Louis Calvert
Encyclopedia
Louis James Calvert was a British
stage and early film actor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and an actor-manager
. He is perhaps best remembered today for having created roles in plays by George Bernard Shaw
and for appearing in King John (1899), the earliest known example of any film based on Shakespeare
,
, one of eight children, and the third son, of the actors Charles Alexander Calvert
and his wife Adelaide Helen (neé
Biddles) (baptised April 1836 - died 20 September 1921). He was educated privately in Manchester and in Germany
. Although actively discouraged by his parents from taking up acting as a career, Louis Calvert made his theatrical debut in Natal
in South Africa
in 1878 before moving on to appear in Australia
and then returning to Great Britain
in 1880. During the 1880s he trained at Sarah Thorne
's School of Acting at Margate
, and went on to appear with Henry Irving
at the Lyceum Theatre in London and toured with Lillie Langtry in the United States
.
to Frank Benson's Julius Caesar
, and for the Manchester Committee of the Independent Theatre Society
he staged and produced an Elizabethan
-style version of Richard II
in 1895. This innovative production brought Calvert to the attention of actor-manager
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
, who made him co-producer of his production of Henry IV, Part 1
at the Haymarket Theatre
in May 1896, and again with Julius Caesar
at Her Majesty's Theatre
in January 1898. He appeared in Ben Greet
's 1897 production of Macbeth
at the Olympic Theatre
. He appeared as Casca
in Tree
's 1899 production Julius Caesar, and as Cardinal Pandulf in The Life and Death of King John in the same year, which was filmed as King John (1899), the earliest known example of any film based on Shakespeare
. For Herbert Beerbohm Tree
at the Haymarket Theatre
Calvert played Francis Flute
in A Midsummer Night's Dream
in 1900, and Dogberry
in Much Ado About Nothing
in 1905. Of Calvert's interpretation of Dogberry, George Bernard Shaw
wrote in the Saturday Review
: "To Mr Calvert [the dialogue] is as natural as his native speech; he makes it clear, expressive and vivid without the least preoccupation."
In 1904 Calvert created the role of Tom Broadbent in George Bernard Shaw
's John Bull's Other Island
at the Royal Court Theatre
under the management of J.E. Vedrenne and Harley Granville-Barker
. At the same theatre, and under the same management, he appeared in Shaw's You Never Can Tell in 1905, and created the role of Andrew Undershaft in Major Barbara in November 1905. Calvert also appeared in the silent film
David Garrick (1911)
, and in 1909 he was appointed as the actor-manager
of the New Theatre
in New York
, where his responsibilities were to direct and star in productions of English plays, and especially the works of William Shakespeare
with a company made up of British
and American actors. The first play staged was Antony and Cleopatra
in November 1909 and starring E. H. Sothern
and Julia Marlowe
. The production was not a success; nor was the next production, Twelfth Night in January 1910. However, Calvert returned to his theatrical roots with his staging of A Winter's Tale in March 1910 which was a success largely due to his use of ensemble acting and Elizabethan
staging. He directed Major Barbara at the Playhouse Theatre in New York
in 1915, and an Elizabethan-style version of The Tempest
for the Shakespeare
tercentenary in 1916. Calvert spent his latter years in the United States
, where he already had numerous relatives, becoming a teacher of Shakespearean acting in various universities and academies. He appeared with Richard Bennett
in the 1922 English adaptation of Leonid Andreyev
's He Who Gets Slapped. His last theatrical appearance was in The Adding Machine
, which ran from March to May 1923.
Louis Calvert married twice: firstly to the actress Rose Roberts. The marriage was dissolved. Next he married the actress Violet Fenton, with whom he had two daughters, Beatrice 'Ray' Calvert and Patricia Calvert.
He died at his home on West 55th Street in New York
on 18 July 1923.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
stage and early film actor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and an actor-manager
Actor-manager
An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the company's business and financial arrangements, sometimes taking over the management of a theatre, to perform plays of their own choice and in which they will usually star...
. He is perhaps best remembered today for having created roles in plays by George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
and for appearing in King John (1899), the earliest known example of any film based on Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
,
Early life
Calvert was born in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, one of eight children, and the third son, of the actors Charles Alexander Calvert
Charles Alexander Calvert
Charles Alexander Calvert was a British actor and theatre manager noted for Shakespearean "revivals" featuring elaborate staging and historically accurate sets and costumes.-Early life:...
and his wife Adelaide Helen (neé
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Biddles) (baptised April 1836 - died 20 September 1921). He was educated privately in Manchester and in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Although actively discouraged by his parents from taking up acting as a career, Louis Calvert made his theatrical debut in Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1878 before moving on to appear in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and then returning to Great Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1880. During the 1880s he trained at Sarah Thorne
Sarah Thorne
Sarah Thorne was a British actress and actor-manager of the nineteenth century who managed the Theatre Royal at Margate for many years and who ran a School for Acting there widely regarded as Britain's first formal drama school...
's School of Acting at Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
, and went on to appear with Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
at the Lyceum Theatre in London and toured with Lillie Langtry in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Theatrical career
He played Mark AntonyMark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
to Frank Benson's Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
, and for the Manchester Committee of the Independent Theatre Society
Independent Theatre Society
The Independent Theatre Society was a by-subscription-only organisation in London from 1891 to 1897, founded by Dutch drama critic Jacob Grein to give "special performances of plays which have a literary and artistic rather than a commercial value." The society was inspired by its continental...
he staged and produced an Elizabethan
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
-style version of Richard II
Richard II (play)
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
in 1895. This innovative production brought Calvert to the attention of actor-manager
Actor-manager
An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the company's business and financial arrangements, sometimes taking over the management of a theatre, to perform plays of their own choice and in which they will usually star...
