Godfrey Tearle

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

UK
Years active1923–1953
Spouse(s)
Mary Malone
(m. 1909; div. 1932)

Stella Freeman
(m. 1932; died 1936)

Barbara Palmer
(m. 1937, divorced)
RelativesConway Tearle (half-brother)

Sir Godfrey Seymour Tearle (12 October 1884 – 9 June 1953) was a British actor who portrayed the quintessential British gentleman on stage and in both British and US films.

Biography

Born in

George Osmond Tearle (1852–1901) and American actress Marianne "Minnie" Conway (1852–1896),[1][2] the brother of actor Malcolm Tearle, and the half-brother of silent film star Conway Tearle. His maternal grandmother was Sarah Crocker Conway
.

In 1893, he made his stage debut as young Prince Richard, Duke of York, in his father's production of

Shakespearean actor of note, appearing on stage in the title roles of Othello, Macbeth and Henry V. His theatrical career was interrupted when he joined the Royal Artillery for a four-year stint beginning in 1915. In 1924 he starred in the West End production of Frederick Lonsdale's drama The Fake. In 1935 he appeared in Bernard Merivale's The Unguarded Hour
.

One of Tearle's most memorable screen roles was in

MGM's 1946 account of the Manhattan Project
.

Tearle made his Broadway theatre debut in Carnival in 1919. In his review in The New York Times, Alexander Woollcott noted, "It is difficult to guess why Godfrey Tearle should have selected as the vehicle of his American debut the play called Carnival, which was presented to New York for the first time last evening at the 44th Street Theatre. It is a spare and unsubstantial piece at best, and the role it offers him is distinctly secondary in importance and opportunity."[3] Additional Broadway credits include The Fake (1924), The Flashing Stream (1939), and Antony and Cleopatra (1947).

Knighthood

Tearle was knighted in the 1951 King's Birthday Honours List for services to drama.[4]

Marriages

He was married three times, to actress Mary Malone from 1909 until their divorce in 1932, to starlet Stella Freeman from 1932 until her sudden death in 1936, and to Barbara Palmer from 1937 until their divorce in 1947.

For several years at the end of his life, Tearle lived with the actress Jill Bennett.

Death

Sir Godfrey Tearle died on 9 June 1953, aged 68.

Complete filmography

References

  1. ^ Ancestry.ca: Marianne "Minnie" Conway
  2. ^ Marianne Tearle; socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu
  3. ^ New York Times review of Carnival, 25 December 1919
  4. ^ "No. 39243". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1951. p. 3063.

Sources

External links