Henry Kendall (actor)

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Henry Kendall
Henry-Kendall-Hotel-Mouse-1921.png
In The Hotel Mouse, 1921
Born(1897-05-28)28 May 1897
London, England
Died9 June 1962(1962-06-09) (aged 65)
Le Rayol, France
Occupation(s)Actor, director, revue artiste

Henry Kendall AFC, (28 May 1897 – 9 June 1962) was an English stage and film actor, theatre director and revue artiste.

Contents

His early theatrical career was curtailed by the First World War, in which he served with distinction. Resuming his stage career in 1919 he appeared mostly in the West End, with one excursion to Broadway and occasional tours of the British provinces, particularly during the Second World War. He was dismissive of his career as a screen actor, but made more than 40 films for the cinema. As a theatre director he was responsible for more than 20 productions, in a minority of which he also starred.

In his later years he had heart problems, which forced his temporary withdrawal from the theatre in 1957. He died of a heart attack in the south of France in 1962, at the age of 65. He was unmarried.

Early life

Kendall was born in London in 1897, the son of William Kendall and his wife Rebecca, née Nathan. [1] He was educated at the City of London School. [1] He began his stage career "walking on" (as a non-speaking extra) in Tommy Atkins at the Lyceum Theatre in 1914. From then until he joined the armed forces during the First World War he was first a chorus member in Business as Usual at the Hippodrome Theatre (1914), then a supporting player in Watch Your Step (Empire Theatre, 1915); and for nine months a member of the Old Vic company, playing juvenile parts in Shakespeare repertory, including Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing , Florizel in The Winter's Tale , and Sebastian in Twelfth Night (1915–1916). [1]

From 1916–1919 Kendall served as a captain in the Royal Flying Corps (latterly the Royal Air Force), winning the Air Force Cross. [1]

Stage career from 1919

1919 to 1930

In the post-war decade Kendall played more than 30 roles in the West End and on Broadway: [1]

Faith Celli and Kendall in Threads, 1921 Faith-Celli-Henry-Kendall-1921.png
Faith Celli and Kendall in Threads, 1921
PlayRoleTheatreYear
Cyrano de Bergerac Second Marquis Garrick 1919
Cyrano de BergeracChristian Drury Lane 1919
Mumsie Guy Little 1920
French LeaveLt George Graham Globe 1920
Where the Rainbow Ends Saint George Apollo 1920
Polly With a Past Harry Richardson St James's 1921
The Circle Edward Luton [n 1] Haymarket 1921
ThreadsJamesSt James's1921
The Hotel MouseBarry Scarlett Queen's 1921
Two Jacks and a JillTom Godling Royalty 1921
The Curate's EggVarious roles Ambassadors 1922
Arms and the Man Bluntschli Everyman 1922
East of SuezHarold Knox His Majesty's 1922
Marriage by InstalmentsJohn WiltshireAmbassadors1923
Stop FlirtingGeoffrey Dangerfield Shaftesbury 1923
HavocDick ChappellRegent1923
HavocDick ChappellHaymarket1924
Bachelor HusbandsBilly ReynoldsRoyalty1924
As You Like It OrlandoRegent1924
Charlot's RevueVarious Prince of Wales 1924
Tunnel TrenchLt St Aubyn Prince's 1925
The CzarinaCount Alexei Czerny Q 1925
On 'ChangeDr Tom Pearson Savoy 1925
Naughty CinderellaGerald Gray Lyceum, New York1925
This Woman BusinessHoney Ritz, New York1926
The Silent HouseCapt Philip Barty Comedy 1927
The Road to RomeMago Strand 1928
A Damsel in Distress Reggie Higgins New 1928
Wrongs and RightsHugh RawsonStrand1928
Baa, Baa, Black SheepHugo BonsorNew1929
The Flying FoolVincent FloydPrince's1929
He's MineMaxime de Bellencontre Lyric 1929
The Ghost Train Teddy DeakinComedy1929

1930 to 1945

In the 1930s and during the Second World War Kendall continued to appear mainly in the West End, but toured in three productions:

PlayRoleTheatreYear
Odd NumbersJohn StrangeComedy1930
Charlot's Masqueraderevue – various Cambridge 1930
A Murder Has Been Arranged Maurice MullinsStrand and St James's1930
Cut for PartnersHugotour1934
Someone at the Door Ronnie MartinAldwych and New1935
The World WaitsKenneth BriceAldwych1935
Bats in the BelfryEdward MortonAmbassadors1937
This Money BusinessGerald EsmondAmbassadors1938
Room for TwoHubert CroneComedy1938
Punch Without Judy Micky SaundersQ1939
House PartyMichael DrumleyQ1940
Nap HandJohnny Pottertour1940
High TemperatureTony HamiltonQ and Duke of York's 1940
High TemperatureTony Hamiltontour1941
Rise Above Itrevue – variousComedy1941
Scooprevue – variousVaudeville Theatre1942
A Little Bit of FluffJohn AyersAmbassadors1943
The Fur CoatDominic MalloryComedy1943
Sweet and Lowrevue – various [n 2] Ambassadors1944
Sweeter and Lowerrevue – variousAmbassadors1944

