Peter Godfrey (director)
Peter Godfrey | |
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| Born | 16 October 1899 London, UK |
| Died | 4 March 1970 (aged 70) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Director, actor |
| Years active | 1930–58 (film) |
| Spouse(s) | Molly Veness Renee Godfrey |
Peter Godfrey (16 October 1899 – 4 March 1970) was an English actor and film director. Founder of the experimental Gate Theatre Salon in 1925, with his first wife Molly Veness, he staged London's first expressionistic production in the following year. He went into partnership with Velona Pilcher in 1927 and together they opened the Gate Theatre Studio in Villiers Street, Charing Cross.[1] Eventually moving to Hollywood, he established a career as a film actor and director.
Life and career
Godfrey began his career as a conjuror, clown, actor and director in repertory theatres around the United Kingdom.[2] However, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the standard repertory plays, being himself attracted to the experimental works of American and Continental directors, and the avant-garde playwrights of the 1920s.[2] To stage such plays, he and his wife, the actress Molly Veness, rented a room in Floral Street, Covent Garden, which they were forced to run as a private club since London City Council refused to grant a licence for their "theatre", which, according to Edna Antrobus, had only "one entrance and exit and a rickety wooden staircase".
The
Godfrey directed two British films in the early 1930s. In 1936 he directed a production of
Godfrey died on 4 March 1970, at the age of 70. He is interred at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery near his wife, Renee Godfrey.[5]
Selected filmography
Actor
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Director
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References
- ^ Purkis, Charlotte, "The Other Gates: Anglo-American Influences on and From Dublin", in: Pilný O., van den Beuken R., and I. R. Walsh (eds), Cultural Convergence – The Dublin Gate Theatre 1928–1960, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Edna Antrobus. "A Little Glamour in the Family" (PDF). North West Kent Family History, Vol. 4, No. 8 (December 1987): p. 306. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ^ "Toussaint L'Ouverture By CLR James", Black Plays Archive, National Theatre.
- ^ McNulty, p. 322.
- ^ Resting Places
Bibliography
- McNulty, Thomas. Errol Flynn: The Life and Career. McFarland, 2004.
External links
- Peter Godfrey at IMDb
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