Roy Royston
Roy Royston | |
---|---|
Born | Roy Charles Crowden 5 April 1899 |
Died | 7 October 1976 | (aged 77)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1912–1966 |
Roy Royston
He later developed a career in musical theatre, and his swan song was an appearance as an elderly clergyman in a Hammer Horror film of 1966.
Life
Born at Mill Hill, North London, Roy Charles Crowden took the stage name of "Roy Royston" while still a boy.[1] He was educated at Lynton College and also privately and first appeared on the stage on 19 December 1910 in a revival of Maurice Maeterlinck's play
Between 1912 and 1914 Royston was the child star of a large number of silent films, most made by
Under his real name of Roy Crowden, in the later stages of the
T./2nd Lt. Roy Charles Crowden, Gen. List and R.F.C. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during operations. Observing a column of enemy troops marching along a road, he descended to a very low altitude, bombed them, and threw the column into complete confusion. Later on the same day, he attacked and caused heavy casualties to enemy infantry who were advancing across country. On another occasion he attacked one of six enemy scouts and destroyed it. He showed great determination and a splendid offensive spirit.[3]
After the war Royston briefly resumed his early career in
Having played an American in London, Royston moved to Broadway. In May 1924 he opened at the
On 8 October 1928 Royston opened in Ups-a-Daisy at the Shubert, playing Roy Lindbrooke, an adventurous young author. Also in the cast was Bob Hope, as a butler. Ups-a-Daisy ran for 64 performances.[9]
In 1930 Royston starred opposite Lillian Hall-Davis in Michael Balcon's British musical film Just for a Song,[10] and in 1935 he appeared on screen again in the comedy The Big Splash.[11] He became part of a regular company with Leslie Henson, Richard Hearne, Louise Brown and Fred Emney. Following a leading part in Going Greek (1937), in 1938 Royston starred in Douglas Furber's Running Riot as a film stunt man in love with an out-of-work actress.[12] The Sketch commented
Our Grecians of last year are "RUNNING RIOT" this year. Whither? Well, to film studios, Chinatown, and so forth ... Mr. Roy Royston is there as usual to put sentiment in the story, which he can do with a nice show of masculine vigour.[13]
During the
After a break in his film career of some thirty years, Royston played a clergyman in the Hammer Horror film The Plague of the Zombies (1966).[1]
Private life
Royston married firstly Laura Marguerite Gould, but this marriage was dissolved after his wife petitioned for divorce. He married secondly Dorothy Evelyn Taylor.[2]
He died at Kingston upon Thames in Surrey on 7 October 1976.[1]
Filmography
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References
- ^ a b c d John Holmstrom, 'Roy Royston' in The moving picture boy: an international encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995 (1996), pp. 13–14
- ^ a b c John Parker, 'Royston, Roy (Roy Crowden)' in Who's who in the Theatre vol. 13 (1961), p. 1003
- ^ London Gazette, issue 30761 dated 21 June 1918 (Supplement), p. 7407
- ^ a b Kurt Gänzl, The British Musical Theatre: 1915–1984 (1986), p. 487: "The war saw Roy Royston back in the air force where he had won the MC in the First War, and when he returned to the theatre in 1943 it was as Squadron Leader Royston."
- ^ 'Theatres' (classified advertising) in The Times, issue 43380 dated 29 June 1923, p. 12, col. D
- ^ The Stage Year Book 1921—1925 (Carson & Comerford, Ltd., 1925) p. 172
- ^ "Little Nellie Kelly" in Thomas Hischak, The Oxford Companion to the American Musical (Oxford University Press, 2009; Oxford Reference Online, Retrieved 24 January 2012 (subscription required)
- ^ Thomas S. Hischak, Broadway plays and musicals: descriptions and essential facts of more than 14,000 shows through 2007 (2009), p. 235
- ^ Gerald Bordman, Richard Norton, American Musical Theatre: a Chronicle (Oxford University Press, 2010), p. 498
- ^ Rachael Low, The History of British Film, vol. 7 (Routledge, 2005) p. 339
- ^ David R. Sutton, A Chorus of Raspberries: British film comedy 1929–1939 (University of Exeter Press, 2000), p. 248
- ^ Harry Stone, The Century of Musical Comedy and Revue (2009), p. 93
- ^ The Sketch: A journal of art and actuality, vol. 183, issue 2381 (1938)
- ^ London Gazette, issue 35503 dated 27 March 1942, p. 1391
Bibliography
- John Holmstrom, The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 13.
External links
- Roy Royston at BFI Film & TV Database
- Roy Royston at IMDb