Lloyd Mawson Pearson (13 December 1897 – 2 June 1966) was an English actor, who appeared mostly in character roles on stage and screen. He created the roles of Rat in ''

Toad of Toad Hall ''Toad of Toad Hall'' is a play written by A. A. Milne – the first of several dramatisations of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel ''The Wind in the Willows'' – with incidental music by Harold Fraser-Simson. It was originally produced by William ...

'' in 1929 and Alderman Helliwell in the West End production of J. B. Priestley's ''

When We Are Married ''When We Are Married'' is a three-act play by the English dramatist J. B. Priestley, described as "A Yorkshire Farcical Comedy". Written in 1934, it is set about thirty years earlier, and depicts the consequences when three middle-aged couples ...

'' in 1938, a role he reprised in the film version in 1943.

Life and career

Pearson was born in

Cleckheaton Cleckheaton is a town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and so ...

, near

Batley Batley is a market town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England, south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield, in the Heavy Woollen District. In 2011, the popu ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, the son of William Edward Pearson and his wife Ada, ''né'' Farrar.Gaye, pp. 1054–1055 He was educated at Whitcliffe Mount Grammar School and Owen's College. He then became a clerk in the

Midland Bank Midland Bank plc was one of the Big Four (banks)#United Kingdom, Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birming ...

. After serving in the armed forces in the

First World War 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 ...

he studied for the stage at Lady Benson's Dramatic School and made his first appearance on the stage at the Palace Pier, Brighton in 1919 as the Police Officer in ''Diana of Dobson's''. He made his first appearance in London at the

St Martin's Theatre St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre which has staged the production of '' The Mousetrap'' since March 1974, making it the longest continuous run of any show in the world. The theatre is located in West Street, near Shaftesbury Avenue, i ...

on 21 January 1920, as Lentulus in ''Pompey the Great,'' with Sir Frank Benson and remained with the Benson company for seven years, eventually playing the leading comedy parts in Shakespeare, Sheridan, Goldsmith and others. He then played a short season with the Birmingham Repertory Company, where he appeared as Launce in ''

The Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first ten ...

''. In 1927 he joined the company of the Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool, under William Armstrong, and remained until 1937, playing leading parts, including the Water Rat in the word premiere of ''

''. He returned to London in 1937 and appeared as Viscount Pascal in ''The Switchback'', Tubby Pearson in ''Dodsworth'', Harper in ''Nanny'', and at the St Martin's in October 1938 he played Alderman Helliwell in the premiere of ''

''. In the later 1930s and 1940s he played mostly in modern comedies, including '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' (1944). At the Phoenix Theatre in May 1949 he made a rare excursion into costume drama, playing Gibbet in ''

The Beaux' Stratagem ''The Beaux' Stratagem'' is a comedy by George Farquhar, first produced at the Theatre Royal, now the site of Her Majesty's Theatre, in the Haymarket, London, on 8 March 1707. In the play, Archer and Aimwell, two young gentlemen who have falle ...

'', which ran for over a year. Later West End appearances included Mr Marsland in a revival of ''

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 ...

'' (1954) and the Fire Brigade Captain in ''

The Bald Prima Donna ''La Cantatrice chauve '' – translated from French as ''The Bald Soprano'' or ''The Bald Prima Donna'' – is the first play written by Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco. Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on 11 May 1950 at the ...

''. In 1957 he took over the role of the Tramp in '' Salad Days'' for two and a half years. Pearson died in London on 2 June 1966 aged 68.

Films

In addition to his stage career, Pearson acted in films from 1938 to 1964:

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Lloyd 1897 births 1966 deaths English male film actors People from Cleckheaton 20th-century English male actors British military personnel of World War I