HB Irving

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Henry Brodrip "Harry" Irving (born August 5, 1870 in London , † October 17, 1919 ibid) was an English actor , theater manager and author . He was the father of set designer and illustrator Laurence Irving and actress Elizabeth Irving .

Life

The son of actor and theater manager Sir Henry Irving studied law at Oxford University . He performed there in various student performances and after graduation decided to become an actor. He became a member of his father's acting company and took on the stage name HB Irving to differentiate himself from him . In 1896 he married the actress Dorothea Baird .

In 1898 he went to George Alexander's St James's Theater and played Don Juan in 52 performances in William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing . Under the pseudonym John Oliver Hobbes , he appeared in Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie's play The Ambassador . In 1900 he and his wife appeared more than 150 times in Herbert Beerbohm Tree's production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream on the stage of Her Majesty's Theater .

In 1904 he first played Hamlet in a production at the Royal Adelphi Theater with Oscar Asche as Claudius, Walter Hampden as Leartes and Lily Brayton as Ophelia. After the death of his father, he and his wife founded their own theater company, with which he traveled through England and, in addition to Hamlet, gave plays such as Charles I , The Bells and The Lyons Mail (made into a film with him in 1919, directed by Fred Paul ). Beginning in 1910, he led the London Queens Theater , a stage adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson story Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde up.

In 1911 he went on a successful tour of Australia with his wife and his London company, which was managed by James Cassius Williamson . In 1913 his wife retired from the stage while Irving continued to perform, including in 1914 with Basil Rathbone in The Sin of David at the Savoy Theater . During the First World War he gave up acting and wrote a book that became his greatest success: Book of Remarkable Criminals , in which he traced the lives, motives and crimes of famous murderers.

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personal data
SURNAME Irving, HB
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Irving, Henry Brodrip (full name); Irving, Harry (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English actor, theater manager and author
DATE OF BIRTH August 5, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH London , England
DATE OF DEATH October 17, 1919
Place of death London , England