Margaret Halstan (25 December 1879 – 8 January 1967) was a British stage, radio, television and film actress. In theatre and film roles she often played upper-class ladies of the gentry, with a career spanning over six decades. She was particularly known for her Shakespearian roles, having debuted in 1895. At the turn of the century she joined Sir Frank Benson's theatre company, and also played in the theatrical companies of Sir George Alexander and

Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End theatre, West End, winning ...

, before making her debut in silent films in 1916.

Biography

She was born Clara Maud Hertz in Greater London in 1879, of apparently Jewish descent and later used the stage name Margaret Halstan. Her parents were Henry Anthony Hertz and his wife Elizabeth Maud. Before becoming a professional actor, Halstan performed as an amateur with the Strolling Players and the Bancroft Amateur Dramatic Society. She performed in a show titled ''Beethoven's Romance'' at the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

on 1 December 1894. Halstan made her first professional stage appearance at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

on 30 October 1895, as a walk-on in ''

Trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in UK, BritainBernhard Roetzel, Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. B ...

''. She was fluent in English, German, and French, and performed on stage in all three languages. Halstan also acted in BBC radio productions such as the 1938 radio adaptation of the novel '' If I Were You'', and the 1940 radio adaptation of the short story " Lord Arthur Savile's Crime". Halstan married lawyer John Hartman Morgan in 1905.

Theatre

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halstan, Margaret British film actresses British stage actresses Place of birth missing Place of death missing Actresses from London Jewish British actresses