Henry Baynton (23 September 1892 inMoseley inWarwickshire,England – 2 January 1951 in London) was a BritishShakespearean actor andactor-manager of the early 20th century who in a stage career lasting 40 years is credited with playingHamlet 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 ofWilliam Shakespeare. He joined the company ofOscar Asche in 1911, and later that year joined the company ofFrank Benson, for whom he appeared asHamlet and as Demetrius inA Midsummer Night's Dream (1915). DuringWorld War I he briefly enlisted in the Inns of CourtO.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 ofH.B. Irving at theSavoy Theatre, playingLaertes to Irving'sHamlet.[3]
In 1920 Baynton formed his own theatrical company, with whom he playedOrlando inAs You Like It,Romeo inRomeo and Juliet,Shylock inThe Merchant of Venice,Brutus inJulius Caesar, the title roles inHenry V,Richard III,Hamlet,King Lear andOthello,Bottom inA Midsummer Night's Dream[4]Falstaff, andPetruchio inThe 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 theBurgomaster Mathias inThe Bells at theSavoy Theatre in 1924 with the scenery from the original production staged byHenry Irving. Baynton's performance was not favourably received by the critics, who compared him adversely toHenry 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 madebankrupt 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 inBirmingham, earning about £3 a week. In 1932 he was engaged to Phyllis Tibbetts.[6] In 1933 he married Alice Mabel Rocke Jacksonnée 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 filmAuld Lang Syne.[8] His final appearance in aShakespearean role was in 1934 when he playedCapulet inRomeo and Juliet.[3]
He died in London in 1951 aged 58.
