Editing Cedric Hardwicke (section)

===Stage===
[[File:The-Amazing-Dr-Clitterhouse-Stage-1937.jpg|thumb|Hardwicke in the 1937 Broadway production of ''[[The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (play)|The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse]]'']]

Hardwicke made his first appearance on stage at the [[Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Theatre]], London in 1912 during the run of Frederick Melville's melodrama ''The Monk and the Woman'', when he took over the part of Brother John.<ref name=who/> During this year, he was at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]] understudying, and subsequently appeared at the [[Garrick Theatre]] in Charles Klein's play ''Find the Woman'', and ''[[Trust the People]]''.<ref name=who/> In 1913, he joined [[Frank Benson (actor)|Benson's Company]] and toured in the provinces, South Africa, and Rhodesia.<ref name=who/> During 1914 he toured with Miss Darragh (Letitia Marion Dallas, d. 1917) in Laurence Irving's play ''The Unwritten Law'', and he appeared at the [[Old Vic]] in 1914 as Malcolm in ''[[Macbeth]]'', Tranio in ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'', the gravedigger in ''[[Hamlet]]'', and other roles.<ref name=who/>

After serving in the British Army in WWI, he resumed his acting career. In January 1922, he joined the [[Birmingham Repertory Theatre|Birmingham Repertory Company]], playing a range of parts from the drooping young lover Faulkland in ''[[The Rivals]]'' to the roistering Sir Toby Belch in ''[[Twelfth Night]]''.<ref name=who/>

He played many classical roles on stage, appearing at London's top theatres, making his name on the stage performing works by [[George Bernard Shaw]], who said that Hardwicke was his fifth favourite actor after the four [[Marx Brothers]]. As one of the leading Shavian actors of his generation, Hardwicke starred in ''[[Caesar and Cleopatra (play)|Caesar and Cleopatra]]'', ''[[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]]'', ''[[The Apple Cart]]'', ''[[Candida (play)|Candida]]'', ''Too True to Be Good'', and ''[[Man and Superman|Don Juan in Hell]]'', making such an impression that at the age of 41 he became the youngest actor to be [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Blum |first=Daniel |title=Daniel Blum's Screen World |year=1966 |publisher=Biblo-Moser |isbn=0819603066 |pages=220 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EQrtw8lzEg8C&dq=%22youngest+actor+ever++to+be+knighted%22&pg=PA220}}</ref> (this occurred in the 1934 New Year's Honours; [[Laurence Olivier]] subsequently took the record in 1947 when he was knighted at the age of 40). Other stage successes included ''[[The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (play)|The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse]]'', ''[[Antigone (Anouilh)|Antigone]]'' and ''[[A Majority of One]]'', winning a [[Tony Award]] nomination for his performance as a Japanese diplomat.<ref name="ibdb"/>

In 1928, whilst appearing with [[Edith Day]], [[Paul Robeson]] and [[Alberta Hunter]] in the London production of ''[[Show Boat]]'', he married actress Helena Pickard.<ref name="times"/>

In December 1935, Hardwicke was elected Rede Lecturer to [[Cambridge University]] for 1936, he took as his subject "The Drama Tomorrow".<ref name=dnb>W. A. Darlington, W. A. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33704Hardwicke profile], rev. K.D. Reynolds, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2008, accessed 20 March 2013 {{ODNBsub}}<!-- ISBN needed --></ref> In the late 1930s, he moved to the U.S., initially for film work. In the early 1940s, he continued his stage career on tours and in New York.<ref name=dnb/>

In 1944, Hardwicke returned to Britain, again touring, and reappeared on the London stage, at the [[Westminster Theatre]], on 29 March 1945, as Richard Varwell in a revival of [[Eden Phillpotts|Eden]] and [[Adelaide Phillpotts]]' comedy ''[[Yellow Sands (play)|Yellow Sands]]'', and subsequently toured in this on the continent. He returned to America late in 1945 and appeared with [[Ethel Barrymore]] in December in a revival of Shaw's ''[[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]]'', and continued on the New York stage the following year. In 1946, he starred opposite [[Katharine Cornell]] as King Creon in her production of [[Jean Anouilh]]'s adaptation of the Greek tragedy ''Antigone''.<ref name="ibdb"/><ref>Mosel, "Leading Lady: The World and Theatre of Katharine Cornell"</ref>

In 1948, he joined the [[Old Vic]] Company at the [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]] to play Sir Toby Belch, Doctor Faustus, and Gaev in ''[[The Cherry Orchard]]'', but according to critic and biographer W.A. Darlington, "it was about this time that he confessed to a friend that he was finding the competition in London too hot for him", and he moved permanently to the U.S.<ref name=dnb/> In 1951–52, he appeared on Broadway in Shaw's ''Don Juan in Hell'' with [[Agnes Moorehead]], [[Charles Boyer]] and [[Charles Laughton]].<ref name="ibdb">{{IBDB name|44113}}</ref>