George Ellsworthy "Roy" Redgrave (26 April 1873 – 25 May 1922) was an English stage and

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, w ...

actor. Redgrave is considered to be the first member of the Redgrave acting dynasty.

Early life

Born George Edward Redgrave in 122 Kennington Road,

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

, a district of

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the boroughs, in whole or in part, of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sut ...

in 1873, he was the eldest son of George Augustus Redgrave (1851–81), a maker of the board game

Bagatelle Bagatelle (from the Château de Bagatelle) is a billiards-derived indoor table game, the object of which is to get a number of balls (set at nine in the 19th century) past wooden pins (which act as obstacles) into holes that are guarded by woode ...

, and Zoe Beatrice Elsworthy (''née'' Pym, later Howard; 1856–1936). By 1897, he was professionally known as Roy Redgrave apparently in the belief that he was descended from Rob Roy. The Redgrave family originated in the

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

village of Crick. Redgrave also assumed the middle name "Elsworthy" from his mother, and his sister took the stage name Dolly Elsworthy. Redgrave was the eldest of five siblings.

Family and career

His first wife was actress Ellen Maud Pratt, the daughter of prosperous

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

farmer, John Dew Pratt of Buckland Monachorum. Her stage name was Judith Kyrle. They were married in Littleham-cum-Exmouth, Devon on 1 September 1894. Their careers reached a high point at their joint debut at the

Britannia Theatre The Britannia Theatre (1841–1900) was located at 115/117 High Street, Hoxton, London.''Britanni ...

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It l ...

in April 1900 with Roy billed as ''"The Dramatic Cock o' the North"''. They had three children, John Kyrle born in 1895, Robin Roy (father of

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir Roy Redgrave) born in 1897 and Nellie Maud born in 1898. About this time Redgrave fell in love with a young actress named Esther Mary Cooke (known on the stage as Ettie Carlisle), daughter of Victor Cooke, huntsman and riding master. Ellen discovered the affair and Ettie fled Britain for South Africa. Redgrave followed her to South Africa. Ettie married Clayton Parrett by special licence between 28 October and 10 November 1903, on a Sunday at St. George's Cathedral in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. Redgrave arrived two days later on the Tuesday. Ettie then left Clayton Parrett and went with Redgrave to Australia where she then bore him a son, Victor Redgrave Parrett, born 25 July 1906 in Australia. At some point after initial Australian theatre work, Redgrave left for England alone. According to the "History of Australian Theatre" archives, American actress

Minnie Tittell Brune Minnie Tittell Brune (1875–1974) was an American actress. Although little known in her own country, she became a major figure in the history of the Australian stage, achieving the peak of her career during an Antipodean tour from 1904 to 1909. S ...

made her first appearance in Australia on 21 September 1904 at

Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, Australia, refers to three theatres of the same name. One was a theatre which opened on 10 September 1887 and closed on 10 June 1933. It was located on the corner of Pitt and Market Street, Sydney, where Westfie ...

in the play ''Sunday'', supported by Roy Redgrave. Roy toured with her on the J.C. Williamson circuit. According to

Corin Redgrave Corin William Redgrave (16 July 19396 April 2010) was an English actor and left-wing socialist activist. Early life Redgrave was born on 16 July 1939 in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kem ...

, Ellen (Judith) pursued Roy to Australia, arriving in time to pay his unsettled hotel bills, but she was unable to persuade him to return home with her to his family. Ellen remarried Frederick John Nettlefold, a respectable landed gentleman, in Brighton, England in 1907. However Redgrave did return to Britain, appearing in

repertory A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

at the Grand Theatre,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, where he met Daisy Bertha Mary Scudamore. She eventually adopted the stage name Margaret Scudamore. They married at

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

Register Office A register office or The General Register Office, much more commonly but erroneously registry office (except in official use), is a British government office where births, deaths, marriages, civil partnership, stillbirths and adoptions in Eng ...

in 1907 while touring in the north and had one child, the actor Sir

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elec ...

born on 20 March 1908, later to become the father of actors Vanessa,

Corin Corin is a given name in English deriving from the Latin Quirinus, a Roman god. The meaning is unclear but is probably associated with "spear". The name is that of a character in William Shakespeare's ''As You Like It''. It is also used as a fami ...