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
, who made him co-producer of his production of Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
at the Haymarket Theatre
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
in May 1896, and again with Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in January 1898. He appeared in Ben Greet
Ben Greet
Sir Philip Barling "Ben" Greet was a Shakespearean actor, director, and impresario.-Early life:The younger son of Captain William Greet RN and his wife, Sarah Barling, Greet was born on board HMS Crocodile, a Royal Navy recruiting ship tied up at the Tower of London. He was educated at the Royal...
's 1897 production of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
at the Olympic Theatre
Olympic Theatre
The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street, and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout much of its existence...
. He appeared as Casca
Servilius Casca
Publius Servilius Casca Longus was one of the assassins of Gaius Julius Caesar, who was murdered on 15 March, 44 BC....
in Tree
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
's 1899 production Julius Caesar, and as Cardinal Pandulf in The Life and Death of King John in the same year, which was filmed as King John (1899), the earliest known example of any film based on Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. For Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
at the Haymarket Theatre
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
Calvert played Francis Flute
Francis Flute
Francis Flute is a character in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream. His occupation is a bellows-mender. He is forced to play the female role of Thisbe in "Pyramus and Thisbe", a play within the play which is performed for Theseus' marriage celebration....
in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
in 1900, and Dogberry
Dogberry
Dogberry is a self-satisfied night constable in Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing.In the play, Dogberry is the chief of the citizen-police in Messina. As is usual in Shakespearean comedy, and Renaissance comedy generally, he is a figure of comic incompetence...
in Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
in 1905. Of Calvert's interpretation of Dogberry, George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
wrote in the Saturday Review
Saturday Review (London)
The Saturday Review of politics, literature, science, and art was a London weekly newspaper established by A. J. B. Beresford Hope in 1855....
: "To Mr Calvert [the dialogue] is as natural as his native speech; he makes it clear, expressive and vivid without the least preoccupation."
In 1904 Calvert created the role of Tom Broadbent in George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's John Bull's Other Island
John Bull's Other Island
John Bull's Other Island is a comedy about Ireland, written by G. Bernard Shaw in 1904. Shaw himself was born in Dublin, yet this is the only play of his where he thematically returned to his homeland....
at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
under the management of J.E. Vedrenne and Harley Granville-Barker
Harley Granville-Barker
Harley Granville-Barker was an English actor-manager, director, producer, critic and playwright....
. At the same theatre, and under the same management, he appeared in Shaw's You Never Can Tell in 1905, and created the role of Andrew Undershaft in Major Barbara in November 1905. Calvert also appeared in the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
David Garrick (1911)
Later years
Calvert frequently toured the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and in 1909 he was appointed as the actor-manager
Actor-manager
An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the company's business and financial arrangements, sometimes taking over the management of a theatre, to perform plays of their own choice and in which they will usually star...
of the New Theatre
Century Theatre
The Century Theatre, originally the New Theatre, was a theater located at 62nd Street and Central Park West in New York City. Opened on November 6, 1909, it was noted for its fine architecture but due to poor acoustics and an inconvenient location it was financially unsuccessful...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where his responsibilities were to direct and star in productions of English plays, and especially the works of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
with a company made up of British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and American actors. The first play staged was Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
in November 1909 and starring E. H. Sothern
E. H. Sothern
Edward Hugh Sothern was an American actor who specialized in dashing, romantic leading roles and particularly in Shakespeare roles.-Biography:...
and Julia Marlowe
Julia Marlowe
Julia Marlowe was an English-born American actress known for her interpretations of William Shakespeare.-Life and career:...
. The production was not a success; nor was the next production, Twelfth Night in January 1910. However, Calvert returned to his theatrical roots with his staging of A Winter's Tale in March 1910 which was a success largely due to his use of ensemble acting and Elizabethan
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
staging. He directed Major Barbara at the Playhouse Theatre in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1915, and an Elizabethan-style version of The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
for the Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
tercentenary in 1916. Calvert spent his latter years in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he already had numerous relatives, becoming a teacher of Shakespearean acting in various universities and academies. He appeared with Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett (actor)
Richard Bennett was an American actor who became a stage and silent screen matinee idol over the early decades of the twentieth century.-Early Life:...
in the 1922 English adaptation of Leonid Andreyev
Leonid Andreyev
Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer. He is one of the most talented and prolific representatives of the Silver Age period in Russian history...
's He Who Gets Slapped. His last theatrical appearance was in The Adding Machine
The Adding Machine
The Adding Machine is a 1923 play by Elmer Rice; it has been called "... a landmark of American Expressionism, reflecting the growing interest in this highly subjective and nonrealistic form of modern drama." The story focuses on Mr. Zero, an accountant at a large, faceless company. After 25 years...
, which ran from March to May 1923.
Louis Calvert married twice: firstly to the actress Rose Roberts. The marriage was dissolved. Next he married the actress Violet Fenton, with whom he had two daughters, Beatrice 'Ray' Calvert and Patricia Calvert.
He died at his home on West 55th Street in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 18 July 1923.
Publications
- Calvert, Louis An Actor's Hamlet Mills & Boon (1912)
- Calvert, Louis Problems of the Actor Simpkin Marshall (1919).
External links
- http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=14362Calvert on the Internet Broadway DatabaseInternet Broadway DatabaseThe Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....
]