Hubert Osbert Butler Nicholson (5 January 1868 – 22 September 1940), known professionally as H. O. Nicholson, was an English character actor of the first half of the 20th century.

Life and career

Nicholson was born in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden, the son of the Rev John Aldwell Nicholson and his wife, Editha Caroline, ''née'' Hunt. One of his siblings was the actress

Nora Nicholson Nora Nicholson (7 December 1886 – 18 September 1973) was an English actress. Known for her portrayal of character roles, she achieved her greatest success in the later years of her career. She played in classics by Shakespeare and Chekhov and ...

. He was educated at

Leamington College Leamington may refer to: Places * Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England * Leamington Hastings, Warwickshire, England * Leamington, Ontario, Canada * Leamington, Utah, US * Leamington, Cambridge, a suburb of Cambridge, New Zealand Other uses * ...

and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, where he gained a classical scholarship in 1887, and took a second-class degree in the Classical Tripos of 1890.Parker, pp. 1161–1162 After working as a schoolmaster Nicholson made his first professional stage appearance in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

on 26 December 1896 in Frank Benson's company. He remained with the company almost continuously until 1911, making his London debut at the Lyceum Theatre as Nym in ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

''. In 1911 he made his first film appearance in Benson's cinematic adaptation of ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'', filmed at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford upon Avon, as first murderer. His only other film role was Dr Nash in ''The Cornor House Burglary'' (1914). His acting career was interrupted by service in the armed forces during the First World War. Nicholson's Shakespearean roles included Fabian, Starveling, Casca, Dogberry, Polonius, Shallow, and Old Adam. He appeared as Nym in ''

'' at Stratford upon Avon during Shakespeare's Tercentenary in 1916. His other parts included the Centurion in '' Androcles and the Lion'' (1913), Sir Oliver Surface in ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling S ...

'' (1919), Old Hardcastle in ''

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays ...

'' (1922), Dr Chasuble in ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'' (1923) and Brovik in ''

The Master Builder ''The Master Builder'' () is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's more significant and revealing works. Performance The play was published by Gyldendal AS in C ...

'' (1932). In addition to his main occupation as a stage actor, Nicholson was a frequent broadcaster on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio. He appeared in variety programmes, documentaries and plays; his roles in the last included the Old Shepherd in ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'', Junius Brutus in ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

'', Firs in ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' () is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Pu ...

'', Starveling in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' and parts in plays by

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count/Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in ...

and

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. He is considered one of the most significant representatives of Viennese Modernism. Schnitzler’s works, which include psychological dramas and narratives ...

. He is credited by ''

Who's Who in the Theatre ''Who's Who in the Theatre'' is a British reference work, first published in 1912 with sixteen new editions from then until its last issue in 1981. The book was a successor to ''The Green Room Book'', of which four editions were published bet ...

'' with having coined the name

Walter Plinge Walter Plinge is a pseudonym, used in British theatres since the 19th century on occasions when it is not possible or desirable to make an actor's real name known. Name and usage Walter Plinge is a pseudonym traditionally used in British theatre ...

as a stage pseudonym used when it would be undesirable or impossible for an actor to appear under his real name.Parker, Gaye and Herbert, p. 1925 Nicholson died in London on 22 September 1940, aged 72." Hubert Oscar Butler Nicholso"
Ancestry UK. Retrieved 21 July 2021

Notes, references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, H. O. 1868 births 1940 deaths English male stage actors 20th-century English male actors British expatriates in Sweden