1945 to 1961

PlayRoleTheatreYear
Sweetest and LowestrevueAmbassadors1946
À la CarterevueSavoy Theatre1948
On Monday Next...Harry Blacker [n 3] Embassy and Comedy1949;
For Love or MoneyLovewellAmbassadors1950
The Dish Ran AwayPeter PerryVaudeville1950
Capricerevue – varioustouring1950
The Happy Family Henry LordDuchess1951
Angels in Love Pomeroy-JonesSavoy1954
Portrait of a WomanMontague Cloud [n 4] Q1954
Beat the Panel [n 5] Oliver CharringtonRoyal, Nottingham,
and Embassy, London		1955
The Call of the DodoJulian LassiterRoyal, Nottingham1955
Where the Rainbow EndsJoseph Flint [n 4] New Victoria1958
Let Them Eat CakeLord WhitehallCambridge Theatre1959
Aunt Edwina title role Fortune Theatre 1959
Pools ParadiseBishop of Lax [n 4] Phoenix and on tour1961

Film career

Kendall dismissed his own films, several of which were quota quickies, with the remark that he "commenced film career 1931, and has appeared in innumerable pictures". [1] He played the leading role of Reggie Ogden in the film The Shadow in 1933, and also starred in Alfred Hitchcock's "bravest failure", Rich and Strange , originally released in the United States as East of Shanghai, (1931). [2] Kendall's films included: [3]

Revue

As a West End revue artiste Kendall appeared in Charlot's Revue at the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1924 and Charlot's Masquerade at the Cambridge Theatre in 1930. He co-starred with Hermione Gingold in the three long-running Sweet and Low revues, with scripts by Alan Melville, first taking over from Walter Crisham in 1944; this was followed in June 1948 by the À la Carte revue at the Savoy Theatre. [1]

He appeared with Hermione Baddeley and Hermione Gingold ("The Two Hermiones"), Walter Crisham and Wilfred Hyde-White, in Leslie Julian Jones's revue Rise Above It, first at the Q Theatre in January 1941, when Hedley Briggs was nominally directing; then in two West End editions of the show which ran for a total of 380 performances at the Comedy Theatre opening in June 1941 and again in December 1941, when he was both starring in and directing the show.

He observed in his autobiography:

Of all forms of theatrical entertainment, revue is the most bitchy. The material is bitchy, the artists are bitchy and, strangely enough, the average revue audience is bitchy. And here I was starring with two acknowledged 'Queens of Revue' [Baddeley and Gingold], faced also with the task of director... call[ing] for every possible ounce of tact and diplomacy. Then came the vexed question of "billing" – who should take precedence, Baddeley or Gingold (or should I say Gingold or Baddeley)? It was the responsibility of the management to make the decision. ... [the] solution was quite simple: we had two sets of bills and placards, used on alternate weeks throughout the run, which satisfied both the ladies. [4]

Director

In addition to a busy career as an actor and entertainer Kendal was frequently engaged as a director, staging, among other plays, the first productions of See How They Run (Peterborough Rep, tour and Q Theatre 1944; Comedy Theatre 1945), and The Shop at Sly Corner (St Martin's Theatre 1945). He also directed numerous plays at the Embassy Theatre and Q Theatre. [5]

In Chapter 23 of his autobiography, 'I Remember Romano's', 'An Alligator and Mr. Chaplin', (Macdonald, London, 1960), Kendal wrote that Peter Daubeny asked him in 1955 to " ...keep an eye on, (produce), his revival at the Palace", (Palace Theatre, London), of The Merry Widow, starring Jan Kiepura and Marta Eggerth, while he was on business in Paris.

Among his productions were:

Kendall's autobiography was published by MacDonald & Co in 1960; it was called I Remember Romanos. [1]

In his later years Kendal suffered from heart trouble. He had to give up work for a while in 1957 after a heart attack. In February 1960 he was hospitalised after suffering another attack at his house in Hampstead. He had a final, fatal attack while staying at Le Rayol in the South of France, on 9 June 1962, at the age of 65. [6] He was unmarried. [6]

Notes, references and sources

Notes

  1. ↑ succeeding Leon Quartermaine. [1]
  2. ↑ succeeded Walter Crisham [1]
  3. ↑ also directed, in association with Shaun Sutton [1]
  4. 1 2 3 also directed [1]
  5. ↑ later retitled The Lion in the Lighthouse. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Parker, Gaye and Herbert, pp. 1351–1353
  2. ↑ Halliwell's Film Guide
  3. ↑ Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies, Fourth Edition, ed John Walker, HarperCollins (2006) ISBN   0-00-716957-4
  4. ↑ Quoted in On Q: Jack and Beatie de Leon and the Q Theatre, by Kenneth Barrow (1992)
  5. ↑ On Q: Jack and Beatie de Leon and the Q Theatre by Kenneth Barrow, Heritage Publications (1992) ISBN   978-0-9519089-0-7
  6. 1 2 "Mr Henry Kendall", The Times, 11 June 1962, p. 12; and "Henry Kendall", Birmingham Daily Post, 11 June 1962, p. 3

Sources

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