Arthur Riscoe MC (19 November 1896 – 6 August 1954) was a British stage and

film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Early life

He was born Arthur Charles Boorman on 19 November 1896 in

Sherburn in Elmet Sherburn in Elmet (pronounced ) is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Yorkshire (district), district and county of North Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Selby and south of Tadcaster. It was part of the W ...

near

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, but at the age of 15, he moved to

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

as a farm worker. When 18, he joined the Australian Imperial Forces. He served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for his actions on the Western Front in August 1918. Later he was part of an AIF entertainment troupe.

Career

His stage career began in 1919 with a part in ''

The Lilac Domino ''Der lila Domino'' (''The Lilac Domino'') is an operetta in three acts composed by Charles Cuvillier. The original German libretto is by Emmerich von Gatti and Bela Jenbach, about a gambling count who falls in love at a masquerade ball with a n ...

'', and he returned to the UK in 1920, slowly building popularity till the 1930s when he was well established in light comedy, and had significant film roles. In 1933, he toured the Continent "making pictures": for "For Love of You" he was in Venice and Hertfordshire's Elstree Studios; for "Going Gay", he travelled to Barcelona, Vienna and Berlin. In 1934, he appeared on stage in "Jack and Jill", playing Jack to Valerie Hay's Jill and Inga Andersen's ballet mistress. In 1936, he and Frances Day starred in the film "Public Nuisance No. 1". In 1937, he appeared in Liverpool in "Going Places" and later that year in London as the

Widow Twankey Widow Twankey (originally Twankay, sometimes Twanky) is a female character in the pantomime ''Aladdin''. She is a pantomime dame, played by an older man. History The story of Aladdin is drawn from the ''Arabian Nights'', a collection of Middle ...

at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

. He married Olive Raymond, and their daughter

Maureen Riscoe Maureen Riscoe (25 July 1921 – 26 November 2003) was a British actress and casting director. She was born in London on 25 July 1921, the only daughter of fellow actor Arthur Riscoe and his wife Olive Raymond. Riscoe died on 26 November 2003 i ...

was an actress and casting director. Riscoe continued to headline plays in the 1940s and early 1950s, among them "The Street Singer" and "Humpty Dumpty" in 1945, "Follow the Girls" in 1948, "One Wild Oat" in 1950, and "will Any Gentleman?" in 1951. His last show was "And So to Bed", which played at Cardiff, Southsea, Hull, Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol and Chiswick in the spring of 1954.The Birmingham Post obituary, August 7, 1954, p. 18. He died of a heart attack on 6 August 1954 at his home in London.

Selected filmography

* ''Horatio's Deception'' (1920) * '' For the Love of Mike'' (1932) *

Going Gay ''Going Gay'' is a 1933 British musical film directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Arthur Riscoe, Naunton Wayne and Magda Schneider. It was made at British and Dominions Imperial Studios, British and Dominion's Elstree Studios. It was followe ...

(1933) * '' For Love of You'' (1933) * ''

Public Nuisance No. 1 ''Public Nuisance No. 1'' is a 1936 British musical comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Frances Day, Arthur Riscoe and Muriel Aked. It was made at Beaconsfield Studios. The screenplay concerns a young man who goes to work as a wa ...

'' (1936) * '' Paradise for Two'' (1938) * ''

Kipps ''Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul'' is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1905. It was reportedly Wells's own favourite among his works, and it has been adapted for stage, cinema and television productions, including the musical '' ...

'' (1941)

References

External links

*
"Arthur Riscoe and Slater 1938"
at British-Pathe 1896 births 1954 deaths Male actors from North Yorkshire Australian recipients of the Military Cross English male film actors 20th-century English male actors People from Sherburn in Elmet Actors from Selby District {{England-film-actor-stub