of '' Henry V'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Dead Again'', ''

Peter's Friends ''Peter's Friends'' is a 1992 British comedy film directed and produced by Kenneth Branagh, and written by Rita Rudner and Martin Bergman. The film follows six friends (Stephen Fry, Branagh, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton an ...

'' and '' Mary Shelley's Frankenstein''. He adapted, from a short story by

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

, the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning short film '' Swan Song'', starring Sir

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

Influence

In his eighteen years as principal of the

, Cruttwell spotted, nurtured and polished generations of actors who have gone on to become household names. In paying homage to his former teacher and associate,

wrote:

Filmography

* '' Henry V'' (1989) .... Technical Advisor * '' Dead Again'' (1991) .... Production Consultant * ''

'' (1992) .... Production Consultant * '' Swan Song'' (1992) .... Screenwriter * ''

'' (1993) .... Production Consultant * '' Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'' (1994) .... Performance Consultant * '' As Dreams Are Made On'' (2004) .... Special Thanks

References

External links

Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruttwell, Hugh 1918 births 2002 deaths English theatre directors Academics of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art People educated at King's School, Bruton People from Singapore Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford British people in British Malaya