Reginald Crompton (14 July 1870 – 10 September 1945) was a British solicitor, stage actor and

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

screenwriter. A

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...

, he created several minor roles in the

Savoy Operas Savoy opera was a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which imp ...

with the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The ...

.Stone, David
Reginald Crompton
Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 10 April 2002

Early years and D'Oyly Carte

Crompton was born in

Almondsbury Almondsbury () is a large village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. It is situated on the A38 road in the Avon Green Belt north of Bristol city centre. It is adjacent to junction 16 of the M5 motorway and Almondsbury Interc ...

, Gloucestershire, in 1870, one of six children born to Elizabeth ''née'' Dudfield (1834–1901) and Francis Crompton (1835–1921), a landowner. By 1891, aged 20, he was an articled solicitor's clerk in

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, Devon, and by 1901 he was practising as a solicitor in Exeter.1901 England Census for Reginald Crompton, Devon, Exeter: Ancestry.com
/ref> At 6 feet 6 inches tall Crompton was a commanding presence. A winner of the Holland Scholarship at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

, Crompton joined the

in 1899, making his London début at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy ...

playing The Royal Executioner in ''

The Rose of Persia ''The Rose of Persia''; ''or, The Story-Teller and the Slave'', is a two-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Basil Hood. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 29 November 1899, closing on 28 June 1900 after a profitab ...

'' (November 1899 to June 1900). After a period practising as a solicitor in Exeter he was once again at the Savoy in the roles of Sergeant Pincher in ''

The Emerald Isle ''The Emerald Isle''; ''or, The Caves of Carrig-Cleena'', is a two-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and Edward German, and a libretto by Basil Hood. The plot concerns the efforts of an Irish patriot to resist the oppressive "re- ...

'' (April 1901); So Hi in '' The Willow Pattern'' (November 1901) and Private Willis in the first London revival of ''

Iolanthe ''Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri'' () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert ...

'' (December 1901) after which he left D'Oyly Carte to appear in the children's farce ''Shock-headed Peter'' at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ...

(December 1901 to February 1902). Crompton returned to the Savoy to play Ben in '' Merrie England'' (April 1902), and Mr. Reddish in ''

A Princess of Kensington ''A Princess of Kensington'' is an English comic opera in two acts by Edward German to a libretto by Basil Hood, produced by William Greet. The first performance was at the Savoy Theatre, London, on 22 January 1903 and ran for 115 performances. ...

'' (January 1903). He was in D'Oyly Carte's tour of ''Merrie England'' (July to November 1902) and ''A Princess of Kensington'' (May to September 1903) following which the London Company was dispersed.

Musical comedies and later years

With many of the former Savoy company Crompton transferred to 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 ...

where he was Mr. Hazell in ''

The Earl and the Girl ''The Earl and the Girl'' is a musical comedy in two acts, with a book by Seymour Hicks, lyrics by Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll. It was produced by William Greet and opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 10 December 1903. It t ...

'' and the Royal Footman and Wooden Soldier in '' Little Hans Andersen'' (December 1903) before appearing in ''The Talk of the Town'' at the Lyric Theatre (1905); ''Blue Bell'' at the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

(1905–06); ''

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

'' at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

(1907); ''Where Children Rule'' at the

(1909); and ''The Spring Maid'' at the Whitney Theatre (1911). It would appear that in between his theatre work Crompton would return to his legal profession, as the 1911 Census lists him as a solicitor boarding with a family in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London. By 1913 he had returned to the stage, appearing as Sergeant Tozer in ''

The Girl on the Film ''Filmzauber'', literally 'Film Magic', is a Posse mit Gesang (a kind of popular musical drama) in four scenes by Walter Kollo and Willy Bredschneider, with a German libretto by Rudolf Bernauer and Rudolph Schanzer. A parody of (then popular) sil ...

'' at the Gaiety Theatre (1913); in '' Véronique'' at the

(1915), and in the

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

s ''Puss in Boots'' (1915–16) and ''Puss in New Boots'' (1916–17) at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

. He wrote the screenplays for the

s ''Nipper's Busy Holiday'' (1915) and ''Nipper and the Curate'' (1916) which were vehicles for

Lupino Lane Henry William George Lupino (16 June 1892 – 10 November 1959) professionally Lupino Lane, was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous theatrical Lupino family, which eventually included his cousin, the screenwriter/di ...

. Crompton also directed ''Nipper's Busy Holiday'' (1915). According to the 1939 Register for Exeter, by that year Crompton was divorced; his occupation is listed as a retired solicitor and actor. Crompton died, aged 75, in September 1945 at Exeter. In his will he left an estate valued at £8,969 14s.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995 for Reginald Crompton
1945: Ancestry.com

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crompton, Reginald 1870 births 1945 deaths Male actors from Exeter Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music English solicitors Operatic bass-baritones English bass-baritones English male singers English male musical theatre actors Musicians from Exeter