Cedric Hardwicke | |
|---|---|
 On the radio showThree Thirds of the Nation, 3 June 1942 | |
| Born | Cedric Webster Hardwicke (1893-02-19)19 February 1893 |
| Died | 6 August 1964(1964-08-06) (aged 71) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1912–1964 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2, includingEdward Hardwicke |
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned over 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays ofShakespeare andShaw, and his film work included leading roles in several adapted literary classics.
Hardwicke was born inLye,Worcestershire (nowWest Midlands), to Edwin Webster Hardwicke and his wife, Jessie (née Masterson). He initially attended Stourbridge Grammar School moving toBridgnorth Grammar School in Shropshire in September 1907 until July 1911. He intended to train as a doctor but failed to pass the necessary examinations.[1] He turned to the theatre and trained at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).[2]
Hardwicke enlisted at the outbreak of theFirst World War. He served with theLondon Scottish[3] from 1914 to 1921 as an officer in the Judge Advocate's branch of theBritish Army inFrance.[1] He was one of the last members of theBritish Expeditionary Force to leave France. According to theDaily Mirror 1 January 1934, Hardwicke was one of the officers who escortedThe Unknown Warrior from France, onHMSVerdun.[4]
Hardwicke made his first appearance on stage at theLyceum Theatre, London in 1912 during the run of Frederick Melville's melodramaThe Monk and the Woman, when he took over the part of Brother John.[2] During this year, he was atHer Majesty's Theatre understudying, and subsequently appeared at theGarrick Theatre in Charles Klein's playFind the Woman, andTrust the People.[2] In 1913, he joinedBenson's Company and toured in the provinces, South Africa, and Rhodesia.[2] During 1914 he toured with Miss Darragh (Letitia Marion Dallas, d. 1917) in Laurence Irving's playThe Unwritten Law, and he appeared at theOld Vic in 1914 as Malcolm inMacbeth, Tranio inThe Taming of the Shrew, the gravedigger inHamlet, and other roles.[2]
After serving in the British Army in WWI, he resumed his acting career. In January 1922, he joined theBirmingham Repertory Company, playing a range of parts from the drooping young lover Faulkland inThe Rivals to the roistering Sir Toby Belch inTwelfth Night.[2]
He played many classical roles on stage, appearing at London's top theatres, making his name on the stage performing works byGeorge Bernard Shaw, who said that Hardwicke was his fifth favourite actor after the fourMarx Brothers. As one of the leading Shavian actors of his generation, Hardwicke starred inCaesar and Cleopatra,Pygmalion,The Apple Cart,Candida,Too True to Be Good, andDon Juan in Hell, making such an impression that at the age of 41 he became the youngest actor to beknighted[5] (this occurred in the 1934 New Year's Honours;Laurence Olivier subsequently took the record in 1947 when he was knighted at the age of 40). Other stage successes includedThe Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse,Antigone andA Majority of One, winning aTony Award nomination for his performance as a Japanese diplomat.[6]
In 1928, whilst appearing withEdith Day,Paul Robeson andAlberta Hunter in the London production ofShow Boat, he married actress Helena Pickard.[7]
In December 1935, Hardwicke was elected Rede Lecturer toCambridge University for 1936, he took as his subject "The Drama Tomorrow".[8] In the late 1930s, he moved to the U.S., initially for film work. In the early 1940s, he continued his stage career on tours and in New York.[8]
In 1944, Hardwicke returned to Britain, again touring, and reappeared on the London stage, at theWestminster Theatre, on 29 March 1945, as Richard Varwell in a revival ofEden andAdelaide Phillpotts' comedyYellow Sands, and subsequently toured in this on the continent. He returned to America late in 1945 and appeared withEthel Barrymore in December in a revival of Shaw'sPygmalion, and continued on the New York stage the following year. In 1946, he starred oppositeKatharine Cornell as King Creon in her production ofJean Anouilh's adaptation of the Greek tragedyAntigone.[6][9]
