W. H. Berry
Encyclopedia
William Henry Berry always billed as W. H. Berry, was an English comic actor. After learning his craft in pierrot
and concert entertainments, he was spotted by the actor-manager George Grossmith Jr., and appeared in a series of musical comedies
in comic character roles. His greatest success was as Mr. Meebles, the hapless magistrate in The Boy
in 1917.
Berry was a pioneer broadcaster, making radio appearances within months of the launch of the BBC. He was still broadcasting in the late 1930s. He also appeared in variety
.
plays and musical shows. He became fascinated with the theatre, and got a job as assistant business manager to the actor-manager Wilson Barrett
at the old Globe Theatre
. In 1898, Barrett gave up the Globe, and left England to tour Australia, leaving Berry unemployed. He took a job in a factory, where his colleagues found him so entertaining that he was quickly in demand at local dinners and concerts, and was able to give up the factory job. While still at the factory, he met Kitty Hanson, a typist, whom he married.
Berry developed his professional skills performing as a concert artist in the winter and a pierrot with seaside concert parties in the summer. His wife abandoned typing and went into the theatrical profession with him. At one of his concert engagements George Grossmith Jr. and Ivan Caryll
saw him and were impressed enough to invite Berry and his wife to join the cast of a forthcoming musical comedy
to be presented by George Edwardes
. Berry appeared with Lily Elsie
in The Merry Widow
, in 1907; his burlesque dance with Gabrielle Ray
was one of the hits of the show.
After this, Berry was seen in a string of shows including Havana
(1908), A Waltz Dream (1908), The Dollar Princess
(1909), The Count of Luxembourg
(1911), High Jinks (1916), and his greatest success, The Boy
(1917), in which he played Mr. Meebles, the respectable magistrate who finds himself at the centre of farcical uproar. He also starred in The Naughty Princess
(1920) and appeared as Christian Velt in Lilac Time
in several revivals in the 1920s and 1930s. He appeared in Princess Charming
in 1926.
As one of the earliest broadcasters, Berry first appeared on radio in 1922 in the BBC's first months. Among his radio achievements, The Times
singled out his later broadcast as Mr. Micawber
in 1938. He also appeared in variety
.
Kitty Berry died in 1947. At the age of 77, Berry married Agnes Lyndon, who had nursed him through a serious illness. Berry died at his home in Herne Bay
on the coast of Kent
, at the age of 81.
Pierrot
Pierrot is a stock character of pantomime and Commedia dell'Arte whose origins are in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne; the name is a hypocorism of Pierre , via the suffix -ot. His character in postmodern popular culture—in...
and concert entertainments, he was spotted by the actor-manager George Grossmith Jr., and appeared in a series of musical comedies
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
in comic character roles. His greatest success was as Mr. Meebles, the hapless magistrate in The Boy
The Boy (musical)
The Boy is a musical comedy with a book by Fred Thompson and Percy Greenbank , music by Lionel Monckton and Howard Talbot and lyrics by Greenbank and Adrian Ross...
in 1917.
Berry was a pioneer broadcaster, making radio appearances within months of the launch of the BBC. He was still broadcasting in the late 1930s. He also appeared in variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
.
Biography
Berry was born in London. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to the theatre booking-agency Keith, Prowse and Co., through which he had access to free seats for West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
plays and musical shows. He became fascinated with the theatre, and got a job as assistant business manager to the actor-manager Wilson Barrett
Wilson Barrett
Wilson Barrett was an English manager, actor, and playwright.With his company, Barrett is credited with attracting the largest crowds of English theatregoers ever because of his success with melodrama, an instance being his production of The Silver King at the Princess's Theatre of London.The...
at the old Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre (Newcastle Street)
The Globe was a Victorian theatre built in 1868 and demolished in 1902. It was the third of five London theatres to bear the name. It was also known at various times as the Royal Globe Theatre or Globe Theatre Royal. Its repertoire consisted mainly of comedies and musical shows...
. In 1898, Barrett gave up the Globe, and left England to tour Australia, leaving Berry unemployed. He took a job in a factory, where his colleagues found him so entertaining that he was quickly in demand at local dinners and concerts, and was able to give up the factory job. While still at the factory, he met Kitty Hanson, a typist, whom he married.
