1853-1937
Considered one of the greatest Shakespearean (and stage) actors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson was born into a family with the theater in it's blood. Born on this day in London to a well known theater critic and his wife, his original desire in life was to become a visual artist. He possessed considerable talent as a painter, and in fact, some of his works not only survive, but are prominently displayed and well thought of. As a lad, he was educated at the very exclusive Charterhouse; to further his plans to become an artist, he then studied at the Royal Academy. Somewhere along the way his life took a turn that would lead to his becoming an actor (at this point I would wonder, given the number of his siblings that went into the profession, if he didn't face pressure from home in this regard). He wound up apprenticing with Samuel Phelps (whom he would paint). Acting was not a profession that he liked; in fact, he never held it in any high regard, despite that he possessed a serious talent for it. At this point, I should point out that is beyond the scope of this write-up to encapsulate such a long and brilliant stage career; I am solely concerned here with his appearances in early film. Suffice to say that his years active on the stage spanned from 1874 thru 1915 and included performances in the United States in addition to his native Britain. His first appearance in film supposedly dates from 1898, when he is credited in appearing in what has been called the first film adaptation of Shakespeare: Macbeth. It is curious that this film (if it existed at all) has so little history attached to it; a search for even production company information yields nothing. In any case, he absolutely appears the Hepworth film from 1913 Hamlet directed by Hay Plumb in the part that he was not only known for, but, by some accounts, was born to play (note: it is astonishing that he did not actually take on the part of Hamlet until he was 44 years of age!). Forbes-Robertson appeared in three more films, two of them after he had retired from the stage. He played Hamlet twice on film, the second time coming in a 1915 short (Hamlet)--this was his first credit as Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson. In 1917 he appeared in the Fred Paul directed comedy Masks and Faces; and finally, in 1918 he appeared as "The Stranger" in the melodrama The Passing Of The Third Floor Back--written and directed by Herbert Brenon. Upon his retirement from live acting, he became a producer of plays. He died at the age of 84 on the 6th of November in St. Margaret's Bay, which is located in Kent, Dover. He was cremated at Golders Green. A memorial service was held at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, a famous church located in Trafalgar Square, Westminster. Please follow the Wikipedia link below to read more about his life.
As I read this post, I’m delighted to learn more about someone I’m really unfamiliar with. Thanks for providing such great background information!
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