Huntley Wright facts for kids
Huntley Wright (born August 7, 1868 – died July 10, 1941) was a famous English actor. He was known for his work on stage and in films. He was also a comedian, dancer, and singer. Many people remember him for creating roles in popular Edwardian musical comedies.
His acting career lasted over 50 years. He started performing with his family's traveling theater company. Later, he toured widely in different comedies and also performed in London. In 1895, he went to South Africa for a musical comedy called The Shop Girl. From 1896, he spent ten years creating characters in very popular musical comedies for George Edwardes at Daly's Theatre. He continued acting in musicals in London's West End and on Broadway until World War I. During the war, he served in the British Army. After the war, he kept acting in comedies, musicals, and dramas. He also often broadcast on the radio and appeared in several films.
Wright's daughter, Betty Huntley-Wright, also became a successful actress in television and films.
Early Life and Stage Beginnings
Huntley Wright was born Walter Thomas Curtis Wright in London. He was one of five children. His parents, Frederick Wright, Sr. and Jessie Francis, were both actors and comedians. His brother, Fred Wright Jr., and his sisters, Maria "Marie" Wright and Ada "Haidee" Wright, and brother, Albert "Bertie" Wright, were all actors too.
Wright went to George Watson's College in Edinburgh. He was a very good football player there. He kept playing until his sports injuries put his acting career at risk. He wanted to join the navy, but his eyesight was not good enough. Even though his parents did not approve, he decided to become an actor.
His first real stage role was as a teenager. He played Dr Winsley Andrewes in a play called False Lights. This was with his family's touring group, the Frederick Wright Dramatic Company. He used the stage name Walter Huntley at first. In 1889, he changed it to the more famous Huntley Wright.
After several years of touring, he performed in London's West End again in 1891. He played Springe the birdcatcher in Fate and Fortune. For three years, he toured in his own burlesque show, Dashing Prince Hal. In 1894, he had a short time at Terry's Theatre. He played in King Kodak and The Foundling. He also played Dr. Montague Brierly in A Gaiety Girl at Daly's Theatre. Then he went to South Africa with one of George Edwardes's companies. He played Miggles in The Shop Girl. When he returned to London, he joined Edwardes' show An Artist's Model at the Lyric Theatre.
A Star of Musical Comedy
In 1896, George Edwardes hired Wright for regular roles. He performed in Edwardes' musical comedies at Daly's Theatre in London. Many people remember his ten years at Daly's Theatre, from 1896 to 1905. Wright performed and created characters in many of Edwardes' most famous musical comedies. These included:
- The Geisha (1896, as Wun-Hi)
- A Greek Slave (1898, as Heliodorus)
- San Toy (1899, as Li)
- A Country Girl (1902, as Barry)
- The Cingalee (1904, as Chambhuddy Ram)
- The Little Michus (1905, as Bagnolet)
- See-See (1906, as Hang-Kee)
People who saw him in these shows remembered his neat, lively, bird-like movements. They also loved his clear speaking and funny actions.
In 1898, Wright married actress Christine Monica Margaret Taylor. They later separated. In 1911, Wright married Mary Smith, also known as Mary Fraser. They had three children. One of their children, Betty Huntley-Wright, became a successful actress in television and films.
In 1905, Wright also worked for Charles Frohman at the Comedy Theatre. He played Montague Sibsey in The Mountain Climber. In 1907, he performed on Broadway in Les p'tites Michu and The Dairy Maids. Back in England, he appeared in many shows. These included King of Cadonia (1908), Dear Little Denmark (1909), and The Girl in the Train (1910). He also performed in The Count of Luxembourg (1911) and Autumn Manoeuvres (1912). In 1913, he was at the Coliseum in a short musical comedy called Simple 'Earted Bill.
Later Career and Films
During World War I, Huntley Wright joined the British Army. He started as a Trooper in the Middlesex Yeomanry. Later, he became an officer, a Second Lieutenant. He ended the war as a Lieutenant in the Army Service Corps. He left the army in 1919.
He was back on stage in 1919 in Three Pips and a Petticoat. In 1920, he was in A Breath of Fresh Air. He played Poire in Sybil at Daly's in 1921. Wright's later stage roles included Suitangi in The Lady of the Rose (1922 and 1929). He also played Joseph Calicot in Madame Pompadour (1923). In May 1929, he made his 5,000th appearance at Daly's Theatre. This was during a new showing of The Lady of the Rose. In 1931, he played Gaspard in Les cloches de Corneville. Critics praised his "remarkable old-school acting." In 1935, Wright took on a serious role in The Unknown Warrior. He also received praise for playing Dunce in The Soldier's Fortune (1935).
Wright was one of the first actors to broadcast often on the radio. He appeared in many operettas, plays, and musical comedies on the BBC. For example, in 1927, he starred in full radio shows of Miss Hook of Holland, The Cousin from Nowhere, and The Rose of Persia. He continued this frequent broadcasting for the rest of his career.
He also appeared in several films. These included a film version of San Toy (1902), Going Straight (1933), and The Empress and I (1933). Other films were Ich und Die Kaiserin (1933), Heart Song (1933), The Only Girl (1934), and Look up and Laugh (1935). He also appeared in an early television show called The Little Father of the Wilderness (1939).
Huntley Wright died from a heart attack at age 72 in Bangor, Wales.
