Stanley James Warmington (16 December 1884 – 10 May 1941), or just S. J. Warmington, was an English actor who appeared on film, stage, radio, and television in the early 20th century.

Life and career

Warmington was born in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England on 16 December 1884. Warmington studied for the stage at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

after working as a journalist.Who was who in the Theatre, 1912–1976.

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

: Gale Group, 1978. . Beginning in the 1910s he appeared in numerous stage productions in

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

in London and

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

in New York City. In 1919 Warmington landed his first cinematic role in the

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 ...

'' Wisp o' the Woods'' and he went on to play supporting roles, typically a detective or police officer, in some of

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

’s earliest films including ''

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

'', '' The 39 Steps'', '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'', and ''

Murder! ''Murder!'' is a 1930 British mystery thriller film co-written and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Herbert Marshall, Norah Baring and Edward Chapman. Written by Hitchcock, his wife Alma Reville, and Walter C. Mycroft, based on t ...

''. In the late 1930s Warmington gained national fame for playing the title role in the

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 drama '' Inspector Hornleigh Investigates''. In 1939 Warmington also acted in some of the earliest made-for-TV films. In 1934 Warmington married film and stage actress Ms. Victoria Olga Edwine Slade (b. 1891 – d. 1949)Olga Slade (1891–1949)
/ref>General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office
Ancestry.com
England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010.England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916–2005. 1934. Q3-Jul–Aug–Sep. S. p. 55. General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office
Ancestry.com
England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010.

Warmington’s death

S. J. Warmington was killed at the age of 56 during the Second World War when the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

intentionally bombed

residential area A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

s in Great Britain. On the evening of 10 May 1941 Warmington was in bed at his home, Number 39,

Elvaston Place Elvaston Place is a street in South Kensington, London. Elvaston Place runs west to east from Gloucester Road to Queen's Gate. The High Commission of Gabon, London, is at number 27. The High Commission of Mauritius, London, is at number 32/ ...

,
CWGC Casualty Record, Kensington Metropolitan Borough. in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London, when his neighbourhood was showered with

incendiary bombs Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiarie ...

."Stanley J Warmington, 1941". ww.ancestry.com Ancestry.com England & Wales, Death Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Notes that Warmington died in Kensington. Warmington, a volunteer Fire Guard, went out to help extinguish the resulting fires and was amongst those killed, at Number 22, when a high-explosive bomb fell. The civilian casualties from the bombing campaign lasting more than a year were high, with tens of thousands killed and injured. Warmington's death received a minor mention in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''.

Filmography

*1919: ''

A Smart Set ''A Smart Set'' is a 1919 British silent crime film directed by A. V. Bramble and starring Concordia Merrill, Arthur M. Cullin and Judd Green. Plot A detective poses as an opium fiend to save an addicted knight and his daughter from abducti ...

'' – Herbert Sterne *1919: '' Wisp o' the Woods'' – James Whitmore *1920: '' The Amateur Wife'' – Randolph Ferguson *1928: ''

A South Sea Bubble ''A South Sea Bubble'' is a 1928 British silent comedy adventure film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Ivor Novello, Benita Hume and Alma Taylor. The screenplay concerns a group of adventurers who head to the Pacific Ocean to hunt for b ...

'' – Frank Sullivan *1930: ''

'' – Bennett *1930: ''

Escape! "Escape!" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published as "Paradoxical Escape" (a publisher's change in the title) in the August 1945 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' and reprinted as "Escape! ...

'' – Warder *1931: '' The Calendar'' *1932: ''

The Crooked Lady ''The Crooked Lady'' is a 1932 British drama film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring George Graves, Isobel Elsom, Ursula Jeans and Austin Trevor. A quota quickie, it was filmed at Twickenham Studios. Cast * George Graves as Sir C ...

'' – Inspector Hilton *1934: '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' – Rawlings – Gang Member (uncredited) *1935: '' The 39 Steps'' – Scotland Yard Man (uncredited) *1936: ''

'' – Hollingshead *1939: ''

Bees on the Boat-Deck Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

'' (TV Movie) *1939: '' The Little Father of the Wilderness'' (TV Movie) – Captain Chevillon (final film role)

Stage performances

* March 1920 – ''

King 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 ...

'' as Sir William Catesby at Plymouth Theatre in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. * February 1920 – ''Trimmed in Scarlet'' as Charles Knight at

Maxine Elliott's Theatre Maxine Elliott's Theatre was originally a Broadway theatre at 109 West 39th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1908, it was designed by architect Benjamin Marshall of the Chicago-based firm Marshall and Fox, ...

. * October 1914 – ''My Lady's Dress'' at the Playhouse Theatre in New York.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Warmington, S. J. English male film actors English male radio actors English male stage actors English male television actors British civilians killed in World War II 1884 births 1941 deaths Deaths by German airstrikes during The Blitz 20th-century English male actors Male actors from Hertfordshire Artists' Rifles soldiers