Matheson Alexander Lang (May 15, 1879 – April 11, 1948) was a Canadian-born stage and film actor and playwright. He is best remembered for his theatrical performances in Great Britain inShakespeare plays.
Lang was born inMontreal, Quebec, Canada, the son of Rev. Gavin Lang ofInverness,Scotland, and a cousin ofCosmo Gordon Lang, who would later become Archbishop of Canterbury.[1]
Lang was educated atInverness College and theUniversity of St Andrews.[2]He made his stage debut in 1897. He became known for hisShakespearean roles in such plays asHamlet,Macbeth, andRomeo and Juliet. He also appeared in plays byHenrik Ibsen andGeorge Bernard Shaw. He performed in the theatrical companies ofSir Frank Benson,Lillie Langtry, andEllen Terry.
In 1903 he married actress NellyHutin Britton inLondon. In 1906 he played Tristram inJoseph Comyns Carr's playTristram and Iseult at theAdelphi Theatre, withLily Brayton as Iseult andOscar Asche as King Mark; Lang's wife played Arganthael. Asche afterwards usually referred to Lang as "Tristram".
Lang and his wife subsequently formed their own company, which touredIndia,South Africa, andAustralia from 1910 to 1913 performing Shakespeare. In 1913, Lang returned to England and created one of his most memorable roles, the title character inMr. Wu. He reprised this part in a 1919 silent film, and became so identified with the role that he titled his 1940 memoirsMr. Wu Looks Back. In 1914, he and Britton successfully producedThe Taming of the Shrew,The Merchant of Venice, and Hamlet at theOld Vic.
In 1916, Lang became one of the first major theatre stars to act on film, asShylock inThe Merchant of Venice, with his wife asPortia. He went on to appear in over 30 films and was one of Britain's leading movie stars of the 1920s. Among his memorable roles wereGuy Fawkes (1923), Matthias inThe Wandering Jew (1923) (which also featured his wife as Judith),Henry IV inHenry, King of Navarre (1924), andHenry V inRoyal Cavalcade (1935).
Lang also wrote the playsCarnival (1919) andThe Purple Mask (1920), both of which were produced onBroadway and made into films.The filmThe Chinese Bungalow (1940 film), was adapted from his play of the same name, in which he had, in his turn, played the lead of Yuan Sing, in the first film adaptation, in 1926, and again, in 1930.
In 1940 the Langs were staying with their old friendDornford Yates and his wife at their house nearPau inFrance when France surrendered. The Langs had to escape from the advancing Germans throughSpain toPortugal.[3]
Matheson Lang died inBridgetown,Barbados, at age 68.
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