In 1948, he joined theOld Vic Company at theNew Theatre to play Sir Toby Belch, Doctor Faustus, and Gaev inThe Cherry Orchard, but according to critic and biographer W.A. Darlington, "it was about this time that he confessed to a friend that he was finding the competition in London too hot for him", and he moved permanently to the U.S.[8] In 1951–52, he appeared on Broadway in Shaw'sDon Juan in Hell withAgnes Moorehead,Charles Boyer andCharles Laughton.[6]
Hardwicke's first appearance in a British film was in 1931, and from the late 1930s, he was in great demand in Hollywood. He playedDavid Livingstone oppositeSpencer Tracy'sHenry Morton Stanley inStanley and Livingstone in 1939, and also played the evilFrollo in theremake ofThe Hunchback of Notre Dame starringCharles Laughton the same year. In 1940, he played Mr. Jones in ascreen version ofJoseph Conrad's novelVictory. He starred as the unfortunate Ludwig von Frankenstein inThe Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) alongsideLon Chaney Jr. asFrankenstein's monster andBela Lugosi asYgor.[10]
Hardwicke played in films such asLes Misérables (1935) withFredric March and Charles Laughton, the first ever three-stripTechnicolor filmBecky Sharp (1935),King Solomon's Mines (1937),The Keys of the Kingdom (1944),The Winslow Boy (1948),Alfred Hitchcock'sRope (1948) withJames Stewart, and Olivier'sRichard III (1955). He was featured asKing Arthur in the comedy/musicalA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), singingBusy Doing Nothing in a trio withBing Crosby andWilliam Bendix, and as the PharaohSethi inCecil B. DeMille's 1956 filmThe Ten Commandments starringCharlton Heston asMoses.[10]
Also in 1956, Hardwicke appeared in the first episode of the second season ofAlfred Hitchcock Presents, titled "Wet Saturday", in which he portrayed Mr. Princey, an aristocratic gentleman who tries to cover up a murder to avoid public scandal. On 6 March 1958, he guest-starred on the TV seriesThe Ford Show starringTennessee Ernie Ford.[11]
In 1961, he co-starred withGertrude Berg in theFour Star Televisionsituation comedy,Mrs. G. Goes to College (retitledThe Gertrude Berg Show at mid-season). The series was cancelled after one season.
In 1945, Hardwicke playedSherlock Holmes in a BBC Radio dramatisation ofThe Speckled Band, oppositeFinlay Currie asDr. Watson. Years later, Hardwicke's sonEdward played Watson in the acclaimedGranada series.
Hardwicke played the titular role in a short-lived revival of theBulldog Drummond radio program on theMutual Broadcasting System, which ran 3 January 1954 to 28 March 1954.[12]
In 1928, he married the English actressHelena Pickard.[7] They divorced in 1948; their son was actorEdward Hardwicke. His second marriage, which produced a son, Michael, and likewise ended in divorce, was to actress Mary Scott (1921–2009), from 1950 to 1961.[citation needed][13]
A lifelong heavy smoker, he suffered fromemphysema[14] and died, 6 August 1964, at the age of 71, in New York, fromchronic obstructive pulmonary disease.[15][16] Hardwicke's body was flown back to England; after a memorial service he was cremated atGolders Green Crematorium in north London, where his ashes were scattered.
Hardwicke left two volumes of memoirs:Let's Pretend: Recollections and Reflections of a Lucky Actor, 1932 andA Victorian in Orbit: The Irreverent Memoirs (as told to James Brough), 1961.[1] He is commemorated by a sculpture byTim Tolkien at Lye, commissioned by theDudley Metropolitan Borough Council. The memorial takes the form of a giant filmstrip, the illuminated cut metal panels illustrating scenes from some of Hardwicke's better-known roles, which includeThe Hunchback of Notre Dame,Things to Come, andThe Ghost of Frankenstein. Unveiled in November 2005, it is located at Lye Cross where he lived as a child.Thorns School and Community College in neighbouringQuarry Bank has renamed its drama theatre in his honour as the Hardwicke Theatre.[17]
Hardwicke has a motion pictures star and a television star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[15]
