Stephen Haggard
Stephen Haggard | |
---|---|
Born | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 21 March 1911
Died | 25 February 1943 Egypt | (aged 31)
Resting place | Heliopolis War Cemetery |
Nationality | British |
Occupation(s) | Actor, writer, poet, intelligence officer |
Years active | 1930s–1940s |
Stephen Hubert Avenel Haggard (21 March 1911 – 25 February 1943) was a British actor, writer and poet.
Early life
A member of the Haggard family, he was born on 21 March 1911 in Guatemala City, Guatemala, to Sir Godfrey Digby Napier Haggard, a British diplomat, and his wife Georgianna Ruel Haggard.[1] He was the great-nephew of author H. Rider Haggard, and the brother of photographer and author Virginia Haggard, the companion of the painter Marc Chagall.[2] Haggard was educated at Haileybury College, where he became close to the artist-schoolmaster Wilfrid Blunt.[3]
Training and career
After an initial foray into journalism, and determined to obtain some overseas experience,[4] Haggard moved to Munich, where he studied for stage at the Munich State Theatres under Frau Magda Lena.[4] He made his stage debut at the Schauspielhaus in October 1930 in the play Das kluge Kind directed by Max Reinhardt. He later appeared as Hamlet at the same theatre.[1][4]
Upon Haggard's return to the United Kingdom in 1931, his career path was initially discouraging: he received only small parts in various London plays and worked in repertory in Worthing.
Haggard married Morna Gillespie in September 1935, and they had three children, of whom one died young,[1][7][8] and another is the director Piers Haggard.[1][9] His granddaughter is actor Daisy Haggard.[10]
In 1938, Haggard returned to New York to reprise his role as Finch in Whiteoaks, which he also directed.[1][4] His novel Nya was published in the same year.[1] He appeared as
Second World War
At the outbreak of the
Death
While in the Middle East, Haggard fell in love with a beautiful Egyptian married woman whose husband worked in Palestine. Haggard was overworked and felt that the war had destroyed his acting career. He was on the edge of a
The manner of Haggard's death was hushed up and is not mentioned in the biography of Haggard written by Christopher Hassall and published in 1948.[14] Haggard is buried in Heliopolis War Cemetery, in Cairo, Egypt.[15]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1936 | Whom the Gods Love | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | (film debut) |
1937 | Knight Without Armor |
Minor Role | Uncredited |
1939 | Jamaica Inn | Willie Penhale – Sir Humphrey's Gang | |
1942 | The Young Mr. Pitt | Lord Nelson | (final film role) |
Works
- Haggard, S. (1938). Nya. London: Faber and Faber Limited
- Haggard, S. (1944). I’ll Go to Bed at Noon: A Soldier’s Letter to His Sons. London, Faber and Faber
- Haggard, S. (1945). The Unpublished Poems of Stephen Haggard. Salamander Press
- Athene Seyler with Stephen Haggard (1946). The Craft of Comedy. New York : Theatre Arts
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Haggard is dead on active service; British Actor and novelist, Son of Consul General Here, Was Army Captain in Near East". The New York Times. 4 March 1943. p. 7. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-8047-4214-6.
- ISBN 978-0-19-282135-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bell, Nelson, B. (13 March 1938). "Youthful Hamlet Supports Star As Actor-Director in 'Whiteoaks'". The Washington Post. pp. TT7.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ ISBN 978-0-7011-7749-2.
- ^ OCLC 18742516.
- ISBN 978-0-85955-100-7.
- ^ Gullen, Zoe; Sefton, Daniel, eds. (16 June 2005). "Piers Inigo Haggard". Debrett's People of Today. Debrett's Peerage Limited.
- ISBN 978-0-413-77301-2.
- ^ "Daisy Haggard: 'If I had Botox, my career would be over'". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-415-15652-3.
- ISBN 978-0-7190-6367-1.
- ISBN 978-1-4042-0065-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7011-7749-2.
- ^ "Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Casualty Details". www.cwgc.org. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
- Hassall, Christopher (1948). The Timeless Quest: Stephen Haggard. London: Arthur Barker.
External links
- Stephen Haggard at the Internet Broadway Database
- Stephen Haggard at IMDb