Donald Wolfit
Donald Wolfit, from 1957 Sir Donald Wolfit ( born April 20, 1902 in Newark-on -Trent, Nottinghamshire, England; † February 17, 1968 in London, England ) was a British actor.
Life and work
Wolfit began his stage career in 1920 and soon made a name as Shakespeare - performer. In 1936 he first appeared at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford- upon- Avon. Alone at the beach London Theatre he appeared during the Second World War 112 times during so-called Shakespeare lunch -time performances. This was followed by about a hundred other performances as part of repertory performances at the Scala Theatre. In 1937 he founded his own company, with which he conducted tours among other things to Cairo, Paris, Brussels, New York and Canada. In 1957 he was knighted.
In the film since 1934, he often received great supporting cast and especially in horror substances lead roles. He portrayed the hypnotist Svengali 1954 in the eponymous film. In the way to the top and its sequel A place at the top, he played as a wealthy Mr. Brown the father of parvenus Joe Lampton illustrated by Laurence Harvey.