Ernest Thesiger

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Ernest Thesiger, charcoal drawing by John Singer Sargent (ca.1911)

Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger CBE (born January 15, 1879 in London , † January 14, 1961 ) was an English film and stage actor who worked in both England and the United States and enjoyed an outstanding reputation as a character actor. In total, Thesinger starred in more than 50 films.

Life

Ernest Thesiger ( sometimes referred to as Ernst Thesiger in the credits ) was born into a wealthy and well-known family, he was the grandson of Baron Chelmsford and cousin of the researcher Wilfred Thesiger . After attending Marlborough College and the Slade School of Fine Art , he first worked as a painter and only occasionally appeared as an extra in plays, but then studied drama. In 1909 he had his first major success as an actor with the role of James Raleigh in the play Colonel Smith . In the meantime, his theater career was interrupted by an assignment in the First World War. After his return and further successes at the theater, Thesiger, who was meanwhile a well-known and esteemed actor, went to Broadway for the first time in 1924 , where he successfully played the role of Dauphin in George Bernhard Shaw's Saint John (Saint John) . In the following decades, Thesiger would perform repeatedly on Broadway.

Thesiger made his film debut in 1916 in JM Barries The Real Thing at Last , a satirical silent film that was designed as a parody of Macbeth and the American film industry. He also had an appearance in 1922 in the unfinished silent film Number 13 by Alfred Hitchcock . Thesiger played his first role in a sound film in 1932 in James Whale's horror comedy The House of Horror . In this film, Thesiger portrayed the owner of the house and eccentric atheist Horace Femm. In the horror drama Frankenstein's Bride (1935) with Boris Karloff , which was also directed by Whale , Thesiger played his most famous role as the Mad Scientist Dr. Septimus Praetorius, who like Dr. Frankenstein tries to create artificial life. The character created for the film of the extravagant villain Dr. Preterius also achieved fame beyond Frankenstein's bride . These two roles of Dr. Praetorius and Horace Femm are considered to be one of Thesinger's greatest acting achievements.

Between the two films directed by James Whale, Thesiger made another film with Boris Karloff , for which he returned to England with him in 1933. It's about The Ghoul , a long considered lost horror film directed by T. Hayes Hunter. Until his death, Thesiger played in some American, but mainly in British productions, such as the French ambassador in the Shakespeare film adaptation of Henry V (1944) by Laurence Olivier , in the period film Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) with Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains and as an old, stingy industrialist alongside Alec Guinness in the black comedy The Man in the White Suit (1951). From the 1950s onwards, he also appeared in guest roles on television. Thesiger's specialty in films were mainly sinister or eccentric supporting roles. In addition to his films, Thesiger worked as a stage actor until his death and had his last stage role in 1961 alongside Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud in a production of The Last Joke .

In 1927, Thesiger published his autobiography under the title Practically True . About his hobby, embroidery , he brought out the book Adventures in Embroidery in 1941 . A year before his death, the close friend of the British royal widow Maria von Teck received the Order of the British Empire for his services . He was married to Janette Mary Fernie Ranken (1877-1970) from 1917 until his death. In 1961, he passed away in his sleep one day before his 82nd birthday.

Filmography (selection)

Ernest Thesinger, portrait by William Ranken (1881–1941)

literature

  • Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 7: R - T. Robert Ryan - Lily Tomlin. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 646.
  • William K. Everson: Classics of the Horror Film. Citadel Press, Secaucus NJ 1990, ISBN 0-8065-0900-7 .

Web links

swell

  1. ^ William K. Everson: Classics of the Horror Film. 1990.
personal data
SURNAME Thesiger, Ernest
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thesiger, Ernest Frederic Graham (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH January 14, 1961
Place of death London