H. B. Irving | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Henry Brodribb Irving[1] (1870-08-05)5 August 1870 London, England |
| Died | 17 October 1919(1919-10-17) (aged 49) London, England |
| Other names | Harry Brodribb |
| Spouse | Dorothea Baird |
Harry Brodribb Irving (5 August 1870 – 17 October 1919), was a British stage actor andactor-manager; the eldest son ofSir Henry Irving and his wife Florence (née O'Callaghan), and father of designerLaurence Irving and actressElizabeth Irving.
Although, as a child, he appeared a couple of times in his father's productions, it was intended that he would become a lawyer. He attendedMarlborough College andNew College, Oxford where he studied law and appeared in some student productions. Afterwards, in 1894, he was called to the Bar at theInner Temple, but instead of pursuing a career as abarrister he decided to become an actor, taking the stage nameH. B. Irving to distinguish himself from his father.
His first appearance on the stage, at age of twenty-one, was at theGarrick Theatre,London, inSchool. In 1906 he toured with success throughout theUnited States, appearing in plays made memorable by his father,The Lyons Mail,Charles I, andThe Bells. In 1905 he gave a lecture, largely autobiographical, to theAcademy of Dramatic Art in London. Inevitably, his early years as an actor were spent in the shadow of his father, especially as, at first, he was a member ofSir Henry Irving's Company.
In 1896, he marriedDorothea Baird, who, after playing the part ofTrilby the year before, was, at that time, the best-known actress in Britain. Irving and Dorothea had a sonLaurence, who became a well-known Hollywood art director, and a daughterElizabeth. He continued as part of his father's company, but soon felt the need to branch out. In 1898, he joinedGeorge Alexander at theSt James's Theatre where he playedDon John inMuch Ado About Nothing, and appeared in the surprising hit,The Ambassador, a play written byPearl Mary Teresa Craigie.
For the following seven years, the couple, selecting the parts that appealed to them, moved between companies, sometimes together and sometimes separately. In 1900, they both appeared inBeerbohm Tree's production ofA Midsummer Night's Dream that ran for 153 performances atHer Majesty's Theatre.
In 1904, only a year before his father's sudden death on 13 October 1905, Irving playedHamlet for the first time. The production byOtho Stuart, which was a popular success, was presented at theAdelphi Theatre, withOscar Asche asClaudius,Walter Hampden asLaertes andLily Brayton asOphelia.
After his father's death, he established his own company, which included his wife, and toured most provincial cities, playing mainly repeats of Sir Henry Irving's best remembered performances. For the opening night of the newKing's Theatre inSouthsea he presentedCharles I,The Bells andThe Lyons Mail. Occasionally, other plays were presented including, most successfully,Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at theQueen's Theatre,London. Film historian Troy Howarth writes "Some sources credit (Irving), who played Jekyll and Hyde on stage, as the director ofThe Duality of Man (a 1910 British film adaptation of the Jekyll and Hyde story)....".[2][3]
In 1911, Irving, Baird and their London Company touredAustralia, again presentingHamlet. Two years later, Baird retired from the stage, while Irving kept on performing. In 1913 he visited South Africa, and a photograph records his dinner with the Owl Club in Cape Town. In 1914, he appeared withBasil Rathbone inThe Sin of David at theSavoy Theatre.
DuringWorld War I, Irving withdrew from the theatre and returned to the law, writing the study for which he is now most famous,A Book of Remarkable Criminals,[4] originally published in 1918, which examined the lives, motivations and crimes of some infamous murderers. He had already publishedLife of Judge Jeffreys,[5] andStudies of French Criminals[6] and other papers on the subject. After spending twenty years of his life dedicated to the theatre, his greatest success came from being what it was intended he should be, a legal expert.
Irving was a founding member ofArthur Conan Doyle'sOur Society, along with Arthur Diósy, the author J. B. Atlay, the coronerIngleby Oddie, and others. Originally named "Crimes Club", it continues to flourish in London, where criminals and criminology are discussed at regularly held dinners.[7]
He died on 17 October 1919, at his residence inCumberland Terrace,Regent's Park, following a long illness.[8]
Holdroyd, Michael,A Strange Eventful History – The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving, and Their Remarkable Families, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York, 2008.
