Editing Donald Wolfit

{{Short description|English actor-manager (1902–1968)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix        = [[Sir]]
| name                    = Donald Wolfit
| image                   = DonaldWolfit.jpg
| caption                 = Wolfit in 1965
| birth_date              = {{Birth date|df=yes|1902|4|20}}
| birth_place             = [[Balderton|New Balderton]], [[Nottinghamshire]], England
| death_date              = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1968|2|17|1902|4|20}}
| death_place             = [[Hammersmith]], London, England
| occupation              = Actor-manager
| honorific suffix        = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}}
| birthname               = Donald Woolfitt
| yearsactive             = 1924–1968
| spouse                  = Chris Castor (1928–1934)<br />Susan Katherine Anthony<br />Rosalind Iden (m.1948)
}}

'''Sir Donald Wolfit''' (born '''Donald Woolfitt'''; 20 April 1902 – 17 February 1968) was an English [[actor-manager]], known for his touring productions of Shakespeare. He was especially renowned for his portrayal of [[King Lear]].

Born to a conventional middle-class family in [[Nottinghamshire]], Wolfit was stage-struck from an early age. His debut was at the Robin Hood Opera House at Aveling to which he cycled from school to join the theatre rep company. After a brief spell as a teacher he joined the touring company of the actor-manager [[Charles Doran]], and later that of [[Fred Terry]]. He made his London début in 1924 and simplified the spelling of his surname from Woolfitt to Wolfit.

In 1929 Wolfit joined [[Lilian Baylis]]'s company at the [[Old Vic]] but developed a strong antipathy to the leading man, [[John Gielgud]], and left the company after a single season. He joined the [[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre]] companies for the festivals of 1936 and 1937, in thirteen major roles, winning excellent reviews for his performance as [[Hamlet]]. He then set up his own touring company, taking the plays of Shakespeare and others all round Britain and from time to time overseas. He continued to appear in the [[West End theatre|West End]] and made several films, but his main concern was for his touring company. Its standards were criticised, but several  members moved on to greater fame, including [[Harold Pinter]] and [[Brian Rix]].

==Life and career==

===Early years===
Wolfit was born at [[Balderton|New Balderton]], near [[Newark-on-Trent]], [[Nottinghamshire]], on 20 April 1902, the second son  and fourth of five children of William Pearce Woolfitt and his wife Emma, ''née'' Tomlinson.<ref>Harwood, pp. 6–8</ref> It was a conventional household; Woolfitt senior was an [[Anglican]] churchgoer, a [[Conservative party (UK)|Conservative]] supporter and a [[Freemason]].{{refn|His son continued the attachment to Freemasonry, into which he was initiated by his father in 1937. He became Master of the Green Room Lodge and a Grand Officer.<ref>Harwood, p. 262</ref>|group=n}} From his early childhood Wolfit wanted to become an actor, despite his father's disapproval.<ref>Harwood, p. 32</ref>

After education at  [[Magnus Church of England School|Magnus Grammar School]] in Newark he was briefly a schoolmaster in [[Eastbourne]] before successfully auditioning for the actor-manager [[Charles Doran]].<ref>Harwood, pp. 43</ref> Doran's touring company was a training ground for many British actors, including [[Ralph Richardson]], [[Cecil Parker]], [[Edith Sharpe]], [[Norman Shelley]], [[Abraham Sofaer]] and [[Francis L. Sullivan|Francis{{space}}L Sullivan]].<ref>Trewin, J. C. "A man of many parts", ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'', 25 December 1982, p. 61; and Hobson, p. 11</ref> Wolfit's début role, at the [[York Theatre Royal|Theatre Royal, York]] on 13 September 1920, was Biondello in Doran's production of ''[[The Taming of The Shrew]]''.<ref name=ww>Gaye, pp. 1327–1330</ref> Between his engagement with Doran and his [[West End theatre|West End]] début in 1924 he toured with the companies of Alexander Marsh and later [[Fred Terry]].<ref>Harwood, pp. 55 and 61</ref> For the rest of his life Wolfit acknowledged his debt to the latter for what he had learnt from him.<ref>Gielgud, p. 372</ref>

