Richard Ganthony (1856–1924) was an actor and playwright. He is best known as the author of the drama '' A Message from Mars'', which premiered in 1899.

Biography

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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, in 1856, Richard Ganthony spent most of his career in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, moving there when he was very young. On his death in May 1924, at the age of 67, the ''Malaya Tribune'' said that Ganthony "was naturally retiring and was not well known in theatrical circles." ''A Message from Mars'' was his most popular and best-known play. Ganthony had always said that the best comedy that he ever wrote was ''A Message from Mars''.

Acting

In February 1899, Ganthony played Colonel Sir George Ferrers in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

's National Theatre production of ''London Life'', a play written by Martyn Field and

Arthur Shirley Arthur Shirley (31 August 1886 – 24 November 1967) was an Australian actor, writer, producer, and director of theatre and film. He experienced some success as a film actor in Hollywood between 1914 and 1920. Biography Early life Born Hen ...

. The play was adapted from the French ''Le Camelot''. He was listed among the cast of ''London Life'' at the Columbus Theater in March 1899. Some of his more notable roles were his appearances in ''Lady of Venice'' and in ''Mrs. Dascot''. His big break came in ''The Cat and the Cherub'' (Olympia Theatre, New York City, September 1897) where he played the part of Chim Fang, the grim owner of an opium den.

Playwrighting

As a dramatist, Ganthony's first two plays were ''The Cat and the Cherub'' (1897) and ''A Brace of Partridges'' (1898). Ganthony's brother Robert worked with him in ''A Brace of Partridges''. Ganthony also was the author of ''The Prophecy''. The eye catching elements in some of Ganthony's plays like ''Message from Mars'' came from the experiences he had as an actor which showed him the importance on play building. Ganthony convinced Henry Miller to get ''Message to Mars'' out of storage which lead to Ganthony convincing Charles Hawtrey to produce the play in England. While writing ''Message from Mars'', Ganthony decided to exploit the most selfish man alive while also using astronomy to teach the viewer about the ills of selfishness. In 1903, Ganthony was awarded £200 in libel damages from a court due to a false claim by the ''Daily Express'' stating that George Hawtrey had rewritten ''A Message from Mars'' before it became successful. In 1912 "A Message from Mars" was published as a book creditted to Lester Lurgan and Ganthony.

Personal life

Ganthony's sister, Nellie, also was in the entertainment industry. Ganthony also was the brother in law of

Marie Dressler Leila Marie Koerber (November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934), known professionally as Marie Dressler, was a Canadian-born stage- and screen-actress and comedian, popular in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood in early silent film, silent an ...

. Ganthony started to retire during his last years and he died of an illness in May 1924 in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganthony, Richard 1856 births 1924 deaths British dramatists and playwrights British actors