William Hunter Kendal (16 December 1843 – 7 November 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager. He and his wife Madge starred at the Haymarket in Shakespearian revivals and the old English comedies beginning in the 1860s. In the 1870s, they starred in a series of "fairy comedies" by

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

and in many plays on the West End with the Bancrofts and others. In the 1880s, they starred at and jointly managed (with John Hare) the

St. James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost mone ...

. They then enjoyed a long touring career.

Biography

Kendal was born William Hunter Grimston in London, the middle son of portrait artist Edward Hunter Grimston, and his wife, Louisa ''née'' Rider. His maternal grandfather was a painter, and the boy demonstrated early talent in painting, but his parents urged him to study medicine. He often visited the

Soho Theatre Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three pe ...

to sketch the performers, which led to his trying acting, in 1861, as

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, in ''A Life's Revenge'', billed as "Mr Kendall".Foulkes, Richard
"Kendal, Dame Madge (1848–1935)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004, accessed 27 December 2009

Career

Kendal continued at the Soho for two years and then played provincial theatres, including in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, where he performed for four years, with

Charles Kean Charles John Kean (18 January 181122 January 1868) was an Irish-born English actor and theatre manager, best known for his revivals of Shakespearean plays. Life Kean was born at Waterford, Ireland, a son of actor Edmund Kean and actress Mary ...

and others, until 1866.Addison, Henry Robert et al., eds
Kendal, William Hunter
''Who's Who'', (1907) vol. 59, p. 971 A. & C. Black, accessed 26 September 2014 He joined J. B. Buckstone's company at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

in London in 1866, where he performed in a wide variety of works, from

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

to Shakespeare and was particularly admired for his comic roles. In 1869 he married the actress Madge Robertson, a sister of the dramatist

T. W. Robertson Thomas William Robertson (9 January 1829 – 3 February 1871) was an English dramatist and stage director known for his development of Naturalism (theatre), naturalism in British theatre. Born to a theatrical family, Robertson began as an acto ...

. As "Mr. and Mrs. Kendal", their professional careers became inseparable, and he invariably acted opposite his wife. His roles included Colonel Blake in J. Palgrave Simpson's ''A Scrap of Paper'', Charles Surface opposite his wife's Lady Teazle, Orlando to her Rosalind in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'' (1871), Jack Absolute to her Lydia Languish in ''

The Rivals ''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...

'' (1870), and Young Marlowe to her Kate Hardcastle. He was also Captain Beauclerc in ''

Diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

'', William in ''William and Susan'', W. G. Wills's customized rewriting of Douglas Jerrold's ''Black-Eyed Susan'', and Aubrey Tanqueray to his wife's Paula in Pinero's ''

The Second Mrs Tanqueray ''The Second Mrs. Tanqueray'' is a problem play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It utilises the "Woman with a past" plot, popular in nineteenth century melodrama. The play was first produced in 1893 by the actor-manager George Alexander and despite c ...

''. He was Pygmalion to his wife's Galatea in

's '' Pygmalion and Galatea'' (1871), and the pair starred in the series of "fairy comedies" by Gilbert in the early 1870s, including '' The Palace of Truth'' (1870), '' Broken Hearts'', '' The Wicked World'' (1873) and '' Broken Hearts'' (1875), as well as Gilbert's drama ''

Charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

'' (1874).Stedman, passim Kendal and his wife starred at and managed the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

with John Hare. They then played at the

Prince of Wales's Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772; the last was demolished in 1969, after a catastrophic fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was known as th ...

under the management of the Bancrofts in ''Diplomacy'' by B. C. Stephenson and

Clement Scott Clement William Scott (6 October 1841 – 25 June 1904) was an influential English theatre critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' and other journals, and a playwright, lyricist, translator and travel writer, in the final decades of the 19th century ...

(1878, adapted from Sardou's ''Dora''), among other plays. In 1879 they began a long association with John Hare as joint-managers of the

, where they presented a large number of

Arthur Wing Pinero Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (24 May 1855 – 23 November 1934) was an English playwright and, early in his career, actor. Pinero was drawn to the theatre from an early age, and became a professional actor at the age of 19. He gained experience as a ...

plays, among many others. The Kendals restored the St. James's to popularity and helped to improve the respectability of the Victorian theatre, which had fallen into disrepute among the middle classes. They imposed a high moral code both on stage and behind the scenes. Some of the Kendals' other notable successes in the 1880s included ''The Squire'', ''Impulse'', ''The Ironmaster'' and ''A Scrap of Paper''. In 1888, however, the Hare and Kendal partnership ended.

Later years

From that time, the Kendals chiefly toured. They made their American debut in ''A Scrap of Paper'' in 1889, and the success of their first tour in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

was repeated in several successive American seasons, where they spent most of the next five years. They continued to appear in popular plays without interruption until 1908, when they both retired. They had five children, but they became estranged from them. Kendal was a skilful businessman, manager and art collector, investing his share of the theatre's profits, after making sure to purchase some jewellery for his wife and a painting for himself. He assembled a fine collection of contemporary paintings, which the couple displayed in their homes. He was a long-time member of the

Garrick Club The Garrick Club is a private members' club in London, founded in 1831 as a club for "actors and men of refinement to meet on equal terms". It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world. Its 1,500 members include many actors, writers, ...

, and his wife donated a portrait of him by

Hugh Walpole Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (13 March 18841 June 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among ...

to the club. He joined the Junior Carlton,

Beefsteak A beefsteak, often called just steak, is a flat cut of beef with parallel faces, usually cut perpendicular to the muscle fibres. In common restaurant service a single serving has a raw mass ranging from . Beef steaks are usually grilled, pa ...

, Arts,

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

, and AA clubs. He enjoyed fishing, shooting, cycling and riding. Kendal died in 1917, aged 74, in London.

Notes

References

* Archer, William. "Mr. and Mrs. Kendal", in Matthews and Hutton, ''Actors and Actresses of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and 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 ...

'' (New York, 1886) *Kendal, Madge. ''Dame Madge Kendal, by herself'', ed. R. de Cordova (1933) *Kendal, Madge
''Dramatic opinions''
(1890) *Parker, J. ed., Who's who in the theatre, 5th ed. (1925) * Pemberton, T. E.br>''The Kendals: A Biography''
(New York, 1900) * Scott, Clement. ''The Drama of Yesterday and To-Day'' (London, 1899) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kendal, William Hunter 1843 births 1917 deaths English male stage actors Actor-managers People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan Male actors from London 19th-century English theatre managers 20th-century theatre managers