Berry developed his professional skills performing as a concert artist in the winter and a pierrot with seaside concert parties in the summer. His wife abandoned typing and went into the theatrical profession with him. At one of his concert engagements George Grossmith Jr. and Ivan Caryll
Ivan Caryll
Félix Marie Henri Tilkin , better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language...
saw him and were impressed enough to invite Berry and his wife to join the cast of a forthcoming musical comedy
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
to be presented by George Edwardes
George Edwardes
George Joseph Edwardes was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond....
. Berry appeared with Lily Elsie
Lily Elsie
Lily Elsie was a popular English actress and singer during the Edwardian era, best known for her starring role in the hit London premiere of Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow....
in The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
, in 1907; his burlesque dance with Gabrielle Ray
Gabrielle Ray
Gabrielle Ray , was an English stage actress, dancer and singer, best known for her roles in Edwardian musical comedies....
was one of the hits of the show.
After this, Berry was seen in a string of shows including Havana
Havana (Edwardian musical)
Havana is an Edwardian musical comedy in three acts, with a book by George Grossmith, Jr. and Graham Hill, music by Leslie Stuart, lyrics by Adrian Ross and additional lyrics by George Arthurs. It premiered on 25 April 1908 at the Gaiety Theatre, London, starring Evie Greene as Consuelo, W. H....
(1908), A Waltz Dream (1908), The Dollar Princess
The Dollar Princess
The Dollar Princess is a musical in three acts by A.M. Willner and Fritz Grünbaum , adapted into English by Basil Hood , with music by Leo Fall and lyrics by Adrian Ross. It opened in London at Daly's Theatre on 25 September 1909, running for 428 performances...
(1909), The Count of Luxembourg
The Count of Luxembourg
The Count of Luxembourg is an operetta in two acts with English lyrics and libretto by Basil Hood and Adrian Ross, music by Franz Lehár, based loosely on the German original, entitled "Der Graf von Luxemburg", which had premiered in Vienna in 1909....
(1911), High Jinks (1916), and his greatest success, The Boy
The Boy (musical)
The Boy is a musical comedy with a book by Fred Thompson and Percy Greenbank , music by Lionel Monckton and Howard Talbot and lyrics by Greenbank and Adrian Ross...
(1917), in which he played Mr. Meebles, the respectable magistrate who finds himself at the centre of farcical uproar. He also starred in The Naughty Princess
The Naughty Princess
The Naughty Princess is an opéra bouffe with music by Charles Cuvillier, book by J. Hastings Turner, and lyrics by Adrian Ross. The work, adapted from La reine joyeuse by Cuvillier and Andre Barde, depicts a princess with very modern ideas, who rebels against arranged marriage and court etiquette...
(1920) and appeared as Christian Velt in Lilac Time
Lilac Time
Lilac Time can refer to:*Das Dreimäderlhaus, a 1922 operetta also produced under the name Lilac Time*The Lilac Time, a British alternative rock band...
in several revivals in the 1920s and 1930s. He appeared in Princess Charming
Princess Charming
Princess Charming is a Filipino television drama series aired on GMA Network from January 29, 2007 to April 27, 2007 and was part of GMA’s afternoon programming block called Drama Rama sa Hapon.. The series was directed by Argel Joseph...
in 1926.
As one of the earliest broadcasters, Berry first appeared on radio in 1922 in the BBC's first months. Among his radio achievements, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
singled out his later broadcast as Mr. Micawber
Wilkins Micawber
Wilkins Micawber is a fictional character from Charles Dickens's 1850 novel, David Copperfield. He was modelled on Dickens's father, John Dickens, who like Micawber was incarcerated in debtors' prison after failing to meet his creditors' demands.Micawber's long-suffering wife, Emma, stands by him...
in 1938. He also appeared in variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
.
Kitty Berry died in 1947. At the age of 77, Berry married Agnes Lyndon, who had nursed him through a serious illness. Berry died at his home in Herne Bay
Herne Bay
Herne Bay may refer to one of several places:*Herne Bay, Kent, England*Herne Bay, New Zealand*Riverwood, New South Wales, Australia...
on the coast of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, at the age of 81.