Frederick Volpe (31 July 1865 – 7 March 1932), sometimes printed Volpé, was an English actor. He made his stage debut in his early twenties. From 1894 until his death he was a familiar figure on the West End stage, generally in undemanding comedies and other ephemeral productions. Among others, he created the role of Alexis in ''

The Girl in the Taxi ''The Girl in the Taxi'' is the English-language adaptation by Frederick Fenn and Arthur Wimperis of the operetta ''Die keusche Susanne'' (''Chaste Susanne'', 1910 in Magdeburg), with music by Jean Gilbert. The German original had a libretto by G ...

'' (1913). He made several films, beginning in 1917.

Life and career

Volpe was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, the son of Raffaele Volpe. He was educated at the

Liverpool Institute High School for Boys The Liverpool Institute High School for Boys was an all-boys grammar school in the English port city of Liverpool. The school had its origins in 1825 but occupied different premises while the money was found to build a dedicated building on M ...

(now the

Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, cul ...

), and made his stage debut in 1887 at

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

in north Wales. He first came to public prominence in 1894 when he appeared in ''The Gentleman Whip'' at

Terry's Theatre Terry's Theatre was a West End theatre in the Strand, in the City of Westminster, London. Built in 1887, it became a cinema in 1910 before being demolished in 1923. History The theatre was built in 1887, near Fountain's Court, on the site of a ...

, London, under the management of

Weedon Grossmith Walter Weedon Grossmith (9 June 1854 – 14 June 1919), better known as Weedon Grossmith, was an English writer, actor, painter and playwright best known as co-author of ''The Diary of a Nobody'' (1892) with his brother, music hall comedian ...

. He remained a member of Grossmith's team for more than two years, appearing in ''The New Boy'', ''The Ladies' Idol'', ''Poor Mr. Potion'' and ''The Romance of the Shopwalker''. For the rest of the century he played in light comedies and other ephemeral productions in the West End. In 1900 he visited America with E. S. Willard's company. Between the turn of the century and the First World War, Volpe's roles included Pecksniff in ''Tom Pinch'', based on ''

Martin Chuzzlewit ''The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit'' (commonly known as ''Martin Chuzzlewit'') is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between January 1843 and July 1 ...

'' (1903), Lord Amersteth in a play based on the '' Raffles'' stories (1906), Paul Bultitude in a stage version of '' Vice Versa'', and Alexis in ''

'' (1913). Among his post-war roles were Chancellor Teppich in ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in o ...

'' (1923), Mr Cattermole in ''

The Private Secretary ''The Private Secretary'' is an 1883 farce in three acts, by Charles Hawtrey (actor born 1858), Charles Hawtrey. The play, adapted from a German original, depicts the vicissitudes of a mild young clergyman, innocently caught up in the machinatio ...

'' (1923)Parker, pp. 951–952 and Sir Joshua Grimshaw in ''The Truth Game'' in a starry cast including

Lily Elsie Elsie Cotton (''née'' Hodder, 8 April 1886 – 16 December 1962), known professionally as Lily Elsie, was an English actress and singer during the Edwardian era. She was best known for her starring role in the London premiere of Franz Lehár's ...

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

Lilian Braithwaite Dame Florence Lilian Braithwaite (9 March 1873 – 17 September 1948) was an English actress, primarily of the stage, although she appeared in both silent and talkie films. Early life She was born in Ramsgate, Kent, the daughter of the Revd Joh ...

Viola Tree Viola Tree (17 July 1884 – 15 November 1938) was an English actress, singer, playwright and author. Daughter of the actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree, she made many of her early appearances with his company at Her Majesty's Theatre, His Majesty's Th ...

and Glen Byam Shaw (1928). Volpe was married to the actress Alice Beet, whom he outlived by two months. He died at his home in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

aged 66."Death of Mr Frederick Volpe", ''The Times'', 8 March 1932, p. 12

Partial filmography

* ''

The Labour Leader ''The Labour Leader'' is a 1917 British silent film, silent drama film directed by Thomas Bentley (director), Thomas Bentley and starring Fred Groves (actor), Fred Groves, Fay Compton and Owen Nares. The film was based on an original screenplay b ...

'' (1917) * ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

'' (1918) * ''

The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick ''The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick'' is a 1921 British silent comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley based on the 1837 novel ''The Pickwick Papers'' by Charles Dickens. The film is missing from the BFI National Archive, and is listed as one of t ...

'' (1921) * '' Lord Richard in the Pantry'' (1930) * '' The Middle Watch'' (1930) * ''

Bed and Breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

'' (1930) * '' Captivation'' (1931)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Volpe, Frederick 1865 births 1932 deaths English male film actors English male silent film actors Male actors from Liverpool 20th-century English male actors