Andre Van Gyseghem
Encyclopedia
André van Gyseghem was an English actor and theatre director who also appeared in many British television programmes.
(née Offord). He went to school in Greenwich
, then studied for the stage at RADA
. He worked initially in a music-publishing business.
He made his stage debut at the Theatre Royal, Bognor in September 1927, as Peveril Leyburn in The Constant Nymph, then in January 1928 toured as Lewis Dodd in the same play. From September 1928 to July 1930 he was engaged at the Hull Repertory Theatre, then under the direction of A. R. Whatmore
, playing a round of leading juvenile parts.
in July 1930 he played Vitek in The Macropulos Secret
. He then joined the repertory company at the Embassy Theatre
, and remained there from September 1930 until October 1934. He continued to take parts in plays, such as Florindo in The Liar and Master Klaus in The Witch
, but also began his long career as director, starting with the Agatha Christie
play Black Coffee
in December 1930. Other subsequent productions which he directed at the Embassy included
Between 1933 and 1935 he made several trips to the Soviet Union, including a year's work at Nikolay Okhlopkov
's Realistic Theatre in Moscow. He atttibuted much of his own acting expertise to the education he received there. He became a member of the Communist Party
and president of the Unity Theatre's
“Management Committee”.
In 1939 he appeared as himself in a television play Rehearsal for a Drama. In 1943 played Cecil Tempest in the film Candles at Nine
, and in 1949 Oblensky in Warning to Wantons. In 1953 he played himself again in The Limping Man
. Between 1951 and his death in 1979 he appeared in over 50 British television dramas. These included Sir Martin Shandwick in The March of the Peasants (1962).
He was one of several Number Twos
in the 1960s cult classic television series The Prisoner
. He played the retiring Number Two in the episode "It's Your Funeral
."
He married Jean Forbes-Robertson; Joanna Van Gyseghem
is their daughter.
Early life
André van Gyseghem was born on 18 August 1906 in Eltham, Kent, the son of Georges Emil van Gyseghem and his wife Minnie Evison(née Offord). He went to school in Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, then studied for the stage at RADA
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
. He worked initially in a music-publishing business.
He made his stage debut at the Theatre Royal, Bognor in September 1927, as Peveril Leyburn in The Constant Nymph, then in January 1928 toured as Lewis Dodd in the same play. From September 1928 to July 1930 he was engaged at the Hull Repertory Theatre, then under the direction of A. R. Whatmore
A. R. Whatmore
A. R. Whatmore was a British actor, playwright and producer of plays.- Early life :Arthur Reginald Whatmore was born on 30 May 1889 at Much Marcle in Herefordshire, the son of Charles Arthur Whatmore and his wife Emma...
, playing a round of leading juvenile parts.
Return to London
At the Arts TheatreArts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It now operates as the West End's smallest commercial receiving house.-History:...
in July 1930 he played Vitek in The Macropulos Secret
The Makropulos Affair
The Makropulos Affair The Makropulos Affair The Makropulos Affair (or The Makropoulos Case, or The Makropulos Secret or, literally, The Makropulos Thing; (Czech Věc Makropulos) is a three-act opera by Czech composer Leoš Janáček...
. He then joined the repertory company at the Embassy Theatre
Embassy Theatre (London)
The Embassy Theatre is a theatre at 64, Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London.- Early years :The Embassy Theatre was opened as a repertory company in September 1928 on the initiative of Sybil Arundale and Herbert Jay., when the premises of Hampstead Conservatoire of Music were adapted by architect...
, and remained there from September 1930 until October 1934. He continued to take parts in plays, such as Florindo in The Liar and Master Klaus in The Witch
Anne Pedersdotter (play)
Anne Pedersdotter is a play written in 1908 by Norwegian playwright Hans Wiers-Jenssen...
, but also began his long career as director, starting with the Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
play Black Coffee
Black Coffee (play)
Black Coffee is a play by the British crime-fiction author Agatha Christie which was produced initially in 1930. The first piece that Christie wrote for the stage, it launched a successful second career for her as a playwright....
in December 1930. Other subsequent productions which he directed at the Embassy included
- Miracle at Verdun by Hans Chlumberg, September 1932
- The Glass Wall (premiere), by E. M. DelafieldE. M. DelafieldEdmée Elizabeth Monica Dashwood, née de la Pasture , commonly known as E. M. Delafield, was a prolific English author. She is best-known for her largely autobiographical Diary of a Provincial Lady, which took the form of a journal of the life of an upper-middle class Englishwoman living mostly in a...
, February 1933 - All God's Chillun Got WingsAll God's Chillun Got Wings (play)All God's Chillun Got Wings was a 1924 play by Eugene O'Neill about miscegenation.Paul Robeson performed in the premiere, in which he portrayed the black husband of an abusive white woman who, resenting her husband's skin colour, destroys his promising career as a lawyer.-Performances:Trish Van...
, March 1933, with Paul RobesonPaul RobesonPaul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
and Flora RobsonFlora RobsonDame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:... - The Brontes of Haworth Parsonage, November 1933
- Windfall by R. C. SherriffR. C. Sherriff-External links:**...
