Frederick Leister (1 December 1885 – 24 August 1970), was an English actor. He began his career in

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

and after serving in the First World War he played character roles in modern West End plays and in classic drama. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1922 and 1961.

Life and career

Leister was born in London, the son of George Leister Holloway and his wife Mary Ann King Holloway, ''née'' Le Capelain. He was educated at Dulwich and Worthing Grammar School. He was intended for a career as a lawyer and served his time as an

articled clerk Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously three ...

to a solicitor's firm. He made his stage debut at the Crown Theatre,

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vil ...

, in 1906 in the chorus of ''

A Country Girl ''A Country Girl, or, Town and Country'' is a musical play in two acts by James T. Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross, additional lyrics by Percy Greenbank, music by Lionel Monckton and additional songs by Paul Rubens. The musical opened at D ...

'' and spent the next six years touring in musical comedies. He made his London debut at the

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

in February 1913 and appeared in supporting roles at the

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the t ...

and the Duke of York's until 1915, when he joined the army. He served as a lieutenant in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (R ...

, entering France in September 1917.Gaye, pp. 868–869 In 1911, he married Dora Luther. Thesy had one daughter together, Jean. In 1929, he and Dora changed their name to Leister, by deed poll. Dora died in 1954, aged 64. For the rest of his acting career Leister divided his time between the classics and lighter pieces such as detective plays and drawing room comedy, with occasional excursions into musical comedy. His classic roles included Falstaff in ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'' (1919), Faulconbridge in '' King John'' (1920), Pavel Lebedyev in ''

Ivanov Ivanov, Ivanoff or Ivanow (masculine, bg, Иванов, russian: ИвановSometimes the stress is on Ива́нов in Bulgarian if it is a middle name, or in Russian as a rare variant of pronunciation), or Ivanova (feminine, bg, Иванов ...

'' (1950) and Peter Nikolayavich in ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises ...

'' (1953). He played the Emperor in '' The White Horse Inn'' at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

in 1931. In modern plays two of his longest-running engagements were as Maxwell Davenport in '' The Late Christopher Bean'' (1933–34) and as Charles Donkin, the central figure in

Ian Hay Major General John Hay Beith, CBE MC (17 April 1876 – 22 September 1952), was a British schoolmaster and soldier, but is best remembered as a novelist, playwright, essayist, and historian who wrote under the pen name Ian Hay. After rea ...

's comedy ''

Housemaster {{refimprove, date=September 2018 In British education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care ...

'' (1936–37). He appeared on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in the same role in 1938, when the play was retitled ''Bachelor Born''. In 1944 he featured in the West End hit play ''

No Medals ''No Medals'' is a play by the British writer Esther McCracken first staged in 1944. Its West End run at the Vaudeville Theatre lasted for 740 performances between 4 October 1944 and 19 July 1946. It depicts the struggles of a middle-class Br ...

'' by

Esther McCracken Esther McCracken (née Armstrong, 1902–1971) was a British actress and playwright. Biography She was born Esther Helen Armstrong in Newcastle upon Tyne on 25 June 1902 and was educated at the Central Newcastle High School, where she won the c ...

Filmography

*'' The Glorious Adventure'' (1922) as A Knight/Courtier (film debut) (uncredited) *''The Message'' (1930, Short) as Inspector Hudson *''

Bracelets A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, suc ...

'' (1931) as Slim Symes *'' Dreyfus'' (1931) as

Edgar Demange Edgar Demange (April 22, 1841 in Versailles – February 1925 in Paris) was a French jurist. He was, with Fernand Labori, the lawyer of Alfred Dreyfus during his trials in 1894 and 1899. Biography Demange was a winner of the national eloquence ...

*'' Down River'' (1931) as Inspector Manning *''

The World, the Flesh, the Devil ''The World, the Flesh, the Devil'' is a 1932 British crime film directed by George A. Cooper and starring Harold Huth, Isla Bevan and Victor Stanley. It was based on a play by Laurence Cowen. It was shot at Beaconsfield and Twickenham Studios ...

