Henry Baynton (23 September 1892 in Moseley in Warwickshire, England – 2 January 1951 in London) was a British Shakespearean actor and actor-manager of the early 20th century who in a stage career lasting 40 years is credited with playing Hamlet over 2,000 times.[1]
Henry Howard Baynton was the oldest of four sons born to Charles Sommers Baynton (1867–1926) and Eleanor Rowton (1870–1944). He made his first theatrical appearance in 1910, commencing a career in which he played in most of the works of William Shakespeare. He joined the company of Oscar Asche in 1911, and later that year joined the company of Frank Benson, for whom he appeared as Hamlet and as Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1915). During World War I he briefly enlisted in the Inns of Court O.T.C in January 1916 but having "a marked deformity of the toes since birth making marching impossible" he was discharged in May 1916 as "not being likely to become an efficient soldier (on medical grounds)."[2]
In 1916 Baynton appeared at the Stratford Festival, and in 1917 he joined the theatrical company of H.B. Irving at the Savoy Theatre, playing Laertes to Irving's Hamlet.[3]
Baynton toured the provinces between 1926 and 1930 appearing in the works of Shakespeare and various other plays. Baynton went into partnership to regain control of the company but the venture failed with Baynton losing between £3,000 and £4,000. He was made bankrupt and was forced to disband his theatrical company in 1930, making him among the last of the actor-managers. He was then reduced to giving acting and elocution lessons in Birmingham, earning about £3 a week. In 1932 he was engaged to Phyllis Tibbetts.[6] In 1933 he married Alice Mabel Rocke Jackson née Stevens (1869–1952), widow of William James Jackson (1841-1931), a barrister at the Calcutta Bar; Baynton had known the couple for 18 years before the marriage.[7]
^The Ottawa Journal (Birth, Marriage and Death Notices), Ontario, Canada, 1885-1980 City of Ottawa Archive; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Date Range: 1951 - 1952; Microfilm Number: 378
^British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920 for Henry Howard Baynton - Ancestry.com (subscription required)
^ ab. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
henry, baynton, those, similar, name, henry, bayntun, disambiguation, september, 1892, moseley, warwickshire, england, january, 1951, london, british, shakespearean, actor, actor, manager, early, 20th, century, stage, career, lasting, years, credited, with, pl. For those of a similar name see Henry Bayntun disambiguation Henry Baynton 23 September 1892 in Moseley in Warwickshire England 2 January 1951 in London was a British Shakespearean actor and actor manager of the early 20th century who in a stage career lasting 40 years is credited with playing Hamlet over 2 000 times 1 Henry Baynton as Hamlet c 1917 Henry Howard Baynton was the oldest of four sons born to Charles Sommers Baynton 1867 1926 and Eleanor Rowton 1870 1944 He made his first theatrical appearance in 1910 commencing a career in which he played in most of the works of William Shakespeare He joined the company of Oscar Asche in 1911 and later that year joined the company of Frank Benson for whom he appeared as Hamlet and as Demetrius in A Midsummer Night s Dream 1915 During World War I he briefly enlisted in the Inns of Court O T C in January 1916 but having a marked deformity of the toes since birth making marching impossible he was discharged in May 1916 as not being likely to become an efficient soldier on medical grounds 2 In 1916 Baynton appeared at the Stratford Festival and in 1917 he joined the theatrical company of H B Irving at the Savoy Theatre playing Laertes to Irving s Hamlet 3 In 1920 Baynton formed his own theatrical company with whom he played Orlando in As You Like It Romeo in Romeo and Juliet Shylock in The Merchant of Venice Brutus in Julius Caesar the title roles in Henry V Richard III Hamlet King Lear and Othello Bottom in A Midsummer Night s Dream 4 Falstaff and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew In 1922 the company was taken over by Robert Courtneidge from when Baynton was paid a salary of 50 a week plus a share of the profits He played the Burgomaster Mathias in The Bells at the Savoy Theatre in 1924 with the scenery from the original production staged by Henry Irving Baynton s performance was not favourably received by the critics who compared him adversely to Henry Irving who had made the role his own 5 Baynton toured the provinces between 1926 and 1930 appearing in the works of Shakespeare and various other plays Baynton went into partnership to regain control of the company but the venture failed with Baynton losing between 3 000 and 4 000 He was made bankrupt and was forced to disband his theatrical company in 1930 making him among the last of the actor managers He was then reduced to giving acting and elocution lessons in Birmingham earning about 3 a week In 1932 he was engaged to Phyllis Tibbetts 6 In 1933 he married Alice Mabel Rocke Jackson nee Stevens 1869 1952 widow of William James Jackson 1841 1931 a barrister at the Calcutta Bar Baynton had known the couple for 18 years before the marriage 7 Baynton appeared in the 1917 film Auld Lang Syne 8 His final appearance in a Shakespearean role was in 1934 when he played Capulet in Romeo and Juliet 3 He died in London in 1951 aged 58 References edit The Ottawa Journal Birth Marriage and Death Notices Ontario Canada 1885 1980 City of Ottawa Archive Ottawa Ontario Canada Date Range 1951 1952 Microfilm Number 378 British Army WWI Pension Records 1914 1920 for Henry Howard Baynton Ancestry com subscription required a b Baynton on Shakespeare and the Players Emory University website Archived from the original on 12 June 2010 Retrieved 24 March 2011 Griffiths Trevor R Ed A Midsummer Night s Dream Cambridge University Press 1996 pg 104 Google Books Jones Evans Eric editor Henry Irving and the Bells Irving s Personal Script of the Play Manchester University Press 1980 pg 26 Birmingham Daily Gazette 2 June 1932 Birmingham Daily Gazette 20 July 1933 Auld Lang Syne 1917 on the Internet Movie DatabaseExternal links editBaynton s performances in the Scottish Theatre Archive of the University of Glasgow Henry Baynton at IMDb Programme for a week of plays performed by Henry Baynton and his Company Grand Theatre Wolverhampton 1927 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henry Baynton amp oldid 1220914137, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