Wolfit made his London début on 26 November 1924 at the [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]], as Phirous in [[Matheson Lang]]'s production of  ''The Wandering Jew''.<ref name=ww/> At about this time he simplified the spelling of his surname from Woolfitt to Wolfit.<ref>Harwood, p. 68</ref> He appeared in supporting roles in a variety of West End productions, and at St George's, Westminster, on 16 April 1928, he married an actress, Chris Frances Castor, with whom he had a daughter Margaret Wolfit who was also an actress.<ref name=dnb/><ref>"Marriages", ''Newark Herald'', 28 April 1928, p. 5</ref> The marriage lasted until 1933, when the couple divorced.<ref>Harwood, p. 117</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wolfitendowmentfund.org.uk/a-biographical-sketch-of-donald-wolfit/ | title=A Biographical Sketch of Donald Wolfit &#124; Sir Donald Wolfit Charitable Trust }}</ref>

In 1929 Wolfit joined [[Lilian Baylis]]'s company at the [[Old Vic]] and played Tybalt in ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', Cassius in ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'', Touchstone in ''[[As You Like It]]'', Macduff in ''[[Macbeth]]'' and Claudius in ''[[Hamlet]]''.<ref name=ww/> The company's leading man was [[John Gielgud]], to whom Wolfit took a strong and lasting dislike, envious of Gielgud's success and being what the biographer [[Sheridan Morley]] describes as "virulently anti-homosexual".<ref name=m97>Morley (2001), p. 97</ref>{{refn|According to Morley, Wolfit's homophobia was based not merely on prejudice but concern that the subtler style of acting by Gielgud and other gay actors would make his own "old-fashioned barnstorming virility" obsolete.<ref name=m97/>|group=n}} Wolfit made himself unpopular with his fellow actors and his contract was not renewed after the first year.<ref>Croall, p. 134</ref>

===1930s===
After further West End appearances, Wolfit joined [[Barry Jackson (director)|Sir Barry Jackson]]'s company in 1931 for a six-month tour of Canada. He played Robert Browning in ''[[The Barretts of Wimpole Street]]'', Young Marlowe in ''[[She Stoops to Conquer]]'', Joe Varwell in ''[[Yellow Sands (play)|Yellow Sands]]'', Coade in ''[[Dear Brutus]]'' and Shakespeare in ''[[The Dark Lady of the Sonnets]]''.<ref name=ww/> He overcame his hatred of Gielgud enough to accept the role of Thomas Mowbray in ''[[Richard of Bordeaux]]'' (1932) with a cast headed by Gielgud and [[Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies]]; the piece ran for more than a year.<ref>Harwood, p. 112</ref> Wolfit made a impression in 1933 in the title role of a one-night-only production of ''Hamlet'' at the [[Arts Theatre]] using the [[First Quarto]] text rather than the [[First Folio]] text usually given. ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' said:
{{blockindent|Mr Donald Wolfit definitely wins his spurs with his performance of Hamlet. ... His one fault – a common one to young actors – was to raise the pitch too high  before the closet scene, in which the note of hysteria was too dominant in consequence. But it was on the whole a very vivid piece of playing.<ref>"The First Quarto Hamlet", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 24 April 1933, p. 8</ref>|}}

Encouraged by this success Wolfit determined to try his hand as an actor-manager. He secured financial backing and staged a week-long drama festival in his native Newark in 1934. He presented ''[[Arms and the Man]]'', ''[[The Master Builder]]'' and ''[[Twelfth Night]]'', playing Bluntschli, Solness and Malvolio. Among the actors he engaged were [[John Clements (actor)|John Clements]], [[Elspeth March]], [[Margaret Rutherford]] and [[Margaret Webster]]. <ref>Harwood, p. 116</ref> In the same year, on 15 September, he married Susan Katherine Anthony; they had a son and a daughter.<ref name=dnb/> He made his first film appearance in 1934, as [[St Francis of Assisi]] in a short film called ''Inasmuch''. He appeared in other films in the 1930s, after which he did not work in films again until the 1950s.<ref>Harwood, p. 285</ref>

