Frank Benson (actor)

Robert Francis "Frank" Benson (* November 4, 1858 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, † December 31, 1939 in London ) was an English actor.

Life

Benson came in 1858 as son of William Benson to the world. He attended Winchester College and later the New College at Oxford University, where he is engaged as an athlete and actor. As a player, he took in 1882 a single time in the tournament of Wimbledon in part, and reached the semi-finals. After completing his studies, he continued to pursue his acting career in 1882 and received the role of Count Paris in Romeo and Juliet at the Lyceum Theatre in London, under the director Henry Irving.

In 1883 he founded with Walter Bentley his own actor group with which he celebrated in the following decades in England success and became one of the most influential figures in British theater scene. A member of his group, Gertrude Constance Cockburn, he married in 1886. Benson focused on the works of William Shakespeare and was as of 1888 Director of the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford- upon- Avon. In 1901 he founded an acting school. In 1916 he was defeated by King George V knighted ( Knight Bachelor).

1935, at the age of 77 years, Benson has appeared in a supporting role in American film drama The Great Impersonation. He died four years later in London's Kensington.

Sources and links

• Encyclopædia Britannica. 11th edition (1911 )
• Robert Francis (Frank) Benson. tennisarchives.com, accessed on 14 November 2012 ( English).
• Collins, B.: History of tennis. 2nd edition. New Chapter Press, New York, 2010. ISBN 978-0-942257-70-0, S 414

• Theater actors
• Tennis players (England)
• Knight Bachelor
• Born in 1858
• Died in 1939
• Man