, February 1934 - Stevedore, May 1935, with Paul RobesonPaul RobesonPaul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
and Robert AdamsRobert Adams (actor)Robert Adams was a British actor of stage and screen. He was the founder and director of the Negro Repertory Arts Theatre, one of the first professional black theatre companies in Britain.-Early years:...
Between 1933 and 1935 he made several trips to the Soviet Union, including a year's work at Nikolay Okhlopkov
Nikolay Okhlopkov
Nikolay Pavlovich Okhlopkov was a Soviet actor and theatre director who patterned his work after Meyerhold.He was born in Irkutsk, Siberia and started his acting career there in 1918...
's Realistic Theatre in Moscow. He atttibuted much of his own acting expertise to the education he received there. He became a member of the Communist Party
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
and president of the Unity Theatre's
Unity Theatre, London
The Unity Theatre was a theatre club formed in 1936, and initially based in St Judes Hall, Britannia Street, Kings Cross, in 1937 they moved to a former chapel in Goldington Street, near St Pancras, in the London Borough of Camden. Although the theatre was destroyed by fire in 1975 productions...
“Management Committee”.
In 1939 he appeared as himself in a television play Rehearsal for a Drama. In 1943 played Cecil Tempest in the film Candles at Nine
Candles at Nine
Candles at Nine is a 1944 British mystery film directed by John Harlow and starring Beatrix Lehmann, Joss Ambler and Jessie Matthews. A wealthy man jokes about being murdered for his inheritance, but is then found dead...
, and in 1949 Oblensky in Warning to Wantons. In 1953 he played himself again in The Limping Man
The Limping Man
The Limping Man is a 1953 British film directed by Cy Endfield , starring American actor Lloyd Bridges and Cape Town born actress Moira Lister. The film was based on Anthony Verney's novel Death on the Tideway and was released in the U.S...
. Between 1951 and his death in 1979 he appeared in over 50 British television dramas. These included Sir Martin Shandwick in The March of the Peasants (1962).
He was one of several Number Twos
Number Two (The Prisoner)
Number Two was the title of the chief administrator of The Village in the 1967-68 British television series The Prisoner. More than 17 different actors appeared as holders of the office during the 17-episode series .The first...
in the 1960s cult classic television series The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
. He played the retiring Number Two in the episode "It's Your Funeral
It's Your Funeral
It's Your Funeral is the eleventh episode of the television series The Prisoner. In this episode, a young successor to Number 2 plots to assassinate the retiring Number 2 and ensure his own success in the organization. -Plot summary:...
."
He married Jean Forbes-Robertson; Joanna Van Gyseghem
Joanna Van Gyseghem
Joanna Van Gyseghem is an English actress, educated at Malvern Girls' College and Trinity College, Dublin....
is their daughter.
Filmography
- Candles at NineCandles at NineCandles at Nine is a 1944 British mystery film directed by John Harlow and starring Beatrix Lehmann, Joss Ambler and Jessie Matthews. A wealthy man jokes about being murdered for his inheritance, but is then found dead...
(1944) - Warning to WantonsWarning to WantonsWarning to Wantons is a 1949 British romantic comedy film directed by Donald B. Wilson and starring Harold Warrender, Anne Vernon and David Tomlinson. A young woman escapes her strict convent school and enters high society, where she has the time of her life.-Cast:* Harold Warrender ... Count...
(1949) - The Limping ManThe Limping ManThe Limping Man is a 1953 British film directed by Cy Endfield , starring American actor Lloyd Bridges and Cape Town born actress Moira Lister. The film was based on Anthony Verney's novel Death on the Tideway and was released in the U.S...
(1953) - Face in the NightFace in the NightFace in the Night is a 1957 British crime film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Griffith Jones, Lisa Gastoni and Vincent Ball. A young woman witnesses a mailbag robbery that ends with a dead postman, but she is intimidated into not coming forwards....
(1957) - The Surgeon's KnifeThe Surgeon's KnifeThe Surgeon's Knife is a 1957 British crime film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Donald Houston, Adrienne Corri and Lyndon Brook.-Cast:* Donald Houston - Dr. Alex Waring* Adrienne Corri - Laura Shelton* Lyndon Brook - Dr. Ian Breck...
(1957) - The House of the Seven HawksThe House of the Seven HawksThe House of the Seven Hawks is a 1959 British mystery film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Robert Taylor, Nicole Maurey and Linda Christian. An American captain searching for sunken treasure becomes entangled with criminals and is arrested by the Dutch police.-Cast:* Robert Taylor ... ...
(1959) - Rotten to the Core (1965)
- CromwellCromwell (film)Cromwell is a 1970 film, based on the life of Oliver Cromwell who led the Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War and, as Lord Protector, ruled Great Britain and Ireland in the 1650s. It features an all-star cast led by Richard Harris as Cromwell and Alec Guinness as King Charles I...
(1970) - The Pied PiperThe Pied Piper (1972 film)The Pied Piper is a 1972 British-American directed by Jacques Demy and starring Jack Wild, Donald Pleasence and John Hurt and featuring Donovan and Diana Dors. It is loosely based on the legend of the Pied Piper.-Cast:* Donovan ... The Piper...
(1972)