Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Draper Beerbohm Tree ( born December 17, 1853 in London, † July 2, 1917 ) was an English theater director and stage and film actor.
The first stage experience
The son of a grain merchant began his career as a clerk in the city of his father's office. Besides, he devoted himself as an amateur theater acting. His professional debut he gave in 1878. A year later, you could see him Merivales piece of Forget- Me-Not in the role of Prince Maleotti on the side of Genevieve Ward in Herman. 1884 Tree was the first actor to the Revd. Robert Spalding embodied in a performance of Charles Henry Hawtreys The Private Secretary.
Beginning of 1887 he was appointed manager of the ' Comedy Theatre ' in London's Panton Street. There, he succeeded as an actor, especially in the comedy The Red Lamp. Subsequently, he was appointed also to the management of the famous Haymarket Theatre, a classic West End stage. There he was in the aftermath of the production, inter alia, following stage plays involved: The Merry Wives of Windsor ( 1889), The Dancing Girl ( 1891) where he played the Duke of Guisebury, Hamlet (1892 ), A Woman of No Importance (1893 ) and especially Trilby (1895 ) with Tree in the role of Svengali, the future he should still embody many times.
His successful work at the Haymarket Theatre gave him the end of April 1897, the opening of Her Majesty's Theatre. The premiere piece was called 'The Seats of the Mighty ' from the pen of Gilbert Parker. Between 1888 and 1914, Tree a wealth of magnificently equipped Shakespeare productions to his feet, his Richard II has been praised by contemporary critics and honored with eulogies.
Activities in the 20th century
In 1904 he founded the now world-famous RADA ( Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ). In 1909 he was raised to the peerage.
Tree was famous for his spontaneous improvisations. He was the first Professor Henry Higgins in the world premiere of George Bernard Shaw's " Pygmalion " (1914 ). When he was asked by Shaw, who insisted on textgetreuem game, because of his constant improvisations at the end of " Pygmalion " for speech, Tree replied, "My end brings money, you should be happy." Shaw replied: "Your conclusions are condemnable and you should be shot! "
Herbert Beerbohm Tree played in many early silent films ( mainly Shakespeare adaptations ) with, such as in King John (1899), in the first version of The Tempest (1904 ) and the famous Macbeth Act, 1916.
Beerbohm Tree was the half-brother of the author, critic, artist and satirist Max Beerbohm. He was married to actress Maud Holt (1863-1937), from this marriage three children. He was the father of actresses Viola and Iris Tree; and grandfather of actor David Tree. Furthermore Tree was the father of seven illegitimate children, most famous of the later director Carol Reed. The actor Oliver Reed was a grandson of Tree.