Wolfit joined the [[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre]] companies for the festivals of 1936 and 1937, with eight major roles in the first, including Hamlet, and five in the second.<ref name=ww/> His Hamlet was favourably reviewed by the critics and, according to his biographer [[Ronald Harwood]], "the performance of Hamlet elevated Wolfit to the ranks of leading players". The critic [[Audrey Williamson (critic)|Audrey Williamson]] wrote that although Wolfit was never as physically suited as Gielgud to the role of Hamlet, in his Stratford performances he gave the character "an electric drive and force of suffering ... There was thought behind every gesture and line and again and again one was struck by the subtlety of detail".<ref>Williamson, p. 268</ref> Another critic wrote, "Mr Wolfit has crowned his season's work with a distinguished performance not unworthy of comparison with the great Hamlets".<ref>Harwood, p. 127</ref> 
The director at Stratford was [[Ben Iden Payne]], whose daughter Rosalind Iden became Wolfit's leading lady. He fell in love with her, left his wife, and lived with Iden, eventually marrying her in 1948.<ref name=dnb>[[Ronald Harwood|Harwood, Ronald]], [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36992 "Wolfit, Sir Donald (1902–1968)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2024</ref>

===Second World War===
At the outbreak of the Second World War, despite strong advice to the contrary, Wolfit refused to cancel his plans for an autumn tour. He told the press, "Here is my national effort at present. They don't want me in the Services yet, so I am endeavouring to carry on with my plans. All my company are waiting to serve when called on".<ref>"Donald Wolfit continues with Shakespeare plays", ''Newark Advertiser'', 4 October 1939, p. 5</ref> The company played a season in 1940 at the [[Novelty Theatre|Kingsway Theatre]] in London. Later that year Wolfit presented lunch-time ''Scenes from Shakespeare'' at the [[Novello Theatre|Strand Theatre]] during the Blitz. A German bomb destroyed his scenery and costume store, but he continued to tour. In 1944 he visited Egypt for the [[Entertainments National Service Association]], followed by seasons in Paris and Brussels.<ref name=dnb/>

===Postwar===
Wolfit toured more often than he played in London. [[Hermione Gingold]] adapted an old theatrical joke, saying that "[[Laurence Olivier|Olivier]] is a tour-de-force, and Wolfit is forced to tour",{{refn|This theatrical jibe goes back at least to the 19th century. It was said of [[Seymour Hicks]] that whereas [[David Garrick]] and [[Henry Irving]] had been ''tours de force'', Hicks had been forced to tour. A later iteration concerned [[Lilian Braithwaite]] and [[Mrs Patrick Campbell]] in the 1930s, and the use of the phrase for Olivier and Wolfit was a recycling for a 1940s revue by Gingold's writers.<ref>Rees, p. 3</ref>|group=n}} but in fact Wolfit preferred touring with his own company and was often unhappy in West End productions, beholden to directors and acting alongside major actors to whom he was not clearly superior. He firmly believed that Shakespeare should be taken to the people, and used West End appearances and films to subsidise his touring company.<ref name=m419>Morley  (1986), p. 419</ref>  After the war he continued his annual tours in Britain and in 1947 he presented two successful tours of Canada, a season in New York and a London season at the [[Savoy Theatre]].<ref name=dnb/>

Hoping to present his company in another London season in 1949, Wolfit found that no West End theatre was available and instead he took an old [[music hall]], The Bedford, in [[Camden Town]], north London. He presented a sixteen-week season of "Shakespeare at popular prices", and played to packed houses.<ref>Harwood, pp. 207–208</ref> ''[[The Stage]]'' said of his performance in ''King Lear'', "There is no acting in our theatre to-day as magnificent as that of Donald Wolfit when he plays Lear",<ref>"The Bedford", ''The Stage'', 10 March 1949, p. 7</ref> but his productions had cheap costumes and scenery and his company was below his own standard of acting. Among the audience during this season was the young [[Bernard Levin]], who later wrote that although "Wolfit and his dreadful company ... horribly travestied Shakespeare" they nevertheless enabled young people to come to know and love the plays, and for this Levin held Wolfit's memory in high honour.<ref>Levin, pp. 148–150</ref> Levin recalled Wolfit's customary curtain call, "with the old megalomanic, as he thanked the audience, indulging in the same exhausted clutch of the curtain", which [[Stephen Potter]] said he did whether he had been "laying himself out with Lear or trotting through twenty minutes of Touchstone".<ref>Levin, p. 150; and Harwood, p. 187</ref>

In 1950 Wolfit was appointed [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]]. In that year [[Tyrone Guthrie]] invited him to return to the Old Vic to play Lear, Timon of Athens, Lord Ogleby in ''[[The Clandestine Marriage]]'', and [[Christopher Marlowe]]'s ''[[Tamburlaine the Great]]''. He had great success in these roles but according to Harwood he "chafed at performing in a company other than his own and surrounded by excellent supporting actors". He quarrelled with Guthrie and left the company.<ref name=dnb/>

