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Russell Thorndike

March 15, 2023

Arthur Russell Thorndike (6 February 1885 – 7 November 1972) was a British actor and novelist, best known for the Doctor Syn of Romney Marsh novels. Less well-known than his sister Sybil but equally versatile, Russell Thorndike's first love was writing and, after serving in World War I, he devoted himself to it.

Russell Thorndike
Thorndike aged about 40
Born(1885-02-06)6 February 1885
Rochester, Kent, England
Died7 November 1972(1972-11-07) (aged 87)
London, England
EducationKing's School, Rochester
St George's School, Windsor Castle
Occupation(s)Actor, novelist
Notable workDoctor Syn novels
Spouse
Rosemary Dowson
​
​
(m. 1918)​
RelativesSybil Thorndike (sister)
Christopher Casson (nephew)
Mary Casson (niece)
Ann Casson (niece)
Military career
Battles/warsWorld War I

Background

He was born in Rochester, Kent, where his father had recently become a canon at the cathedral. He was a student at the King's School, Rochester and at St George's School, Windsor Castle and a chorister of St George's Chapel, an experience he later recounted in his book Children of the Garter (1937). Thorndike married Rosemary Dowson, a daughter of the well-known actress Rosina Filippi, in 1918.

Acting

At his suggestion, both he and Sybil (who once aspired to be a concert pianist) tried acting as a career in 1903. They became students at Ben Greet's Academy and two years later accompanied fellow members of the company on a North American tour, which included New York City. He remained three-and-a-half years with the company, once giving three performances as Hamlet in three different versions of the text on the same day. He also toured in South Africa and Asia.

In 1914 he enlisted. His brother Frank, who once performed on stage, was killed in action. Russell was severely wounded at Gallipoli and discharged. He rejoined Ben Greet's theatre company and his sister at the Old Vic in 1916, where he played in Shakespeare's King John, Richard II, and King Lear. Thorndike also acted with Sybil and her husband, Lewis Casson, in their touring repertory performing melodramas. In 1922 he was applauded for his performance in the first professional production of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt at the Old Vic.

In film, Thorndike's appearances were infrequent. He played Macbeth (1922) in a silent version of the play opposite Sybil's Lady and also played leads in silent versions of other classic plays, including Scrooge (1923) as Old Ebenezer, and The School for Scandal (1923) as Sir Peter Teazle. He ended his film career in minor priest roles for Laurence Olivier in Hamlet (1948) and Richard III (1955). Although Thorndike appeared on the stage over four decades (including playing his own Dr. Syn character and entertaining audiences as Smee in ten revivals of Peter Pan, including the famous Scala Theatre version where Donald Sinden doubled the roles of Mr Darling and Captain Hook), he felt a deeper fulfilment in writing, which would include the later work The House of Jeffreys.

Writing

Published in the Dymchurch Day of Syn programme from 1985 is an apocryphal biography of Thorndike that indicates it was during the period of touring with Ben Greet's theatre company, that Russell and his sister Sybil came up with the idea of Dr Syn. The story goes, both were with the company in Spartanburg when a man was murdered on the street outside their hotel. The article suggests the corpse lay there for some time while "... his glazed eyes seemed to stare right up into Sybil's bedroom". Sybil was unable to sleep, so she asked Russell to sit up with her. She made a pot of tea while they talked, and the character of Dr Syn was born. As the night went on, "They piled horror on horror's head and after each new horror was invented they took another squint at the corpse to encourage them." Around this time he completed his first novel of romantic adventure on Romney Marsh entitled Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh.

Personal life

Thorndike and his wife had five children: Daniel (1920-2016), an actor; Dickon (1921-2016); Jill (1924-2013); Georgia (born 1927), who married the theatre administrator David Peacock; and Rhona (1929-2016).

He died in 1972, aged 87, and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul, Dymchurch, made famous by his Dr Syn novels.[1]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1922 Macbeth Macbeth Short
1922 It's Never Too Late to Mend Squire Meadows Short, directed by George Wynn[2]
1922 Tense Moments from Great Plays Macbeth / Squire Meadows (segments "Macbeth", and "It's Never Too Late to Mend")
1923 The Bells Mathias Short[3]
1923 The Audacious Mr. Squire Harry Smallwood
1923 Heartstrings Tom Openshaw
1923 The Fair Maid of Perth Dwining
1924 Miriam Rozella Crewe Stevens
1924 Human Desires Paul Perot
1933 A Shot in the Dark Dr. Stuart
1933 The Roof Clive Bristow
1933 Puppets of Fate Dr. Orton Munroe
1934 Whispering Tongues Fenwick
1936 Fame Judge
1944 Fiddlers Three High Priest
1944 Henry V Duke of Bourbon
1945 Caesar and Cleopatra Harpist's Master Uncredited
1948 Hamlet Priest
1955 Richard III First Priest

Selected writings

References

  1. ^ "Find a Grave: Russell Thorndike". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  2. ^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 252.ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
  3. ^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 252.ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
  • Keith Swallow, The Book of Syn: Russell Thorndike, Dr. Syn and the Romney Marsh (pub. Edgerton, 2013)

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Russell Thorndike.

