William Lugg
William Lugg (4 June 1852 – 5 December 1939) was an English actor and singer of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. He had a long stage career beginning with roles in several Gilbert and Sullivan operas[1] and continuing for over four decades in drama, comedy and musical theatre. Later in his career, he appeared in nine silent films in the early years of British cinema.[2]
Early life and stage career
Lugg was born in
Lugg then appeared in small roles in three
Lugg then joined the theatre company of
In 1906, Lugg played the Stranger in The Jury of Fate at the
Lugg then toured with
In 1918 at the Lyceum, he appeared as Colonel Hilderbrand in The Story of the Rosary, and the same year, he was the Comte de Belleville in Soldier Boy at the
In 1921 Lugg appeared as the Comte de Courson in The Legion of Honour by Baroness Orczy, adapted from her novel A Sheaf of Bluebells, at the Aldwych Theatre with a young Claude Rains.[6] At the Royalty Theatre in 1922 he played Simeon Ristitch in Mr. Budd (of Kennington), and at the Lyceum in 1924 he was Father Pius in Under His Protection. His last known stage performance was at the Gaiety Theatre in 1924, as Judge Delafield, J.P., in Poppy.[4]
Film career and last years
From 1913 to 1923, Lugg appeared in nine films, including Scrooge (1913)[7] and as Simon Ingot in David Garrick (1913),[8] both of which he appeared in with Seymour Hicks and Ellaline Terriss. His other film roles were Andrew Vernon in Daddy (1917), Sir John Haviland in Ave Maria (1918), Grandfather in The Old Curiosity Shop (1921), Down Under Donovan (1922), Soames in The Three Students (1923), Baron de Clifford in The Mistletoe Bough (1923), and John of Oxford in Becket (1923).[2]
Lugg and his wife Ellen Florence, née Smith, had a son, Alfred (born 1889), who also became an actor.[4] Lugg retired in 1927 and died in Norwood, London, aged 87.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Stone, David. William Lugg on the Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte website, 27 August 2001, accessed 13 December 2009
- ^ Internet Movie Database, accessed 13 December 2009
- ^ Moss, Simon. Gilbert & Sullivan: a selling exhibition of memorabilia, Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan archive, c20th.com, accessed 13 December 2009
- ^ a b c d e f g Parker, John. Who's Who in the Theatre: A Biographical Record of the Contemporary Stage, Pitman, London (1912–1981), pp. 519–20
- ^ Gillan, Don (ed). "The Beauty of Bath", stagebeauty.net, reprinted from The Play Pictorial, Vol 7, No. 45 (1906).
- ^ Skal, David J. and Jessica Rains. Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice, the University Press of Kentucky (2008)
- Internet Movie Database, accessed 13 December 2009
- Internet Movie Database, accessed 13 December 2009