Wolfit returned to actor-management in 1953 with a season at the [[King's Theatre, Hammersmith]], with a stronger company than usual. He opened to enthusiastic reviews and full houses for a double bill of  ''Oedipus the King'' and ''Oedipus at Colonus'', but, in Harwood's words, later in the season, and for the last time, "he resorted to his tired Shakespearian productions, in which, however, he gave some magnificent performances".<ref name=dnb/> Although Wolfit's touring companies were frequently criticised, they nevertheless included, among many less familiar names, future stars such as [[Peter Jones (actor)|Peter Jones]], [[Harold Pinter]], [[Eric Porter]], [[Brian Rix]], [[Frank Thornton]] and [[Richard Wattis]].<ref>Harwood, pp. 287–289</ref>

In 1957 Wolfit announced his retirement as an actor-manager, but after his [[knight bachelor|knighthood]] in that year he emerged from retirement and undertook one final tour under his own management.<ref name=dnb/> A major role of his later years was the title character of  [[Henrik Ibsen]]'s ''[[John Gabriel Borkman]]'' at the [[Duchess Theatre]] in 1963. One critic said that Wolfit's performance would have pleased Ibsen, and deserved to be regarded as the definitive portrayal.<ref name=m419/> Wolfit's last stage appearance was in the musical ''[[Robert and Elizabeth]]'', as the tyrannical Mr Barrett in 1966–67.<ref name=dnb/> 

Wolfit died in the [[Royal Masonic Hospital]], London, on 17 February 1968 and was buried in St Peter's Church, [[Hurstbourne Tarrant]], Hampshire.<ref name=dnb/>

==Filmography==
{|class="wikitable sortable" background: #f9f9f9;
! align="center" colspan=4 style="background:#A9A9F5;" | Film
|-
!Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
|1931|| ''[[Down River (1931 film)|Down River]]'' || ||
|-
|1934|| ''[[Death at Broadcasting House]]'' || Sydney Parsons ||
|-
|1935|| ''[[Drake of England]]'' || [[Thomas Doughty (explorer)|Thomas Doughty]] ||
|-
|1935|| ''[[The Silent Passenger]]'' || Henry Camberley ||
|-
|1935|| ''[[Checkmate (1935 film)|Checkmate]]'' || Jack Barton ||
|-
|1935|| ''[[Late Extra]]'' || Inspector Greville ||
|-
|1935|| ''[[Hyde Park Corner (film)|Hyde Park Corner]]'' || Howard || Uncredited
|-
|1935|| ''[[Sexton Blake and the Bearded Doctor]]'' || Percy ||
|-
|1936|| ''[[Calling the Tune]]'' || Dick Finlay ||
|-
|1938|| ''[[The Claydon Treasure Mystery]]'' || Executive || Uncredited
|-
|1952|| ''[[The Pickwick Papers (1952 film)|The Pickwick Papers]]'' || Sergeant Buzfuz ||
|-
|1952|| ''[[The Ringer (1952 film)|The Ringer]]'' || Dr. Lomond |||
|-
|1953|| ''[[Isn't Life Wonderful!]]'' || Uncle Willie ||
|-
|1954|| ''[[Svengali (1954 film)|Svengali]]'' || Svengali ||
|-
|1955|| ''[[A Prize of Gold]]'' || Stratton ||
|-
|1955|| ''[[A Man on the Beach]]'' || Carter || short
|-
|1956|| ''[[The Man in the Road]]'' || Professor Cattrell ||
|-
|1956|| ''[[Guilty? (1956 film)|Guilty?]]'' || Judge ||
|-
|1956|| ''[[Satellite in the Sky]]'' || Merrity ||
|-
|1957|| ''[[The Traitor (1957 film)|The Traitor]]'' || Colonel Price ||
|-
|1958|| ''[[I Accuse!]]'' || [[Auguste Mercier|Gen. Mercier]] ||
|-
|1958|| ''[[Blood of the Vampire]]'' || Doctor Callistratus ||
|-
|1959|| ''[[Room at the Top (1959 film)|Room at the Top]]'' || Mr. Brown ||
|-
|1959|| ''[[The Angry Hills (film)|The Angry Hills]]'' || Dr. Stergion ||
|-
|1959|| ''[[The Rough and the Smooth]]'' || Lord Drewell ||
|-
|1959|| ''[[The House of the Seven Hawks]]'' || Inspector Van Der Stoor ||
|-
|1960|| ''[[The Hands of Orlac (1960 film)|The Hands of Orlac]]'' || Professor Volchett ||
|-
|1961|| ''[[The Mark (1961 film)|The Mark]]'' || Andrew Clive ||
|-
|1962|| ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' || General [[Archibald Murray]] ||
|-
|1963|| ''[[Dr. Crippen (1962 film)|Dr. Crippen]]'' ||[[R. D. Muir]] ||
|-
|1964|| ''[[Becket (1964 film)|Becket]]'' || [[Gilbert Foliot|Bishop Folliot]] ||
|-
|1965|| ''[[Ninety Degrees in the Shade]]'' || Bazant ||
|-
|1965|| ''[[Life at the Top (film)|Life at the Top]]'' || Abe Brown ||
|-
|1966|| ''[[The Sandwich Man (1966 film)|The Sandwich Man]]'' || Car Salesman ||
|-
|1968|| ''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]]'' || [[Macbeth (character)|Macbeth]] in '[[Macbeth]]' ||
|-
|1968|| ''[[Decline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher]]'' || Dr. Augustus Fagan || (final film role)
|}