March 15, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Russell Thorndike news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Arthur Russell Thorndike 6 February 1885 7 November 1972 was a British actor and novelist best known for the Doctor Syn of Romney Marsh novels Less well known than his sister Sybil but equally versatile Russell Thorndike s first love was writing and after serving in World War I he devoted himself to it Russell ThorndikeThorndike aged about 40Born 1885 02 06 6 February 1885Rochester Kent EnglandDied7 November 1972 1972 11 07 aged 87 London EnglandEducationKing s School Rochester St George s School Windsor CastleOccupation s Actor novelistNotable workDoctor Syn novelsSpouseRosemary Dowson m 1918 wbr RelativesSybil Thorndike sister Christopher Casson nephew Mary Casson niece Ann Casson niece Military careerBattles warsWorld War I Gallipoli Campaign Contents 1 Background 2 Acting 3 Writing 4 Personal life 5 Filmography 6 Selected writings 7 References 8 External linksBackground EditHe was born in Rochester Kent where his father had recently become a canon at the cathedral He was a student at the King s School Rochester and at St George s School Windsor Castle and a chorister of St George s Chapel an experience he later recounted in his book Children of the Garter 1937 Thorndike married Rosemary Dowson a daughter of the well known actress Rosina Filippi in 1918 Acting EditAt his suggestion both he and Sybil who once aspired to be a concert pianist tried acting as a career in 1903 They became students at Ben Greet s Academy and two years later accompanied fellow members of the company on a North American tour which included New York City He remained three and a half years with the company once giving three performances as Hamlet in three different versions of the text on the same day He also toured in South Africa and Asia In 1914 he enlisted His brother Frank who once performed on stage was killed in action Russell was severely wounded at Gallipoli and discharged He rejoined Ben Greet s theatre company and his sister at the Old Vic in 1916 where he played in Shakespeare s King John Richard II and King Lear Thorndike also acted with Sybil and her husband Lewis Casson in their touring repertory performing melodramas In 1922 he was applauded for his performance in the first professional production of Henrik Ibsen s Peer Gynt at the Old Vic In film Thorndike s appearances were infrequent He played Macbeth 1922 in a silent version of the play opposite Sybil s Lady and also played leads in silent versions of other classic plays including Scrooge 1923 as Old Ebenezer and The School for Scandal 1923 as Sir Peter Teazle He ended his film career in minor priest roles for Laurence Olivier in Hamlet 1948 and Richard III 1955 Although Thorndike appeared on the stage over four decades including playing his own Dr Syn character and entertaining audiences as Smee in ten revivals of Peter Pan including the famous Scala Theatre version where Donald Sinden doubled the roles of Mr Darling and Captain Hook he felt a deeper fulfilment in writing which would include the later work The House of Jeffreys Writing EditPublished in the Dymchurch Day of Syn programme from 1985 is an apocryphal biography of Thorndike that indicates it was during the period of touring with Ben Greet s theatre company that Russell and his sister Sybil came up with the idea of Dr Syn The story goes both were with the company in Spartanburg when a man was murdered on the street outside their hotel The article suggests the corpse lay there for some time while his glazed eyes seemed to stare right up into Sybil s bedroom Sybil was unable to sleep so she asked Russell to sit up with her She made a pot of tea while they talked and the character of Dr Syn was born As the night went on They piled horror on horror s head and after each new horror was invented they took another squint at the corpse to encourage them Around this time he completed his first novel of romantic adventure on Romney Marsh entitled Doctor Syn A Tale of the Romney Marsh Personal life EditThorndike and his wife had five children Daniel 1920 2016 an actor Dickon 1921 2016 Jill 1924 2013 Georgia born 1927 who married the theatre administrator David Peacock and Rhona 1929 2016 He died in 1972 aged 87 and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul Dymchurch made famous by his Dr Syn novels 1 Filmography EditYear Title Role Notes1922 Macbeth Macbeth Short1922 It s Never Too Late to Mend Squire Meadows Short directed by George Wynn 2 1922 Tense Moments from Great Plays Macbeth Squire Meadows segments Macbeth and It s Never Too Late to Mend 1923 The Bells Mathias Short 3 1923 The Audacious Mr Squire Harry Smallwood1923 Heartstrings Tom Openshaw1923 The Fair Maid of Perth Dwining1924 Miriam Rozella Crewe Stevens1924 Human Desires Paul Perot1933 A Shot in the Dark Dr Stuart1933 The Roof Clive Bristow1933 Puppets of Fate Dr Orton Munroe1934 Whispering Tongues Fenwick1936 Fame Judge1944 Fiddlers Three High Priest1944 Henry V Duke of Bourbon1945 Caesar and Cleopatra Harpist s Master Uncredited1948 Hamlet Priest1955 Richard III First PriestSelected writings EditDoctor Syn A Tale of the Romney Marsh 1915 The Slype 1927 Jet And Ivory 1934 Doctor Syn on the High Seas 1935 Doctor Syn Returns 1936 Further Adventures of Doctor Syn 1936 Courageous Exploits of Doctor Syn 1938 Amazing Quest of Doctor Syn 1939 Shadow of Doctor Syn 1944 Children Of The Garter The House Of Jeffreys Herod s Peal The Vandekkers Sybil Thorndike The Master Of The Macabre 1946 In the Steps of Shakespeare 1950 References Edit Find a Grave Russell Thorndike Retrieved 21 December 2020 Workman Christopher Howarth Troy 2016 Tome of Terror Horror Films of the Silent Era Midnight Marquee Press p 252 ISBN 978 1936168 68 2 Workman Christopher Howarth Troy 2016 Tome of Terror Horror Films of the Silent Era Midnight Marquee Press p 252 ISBN 978 1936168 68 2 Keith Swallow The Book of Syn Russell Thorndike Dr Syn and the Romney Marsh pub Edgerton 2013 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Russell Thorndike Works by Russell Thorndike in eBook form at Standard Ebooks Works by or about Russell Thorndike at Internet Archive Russell Thorndike at IMDb Works by Russell Thorndike at LibriVox public domain audiobooks Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Russell Thorndike amp oldid 1141103456, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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