Gerald du Maurier
Sir Gerald du Maurier | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier 26 March 1873 |
| Died | 11 April 1934 (aged 61) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | pre-1900–1934 |
Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (26 March 1873 – 11 April 1934) was an English actor and manager. He was the son of the writer George du Maurier and brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1902, he married the actress Muriel Beaumont with whom he had three daughters: writers Angela du Maurier (1904–2002) and Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989), and painter Jeanne du Maurier (1911–1996).[2] His popularity lay in his subtle and naturalistic acting: a "delicately realistic style of acting that sought to suggest rather than to state the deeper emotions".[3] His Times obituary said of his career: "His parentage assured him of engagements in the best of company to begin with; but it was his own talent that took advantage of them."
Early life
Du Maurier was born in Hampstead, London, and attended Heath Mount School[4] and Harrow School. He initially pursued a career in business, but it did not suit him, and he took to the stage. He obtained his first engagement, a small part in Sydney Grundy's An Old Jew, via his father's friend John Hare, manager of the Garrick Theatre.
J.M. Barrie
After playing a number of small roles pre-1900, including an appearance in his father's popular drama Trilby with Herbert Beerbohm Tree in 1895, his popularity became assured via his acclaimed performance in major roles in the premieres of two J.M. Barrie plays: as Ernest in The Admirable Crichton in 1902, and the dual role of George Darling and Captain Hook (instead of Seymour Hicks, who had turned down the part) in Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, on 27 December 1904. He also appeared in other Barrie plays, including Dear Brutus.
The Llewelyn Davies boys (du Maurier's nephews, the sons of his sister Sylvia Llewelyn Davies), were the inspiration for Peter Pan and other boy characters in Barrie's fiction. The character of Wendy Darling in Peter Pan shares one of her middle names with du Maurier's daughter Angela, who in later years portrayed Wendy onstage herself.
Wyndham's Theatre
With Frank Curzon, he co-managed Wyndham's Theatre from 1910 to 1925, and then moved to the St James's Theatre. He served as the president of the Actors' Orphanage. Knighted in 1922 at the peak of his popularity, he continued to perform throughout his life. In later years he took on cinema roles such as Lord Camber's Ladies (1932), a German doctor in I Was a Spy (1933), the emperor's valet in Catherine the Great (1934) and, shortly before his final illness, Wessensee in the Michael Balcon version of Jew Süss (1934).
du Maurier cigarettes
Du Maurier was a regular cigarette smoker, and the du Maurier brand was named after him as a paid endorsement deal (he did not smoke them himself), which he undertook to help pay back taxes.[5]
Charity work
He served as President of the Actors' Orphanage Fund (now the Actors' Charitable Trust) from 1914 to his death, when he was succeeded by Noël Coward.
Death
He died in 1934, at Cannon Hall, Cannon Place, Hampstead, his home since 1916: the house has a blue plaque in his memory.[6]
His daughter Daphne refused to attend his funeral[2] but wrote a biography of him – Gerald: A Portrait – which was published shortly after he died of colon cancer in London in 1934.
Selected filmography
- Justice (1917)
- Everybody's Business (1917)
- Unmarried (1920)
- Escape (1930)
- Lord Camber's Ladies (1932)
- I Was a Spy (1933)
- The Scotland Yard Mystery (1934)
- The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934)
- Jew Süss (1934)
References and sources
- References
- ^ NPG x44904. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ^ a b Conradi, Peter J (1 March 2013). "Women in love: The fantastical world of the du Mauriers". ft.com. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ Britannica 2005
- ^ Gerald: A Portrait, Daphne du Maurier, Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1935 Google Books
- ^ http://www.dumaurier.org/cigarette.html
- ^ "Gerald du Maurier - Blue Plaque". openplaques.org. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- Sources
- Sir Gerald du Maurier, Actor, Manager and Producer, Obituary, The Times, 12 April 1934
- James Harding, "Du Maurier, Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson (1873–1934)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 10 Sept 2007
External links
- Gerald du Maurier at the Internet Broadway Database
- The Admirable Crichton - 1902 production, The Play Pictorial No. XI (1903).
- 1873 births
- 1934 deaths
- English male film actors
- English male silent film actors
- English male stage actors
- English theatre directors
- Actor-managers
- English people of French descent
- People educated at Harrow School
- Actors awarded British knighthoods
- People educated at Heath Mount School
- 20th-century English male actors
- Knights Bachelor