'' (1932) as Sir James Hall *''

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...

'' (1934) as

Emperor Franz Josef Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

*'' The Iron Duke'' (1934) as

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

*'' Whom the Gods Love'' (1936) as

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

*'' O.H.M.S.'' (1937) as Vice Consul *'' The Show Goes On'' (1937) as O.B. Dalton *''

King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' (1885) is a popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the ...

'' (1937) as Diamond Buyer (uncredited) *'' Dinner at the Ritz'' (1937) as Tarade *'' Sixty Glorious Years'' (1938) as

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

*'' The Outsider'' (1939) as Joseph Sturdee *'' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1939) as Marsham *''

On the Night of the Fire ''On the Night of the Fire'', released in the United States as ''The Fugitive'', is a 1939 British thriller film, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Ralph Richardson and Diana Wynyard. The film is based on the novel of the same nam ...

'' (1939) as Inspector *'' The Prime Minister'' (1941) as

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pr ...

*'' Spellbound'' (1941) as Mr. Vincent *'' Atlantic Ferry'' (1941) as James Morison *''

The Next of Kin ''The Next of Kin'', also known as ''Next of Kin'', is a 1942 Second World War propaganda film produced by Ealing Studios. The film was originally commissioned by the British War Office as a training film to promote the government message tha ...

'' (1942) as Colonel *'' The Young Mr. Pitt'' (1942) as

Lord Auckland Baron Auckland is a title in both the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in 1789 when the prominent politician and financial expert William Eden was made Baron Auckland in the Peerage of Ireland. I ...

(uncredited) *'' We'll Meet Again'' (1943) as Mr. Hatropp *''

The Gentle Sex ''The Gentle Sex'' is a 1943 British black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film, directed and narrated by Leslie Howard. It was produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities Films, and Derrick de Marney. ''The Gentle Sex'' was Howard's l ...

'' (1943) as Colonel Lawrence *''

Dear Octopus ''Dear Octopus'' is a comedy by the playwright and novelist Dodie Smith. It opened at the Queen's Theatre, London on 14 September 1938. On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 the run was halted after 373 performances; after a ...

'' (1943) as Charles Randolph *''

The Shipbuilders ''The Shipbuilders'' is a 1943 British drama film directed by John Baxter and starring Clive Brook, Morland Graham and Nell Ballantyne. The film is set in a Clyde shipyard in the build-up to the Second World War. It was made by British Nation ...

'' (1943) as Mr. Villier *''

The Hundred Pound Window ''The Hundred Pound Window'' is a 1944 British crime film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Anne Crawford, David Farrar, Frederick Leister and Richard Attenborough. The film follows an accountant who has to take a second job work ...

'' (1944) as Ernest Draper *'' One Exciting Night'' (1944) as Hampton *''

Kiss the Bride Goodbye ''Kiss the Bride Goodbye'' is a 1945 British romantic comedy drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Patricia Medina and Jimmy Hanley. Jean Simmons has an early role, almost two years before she achieved stardom in ''Great Expectations' ...

'' (1945) as Captain Blood *'' The Agitator'' (1945) as Mark Overend *'' The Captive Heart'' (1946) as Mr. Mowbray *''

So Well Remembered ''So Well Remembered'' is a 1947 British drama film starring John Mills, Martha Scott, and Trevor Howard. The film was based on James Hilton's 1945 novel of the same title and tells the story of a reformer and the woman he marries in a fictional ...

'' (1947) as John Channing *'' Mrs. Fitzherbert'' (1947) as Henry Errington *'' Night Beat'' (1947) as Magistrate *''

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some s ...

'' (1948) as Judge *''

Quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

'' (1948) as Prison Governor (segment "The Kite") *'' Forbidden'' (1949) as Dr. Franklin *''

All Over the Town ''All Over the Town'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Derek N. Twist and starring Norman Wooland, Sarah Churchill and Cyril Cusack. It was based on the 1947 novel by R. F. Delderfield. Premise After serving in the RAF during the ...