==Notes, references and sources==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=n}}
===References===
{{Reflist}}
===Sources===
* {{cite book |last=Croall |first=Jonathan |year=2000|authorlink=Jonathan Croall |title=Gielgud&nbsp;– A Theatrical Life, 1904–2000 |location=London |publisher=Methuen |isbn=978-0-41-374560-6}}
*{{cite book | editor-last = Gaye | editor-first = Freda  | year = 1967 | title = Who's Who in the Theatre | edition = fourteenth | location = London | publisher = Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons | oclc = 5997224 }}
* {{cite book |last=Gielgud |first=John|authorlink=John Gielgud |year=2000 |title=Gielgud on Gielgud&nbsp;– ''volume comprising reprints of'' Early Stages ''and'' Backward Glances |orig-year=1939 and 1989 |location=London |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |isbn=978-0-34-079502-6}}
*{{cite book | last =Harwood | first =Ronald|authorlink=Ronald Harwood | title =Sir Donald Wolfit, CBE  | date =1983| location =Oxford | publisher =Amber Lane Press | url=https://archive.org/details/sirdonaldwolfitc0000harw/page/n17/mode/2up | isbn = 978-0-90-639943-9}}
* {{cite book | last= Hobson | first= Harold|authorlink=Harold Hobson| year= 1958| title= Ralph Richardson | location= London | publisher= Rockliff | oclc= 3797774}}
* {{cite book | last= Morley | first= Sheridan | author-link= Sheridan Morley | title= The Great Stage Stars | year= 1986 | location= London | publisher= Angus & Robertson | isbn= 978-0-8160-1401-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Morley |first=Sheridan|year=2001 |title=John G&nbsp;– The Authorised Biography of John Gielgud |location=London |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |isbn=978-0-34-036803-9}}
*{{cite book | last =Rees | first = Nigel| authorlink=Nigel Rees| title =Quips, Slurs and Gaffes | date =2002 | location = London| publisher = Rigel Publications for Marks and Spencer| url =https://archive.org/details/quipsslursgaffes0000nige/page/n1/mode/2up }} (no ISBN or OCLC number)
*{{cite book | last = Williamson| first =Audrey |authorlink=Audrey Williamson (critic)| title =Theatre of Two Decades | date =1951 | location = London| publisher =Rockliffe | oclc =67409885 }}
==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [http://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadid=00153 Donald Wolfit Papers] and the [http://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadid=00543 Chris Castor Papers] at the [[Harry Ransom Center]]
* [https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadID=00340 John Mayes Family Papers] at the [[Harry Ransom Center]]
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name|0938372}}
* [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0436191210/ Amazon.com link to Wolfit biography]
* {{Find a Grave|6917490}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfit, Donald}}
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:British people of English descent]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:Actors awarded knighthoods]]
[[Category:Actor-managers]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Male actors from Nottinghamshire]]
[[Category:People educated at Magnus Church of England School]]
[[Category:People from Balderton]]
[[Category:English male Shakespearean actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:People from Hammersmith]]
[[Category:20th-century theatre managers]]
[[Category:Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham]]
[[Category:Actors from Newark and Sherwood]]