and Lynn. Six months after Michael's birth, Redgrave left Daisy (Margaret) and returned to Australia again, this time permanently. William Anderson, a

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

producer, had just built the King's Theatre, and needed actors. His name appears in June 1909, when he performed in the play ''The Bank of England''. The following year, Anderson, known for his fondness of the lurid and sensational, had Roy collaborate with him on a play about the just ended

Dr. Crippen Hawley Harvey Crippen (September 11, 1862 – November 23, 1910), usually known as Dr. Crippen, was an American Homeopathy, homeopath, ear and eye specialist and medicine dispenser. He was hanged in HM Prison Pentonville, Pentonville Prison in L ...

case. Crippen was hanged in November 1910. The play was called ''By Wireless Telegraphy'', which was staged by Anderson at the King's Theatre, Melbourne, from 22 October 1910. Anderson was ruined financially by an expensive flop, and had to lease away his King's Theatre, and Redgrave turned his attention to the new and burgeoning film industry, under contract to

Lincoln-Cass Films Lincoln Cass Films was a short-lived Australian film production company. History Formed in July 1913, its principal filmmakers were W. J. Lincoln and Godfrey Cass and the managing director of the company was H. Dean Stewart. Charles Wheeler was st ...

. Although he claimed he did not like motion picture acting he appeared in several

s, beginning in 1911 with ''The Christian''. Later he played the villain in ''

Moondyne ''Moondyne'' is an 1879 novel by John Boyle O'Reilly. It is loosely based on the life of the Western Australian convict escapee and bushranger Moondyne Joe. It is believed to be the first ever fictional novel set in Western Australia. In 1913 ...

'' (1913) as well as six shorts, played the lead in ''The Hayseeds'' (1917), and co-starred in ''Robbery Under Arms'' (1920). Back in the UK, the forsaken Daisy had changed her name to Margaret and married Captain James Anderson, a wealthy tea planter.

Remaining in Australia

Redgrave remained in Australia until his death sometime in the 1920s, but exactly where he lived and when he died remained a mystery to his family in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

until his granddaughter

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. B ...

visited Sydney with her then husband John Clark, and vowed to find him. Their search ended at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

library, where, as she recounts in her play ''

Shakespeare for My Father ''Shakespeare for My Father'' is a one-woman play written and performed by Lynn Redgrave. The play concerns Redgrave's relationship with her father, the imposing actor and family patriarch Sir Michael Redgrave. The play was produced and directe ...

'' (page 48), they came up with Redgrave's obituary, learning that he had died on 25 May 1922, and was buried at

South Head Cemetery The South Head General Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery located at 793 Old South Head Road, Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1845 to 1950. It is also known as Old South Head Cemetery and the South Head Cemetery. The ...

. There they learned that he had been put in an unmarked grave by somebody called Minnie, who paid 15 shillings. (The idea that it may have been the religious Minnie Tittell Brune feeling sorry for him is enticing. More probably it was Minnie Hider, Esther's friend and confidante, who brought Victor up). They found the spot, and arranged for a

headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, ...

, asked his son Michael what it should say, and he said to put, simply, "Roy Redgrave, Actor". It was later discovered that Redgrave married Irish widow Mary Leresche in 191

His marriage certificate makes reference to his previous marriage to Ellen (Judith) but not to any subsequent marriage to Daisy (Margaret Scudamore). Mary died in 194

Silent filmography

* '' The Christian (1911 film), The Christian'' (1911) .... John Storm * '' Transported'' (1913) * ''The Sick Stockrider'' (1913) * ''The Road to Ruin'' (1913) * ''The Reprieve'' (1913) * ''The Remittance Man'' (1913) * ''

'' (1913) .... Isaac Bowman * ''The Crisis'' (1913) * '' Our Friends, the Hayseeds'' (1917) aka The Hayseeds (Australia) .... Dad Hayseed * ''

Robbery Under Arms ''Robbery Under Arms'' is a bushranger novel by Thomas Alexander Browne, published under his pen name Rolf Boldrewood. It was first published in serialised form by ''The Sydney Mail'' between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes i ...

'' (1920) .... Dan Moran

References

External links

*
Fortunatus History (Skidmore)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Redgrave, Roy 1873 births 1922 deaths Male actors from London People from Kennington English male film actors English male silent film actors English male stage actors 20th-century English male actors Redgrave family