'' (1949) as Wainer *'' For Them That Trespass'' (1949) as The Vicar *''

Paper Orchid ''Paper Orchid'' is a 1949 British crime film directed by Roy Ward Baker, with a script written by Val Guest. It featured Hugh Williams, Hy Hazell and Garry Marsh, and was based on the 1948 novel of the same title by Arthur La Bern. It featur ...

'' (1949) as Walter Wibberley *''

Dear Mr. Prohack ''Dear Mr. Prohack'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland. It is a modern-day version of Arnold Bennett's 1922 novel, ''Mr Prohack'', as adapted in the play by Edward Knoblock. It stars Cecil Parker, Glynis Johns and Dir ...

'' (1949) as The Director General *''

Landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

'' (1949) as Admiral *''

Boys in Brown ''Boys in Brown'' is a 1949 black and white British drama film directed by Montgomery Tully, which depicts life in a borstal for young offenders. It stars Jack Warner, Richard Attenborough, Dirk Bogarde and Jimmy Hanley. It is based on a 1940 ...

'' (1949) as Judge *''

The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery ''The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery'' is a 1950 British crime film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Robert Beatty, Rona Anderson, and Clifford Evans. The film is a strange hybrid: with the Twenty Questions sections being a true studio ...

'' (1950) as Police Commissioner *'' The Astonished Heart'' (1950) as Vicar in Play (voice, uncredited) *'' The Rossiter Case'' (1951) as Sir James Ferguson *'' Green Grow the Rushes'' (1951) as Col. Gill *'' The Crimson Pirate'' (1952) as Sebastian *''

Circumstantial Evidence Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact—such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly—i.e., without need ...

'' (1952) as Sir Edward Carteret *''

Top Secret Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to kn ...

'' (1952) as Prime Minister *''Souls in Conflict'' (1954) as Rev. Alan Woodbridge *'' Delayed Action'' (1954) as Sir Francis (uncredited) *'' Before I Wake'' (1955) as Dr. Elder *'' The End of the Affair'' (1955) as Dr. Collingwood *'' The Dam Busters'' (1955) as Committee Member *''

Footsteps in the Fog ''Footsteps in the Fog'' is a 1955 British Technicolor film noir crime film starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons, with a screenplay co-written by Lenore Coffee and Dorothy Davenport, and released by Columbia Pictures. The film is based o ...

'' (1955) as Dr. Simpson *''

The Time of His Life ''The Time of His Life'' is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Richard Hearne, Ellen Pollock, Richard Wattis and Robert Moreton. The screenplay concerns a man who is released from prison and goes to live with ...

'' (1955) as Sir John Carter-Wilson *''

Around the World in 80 Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

'' (1956) as Reform Club Member (uncredited) *''

Dangerous Exile ''Dangerous Exile'' is a 1957 British historical drama film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Louis Jourdan, Belinda Lee, Anne Heywood and Richard O'Sullivan. It concerns the fate of Louis XVII, who died in 1795 as a boy, yet was pop ...

'' (1957) as Capt. Andrew Ogden *'' Rx Murder'' (1958) as Dr. Alexander *''

Left Right and Centre ''Left Right and Centre'' is a 1959 British satirical comedy film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Ian Carmichael, Patricia Bredin, Richard Wattis, Eric Barker and Alastair Sim. It was produced by Frank Launder. A political comedy, it fo ...

'' (1959) as Dr. Rushall *'' Cone of Silence'' (1960) as Sir Henry (uncredited) *'' Surprise Package'' (1960) as Aide to King Pavel II (uncredited) *''

The Naked Edge ''The Naked Edge'' is a 1961 thriller film starring Gary Cooper (in his final film role) and Deborah Kerr. The film was a British-American co-production distributed by United Artists, directed by Michael Anderson and produced by George Glass an ...

'' (1961) as Judge (final film)

Notes

References

External links

* *
Frederick Leister
at Theatricalia.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Leister, Frederick 1885 births 1970 deaths 20th-century English male actors Male actors from London English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors British Army personnel of World War I Royal Garrison Artillery officers