Saville Esmé Percy (8 August 1887 – 17 June 1957) was an English actor who specialized in the plays of

G.B. Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

and appeared in 40 films between 1930 and 1956. He was born in London and died in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

Partial filmography

* ''

Murder! ''Murder!'' is a 1930 British thriller film co-written and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Herbert Marshall, Norah Baring and Edward Chapman. Written by Hitchcock, his wife Alma Reville and Walter C. Mycroft, it is based on the 19 ...

'' (1930) - Handel Fane * '' The Lucky Number'' (1932) - The Chairman * ''

Bitter Sweet Bittersweet, bitter-sweet, or bitter sweet may refer to: Biology * A vine in the nightshade family, ''Solanum dulcamara'' * Some species of vines in the genus ''Celastrus'', including American bittersweet (''C. scandens'') and Oriental bitters ...

'' (1933) - Hugh Devon * ''

Summer Lightning ''Summer Lightning'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 1 July 1929 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, under the title ''Fish Preferred'', and in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1929 by Herbert Jenkins, London ...

'' (1933) - Baxter * ''

On Secret Service ''On Secret Service'' is a 1933 British thriller film directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Greta Nissen, Karl Ludwig Diehl, Don Alvarado, and Austin Trevor. It was produced by British International Pictures. It is based on the 1933 German ...

'' (1933) - Bleuntzli - Reporter * '' Love, Life and Laughter'' (1934) - Goebschen * '' Nell Gwynn'' (1934) - Samuel Pepys * ''

Lord Edgware Dies ''Lord Edgware Dies'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1933 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of ''Thirtee ...

'' (1934) - Duke of Merton * ''

Unfinished Symphony An unfinished symphony is a fragment of a symphony, by a particular composer, that musicians and academics consider incomplete or unfinished for various reasons. The archetypal unfinished symphony is Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 (sometimes ...

'' (1934) - Huettenbrenner * ''

Regal Cavalcade ''Royal Cavalcade'', also known as ''Regal Cavalcade'', is a 1935 British, black-and-white, drama film directed by six separate directors: Thomas Bentley (Supervising Director), Herbert Brenon, Norman Lee, Walter Summers, W. P. Kellino and Marc ...

'' (1935) - Lloyd George * '' It Happened in Paris'' (1935) - Pommier * '' Abdul the Damned'' (1935) - Ali - Chief Eunuch * '' Invitation to the Waltz'' (1935) - Napoleon Bonaparte * '' The Invader'' (1936) - Jose * '' The Amateur Gentleman'' (1936) - John Townsend * '' A Woman Alone'' (1936) - General Petroff * ''

Song of Freedom ''Song of Freedom'' is a 1936 British film directed by J. Elder Wills and starring Paul Robeson. Two of the film's pivotal elements are the character of an opera composer, Gabriel Donizetti, presumably suggested by historical opera composer ...

'' (1936) - Gabriel Donozetti * ''

Land Without Music ''Land Without Music'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Richard Tauber, Diana Napier and Jimmy Durante. It was made at Denham Studios. The film was one of a number of operetta films made in Britain during the ...

'' (1936) - Austrian Ambassador * ''

Crime Over London ''Crime Over London'' is a 1936 British crime film directed by Alfred Zeisler and starring Margot Grahame, Paul Cavanagh and David Burns. It was made at Isleworth Studios,Wood p.89 based on the novel ''House of a Thousand Windows'' by Ludwig ...

'' (1936) - (uncredited) * '' Accused'' (1936) - Morel * ''

Jump for Glory ''Jump for Glory'' is a 1937 British romantic drama film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Valerie Hobson and Alan Hale. It was based on a novel by Gordon McDonnell. The film was shot at Isleworth Studios by the ind ...

'' (1937) - Robinson * ''

The Frog ''The Frog'' is a 1937 British crime film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Gordon Harker, Noah Beery, Jack Hawkins and Carol Goodner. The film is about the police chasing a criminal mastermind who goes by the name of The Frog, and the 193 ...

'' (1937) - Philo Johnson * ''

Our Fighting Navy ''Our Fighting Navy'' (also known as ''Torpedoed'') is a 1937 British action film directed by Norman Walker and starring Robert Douglas, Richard Cromwell and Hazel Terry. The screenplay concerns a British warship that intervenes to protect Bri ...

'' (1937) - Diego de Costa * ''

The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel'' is a 1937 British thriller film directed by Hanns Schwarz and starring Barry K. Barnes, Sophie Stewart, Margaretta Scott and James Mason. It is a sequel to the 1934 film ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' based on ...

'' (1937) - Sheridan, the playwright * '' Pygmalion'' (1938) - Count Aristid Karpathy * ''

21 Days ''21 Days'' (also known as ''21 Days Together'', ''The First and the Last'' and ''Three Weeks Together'') is a 1940 British drama film based on the short 1919 play '' The First and the Last'' by John Galsworthy. It was directed by Basil Dean an ...

'' (1940) - Henry Wallen * '' Jeannie'' (1941) * '' Hi Gang!'' (1941) - Lord Chamberlain * '' The Young Mr. Pitt'' (1942) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

Dead of Night ''Dead of Night'' is a 1945 black and white British anthology horror film, made by Ealing Studios. The individual segments were directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. It stars Mervyn Johns, Googie W ...

'' (1945) - Antique Dealer (segment "The Haunted Mirror") * '' Caesar and Cleopatra'' (1945) - Major Domo * '' Lisbon Story'' (1946) - Mariot * ''

The Ghosts of Berkeley Square ''The Ghosts of Berkeley Square'' is a 1947 British comedy film, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer. The film is an adaptation of the 1944 novel '' No Nightingales'' by Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon, inspired ...

'' (1947) - Vizier

Radio drama

*" Appointment With Fear" episode The Speaking Clock (13 April 1944), where he lent his very distinctive, rich voice to the character of Mr. Markham the Antique Dealer, as well as his twin brother. *''

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several meanings for the na ...

'' (1951) Radio adaptation of a play by

Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an ad ...

. Music by John Hotchkis. Cast:

Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, Emmy, and Tony for his work. He won the three awards in a seve ...

, Esmé Percy, David Peel,

Denise Bryer Denise Bryer (5 January 1928 – 16 October 2021) was an English actress, known for her voice roles on television and radio. Career Best remembered in her UK homeland for her work on the Gerry Anderson series, ''Terrahawks'', where she voiced ...

, Sebastian Cabot, others. BBC R3, Broadcast 05/02/1951. (The British Library National Sound Archive, Find Format: T11629WR C1) *'' The Duchess of Malfi'' (1954) Radio adaptation of the classic tragedy. Percy plays the evil Cardinal, brother to ferile Ferdinand (

and the Duchess (

Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was deter ...

) BBC R3, Broadcast May, 1954. *''

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

'' (1954) Radio adaptation of the Shakespeare play presented in honour of Sybil Thorndike's Golden Jubilee in the theatre. Cast:

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her ...

Robert Donat Friedrich Robert Donat (18 March 1905 – 9 June 1958) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's '' The 39 Steps'' (1935) and ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1939), winning for the latter the Academy Award for ...

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He w ...

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in '' Go ...

Ernest Thesiger Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger, CBE (15 January 1879 – 14 January 1961) was an English stage and film actor. He is noted for his performance as Doctor Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's film ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935). Biography ...

, Esmé Percy,

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

and others. BBC R3, Broadcast 14/06/1954.British Universities Film and Video Web site

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Percy, Esme 1887 births 1957 deaths English male film actors English male silent film actors Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors English male radio actors