William Hunter Kendal (16 December 1843 – 7 November 1917) was an English actor andtheatre manager. He and his wifeMadge starred at theHaymarket in Shakespearian revivals and the old English comedies beginning in the 1860s. In the 1870s, they starred in a series of "fairy comedies" byW. S. Gilbert and in many plays on the West End with theBancrofts and others. In the 1880s, they starred at and jointly managed (withJohn Hare) theSt. James's Theatre. They then enjoyed a long touring career.
Kendal was bornWilliam Hunter Grimston in London, the middle son of portrait artist Edward Hunter Grimston, and his wife, Louisanée Rider.[1] His maternal grandfather was a painter, and the boy demonstrated early talent in painting, but his parents urged him to study medicine. He often visited theSoho Theatre to sketch the performers, which led to his trying acting, in 1861, asLouis XIV, inA Life's Revenge, billed as "Mr Kendall".[2]
Kendal continued at the Soho for two years and then played provincial theatres, including inGlasgow, where he performed for four years, withCharles Kean and others, until 1866.[3] He joinedJ. B. Buckstone's company at theHaymarket Theatre in London in 1866, where he performed in a wide variety of works, fromburlesque to Shakespeare and was particularly admired for his comic roles. In 1869 he married the actressMadge Robertson, a sister of the dramatistT. W. Robertson. As "Mr. and Mrs. Kendal", their professional careers became inseparable, and he invariably acted opposite his wife.[2]
His roles included Colonel Blake inJ. Palgrave Simpson'sA Scrap of Paper, Charles Surface opposite his wife's Lady Teazle, Orlando to her Rosalind inAs You Like It (1871), Jack Absolute to her Lydia Languish inThe Rivals (1870), and Young Marlowe to her Kate Hardcastle. He was also Captain Beauclerc inDiplomacy, William inWilliam and Susan, W. G. Wills's customized rewriting of Douglas Jerrold'sBlack-Eyed Susan, and Aubrey Tanqueray to his wife's Paula inPinero'sThe Second Mrs Tanqueray.[2] He was Pygmalion to his wife's Galatea inW. S. Gilbert'sPygmalion and Galatea (1871), and the pair starred in the series of "fairy comedies" by Gilbert in the early 1870s, includingThe Palace of Truth (1870),Broken Hearts,The Wicked World (1873) andBroken Hearts (1875), as well as Gilbert's dramaCharity (1874).[4]
Kendal and his wife starred at and managed theRoyal Court Theatre withJohn Hare. They then played at thePrince of Wales's Theatre under the management of theBancrofts inDiplomacy byB. C. Stephenson andClement Scott (1878, adapted from Sardou'sDora), among other plays. In 1879 they began a long association withJohn Hare as joint-managers of theSt. James's Theatre, where they presented a large number ofArthur Wing Pinero plays, among many others. The Kendals restored the St. James's to popularity and helped to improve the respectability of the Victorian theatre, which had fallen into disrepute among the middle classes. They imposed a high moral code both on stage and behind the scenes.[2] Some of the Kendals' other notable successes in the 1880s includedThe Squire,Impulse,The Ironmaster andA Scrap of Paper. In 1888, however, the Hare and Kendal partnership ended.[2]
From that time, the Kendals chiefly toured. They made their American debut inA Scrap of Paper in 1889, and the success of their first tour inNorth America was repeated in several successive American seasons, where they spent most of the next five years. They continued to appear in popular plays without interruption until 1908, when they both retired. They had five children, but they became estranged from them.[2]
Kendal was a skilful businessman, manager and art collector, investing his share of the theatre's profits, after making sure to purchase some jewellery for his wife and a painting for himself. He assembled a fine collection of contemporary paintings, which the couple displayed in their homes. He was a long-time member of theGarrick Club, and his wife donated a portrait of him byHugh Walpole to the club. He joined theJunior Carlton,Beefsteak, Arts,Cosmopolitan, and AA clubs.[2] He enjoyed fishing, shooting, cycling and riding.[3]
Kendal died in 1917, aged 74, in London.
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