Roy Redgrave
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Roy Redgrave | |
---|---|
Born | George Edward Redgrave 26 April 1873 Kennington, London, England |
Died | 25 May 1922 Sydney, Australia | (aged 49)
Nationality | English |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1900–20 |
Spouses | Ellen Maud Pratt
(m. 1894; div. 1905)Mary Seward Leresche
(m. 1916) |
Children | 5, including Michael Redgrave |
Relatives | See Redgrave family |
Website | http://www.redgrave.com/biorr.htm |
George Ellsworthy "Roy" Redgrave (26 April 1873 – 25 May 1922) was an English stage and silent film actor. Redgrave is considered to be the first member of the Redgrave acting dynasty.
Early life
Born George Edward Redgrave
Family and career
His first wife was actress Ellen Maud Pratt, the daughter of prosperous
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. 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
However Redgrave did return to Britain, appearing in
Six months after Michael's birth, Redgrave left Daisy (Margaret) and returned to Australia again, this time permanently. William Anderson, a Melbourne producer, had just built the King's Theatre, and needed actors.[2] His name appears in June 1909, when he performed in the play The Bank of England. In 1910 he played Prince Michael in The Prince and the Beggar Maid in a tour of Australia. In the same 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 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.[3] 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. Although he claimed he did not like motion picture acting[4] he appeared in several silent films, beginning in 1911 with The Christian. Later he played the villain in Moondyne (1913) as well as six shorts, played the lead in Our Friends, 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
Silent filmography
- The Christian (1911) .... John Storm
- Transported (1913)
- The Sick Stockrider (1913)
- The Road to Ruin (1913)
- The Reprieve (1913)
- The Remittance Man (1913)
- Moondyne (1913) .... Isaac Bowman
- The Crisis (1913)
- Our Friends, the Hayseeds (1917) aka The Hayseeds (Australia) .... Dad Hayseed
- Robbery Under Arms (1920) .... Dan Moran
References
- ^ "The Player a Profile of an Art". Simon And Schuster. 1961.
- ^ "MR. ROY REDGRAVE". The Daily News. Perth: National Library of Australia. 22 April 1909. p. 4 Edition: THIRD EDITION. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ "Advertising". Argus. 22 October 1910."King's Theatre". Argus. 24 October 1910.
- The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 28 December 1912. p. 6 Section: SECOND SECTION. Retrieved 9 April 2012.