*GILBERT & SULLIVAN: ACTOR WEEDON GROSSMITH RARE AUTOGRAPH LETTER*

Description

A rare original autograph letter of Weedon Grossmith, actor and brother of the great Gilbert & Sullivan patter comedian and his co-author for the enduring comic novel Diary of a Nobody, with interesting content. Dimensions six by four inches. Light wear otherwise good. See Weedon Grossmith's biography below.
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From Wikipedia:
Walter Weedon Grossmith
(9 June 1854 – 14 June 1919), better known as
Weedon Grossmith
, was an English writer, painter, actor, and playwright best known as co-author of
The Diary of a Nobody
(1892) with his brother,
music hall
comedian and
Gilbert and Sullivan
star
George Grossmith
. Weedon Grossmith also illustrated
The Diary of a Nobody
to much acclaim.
Grossmith trained as a painter, but was unable to make a living in that capacity and went on the stage largely for financial reasons. He was successful as an actor and as an impresario, and wrote several plays. As an actor, he specialised in comedy roles, and his typical characters, harassed and scheming, became so identified with him that the "Weedon Grossmith part" became a regular feature of the theatre of his day.
Grossmith was born in London and grew up in
St. Pancras
and
Hampstead
, London. His father, George Grossmith (1820–80), was the chief
court reporter
for
The Times
and other newspapers at the Bow Street police court and a lecturer and entertainer. His mother was Louisa Emmeline Grossmith
née
Weedon (d. 1882). His brother,
George
, became famous as the principal comedian of the
Gilbert and Sullivan
operas with the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
and was the most famous comedy-sketch pianist of the
Victorian era
.
[1]
Grossmith was educated at Massingham House on Haverstock Hill in Hampstead, and then at the North London Collegiate in
Camden Town
and Simpson's School, a local private establishment.
[2]
Interested in art, he trained as a painter at the West London School of Art, the
Slade
and the
Royal Academy
.
[3]
His goal was to become a fashionable portrait painter. He had portraits and other pictures hung at the Academy (beginning with a full-length portrait of his father) and at the
Grosvenor Gallery
and elsewhere.
[3]
However, his career as an artist was not as successful as he had hoped.
[4]
Richard D'Oyly Carte
, having seen him in amateur performances, encouraged him to take to the stage professionally.
[5]
Having, as he later recalled, liabilities of £700 and cash assets of £6, he consulted his fellow-artists
Frank Holl
and
Luke Fildes
about abandoning art in favour of the theatre:
He [Fildes] thought it madness when I had conquered all the great difficulties of painting. I quite agreed with him, but when I told him of my dreadful run of bad luck, and the little I had, he said he was bound to admit that if I had another string to play on, it was worth considering. But he still thought it an awful pity, and so have I thought ever since.
[6]
Acting career
Grossmith (l) in
Mr. Preedy and the Countess
, 1905
Grossmith turned to acting in 1885, which he pursued until 1917. Joining
Rosina Vokes's
theatrical company in 1885, he went on tour in the provinces and in America. He first appeared in London at the
Gaiety Theatre
in 1887 as Woodcock in
Woodcock's Little Game
. Neither he nor the play was a success.
[7]
Grossmith contemplated giving up the stage and returning to painting. He was shunned by managers who had promised him work, but on the strength of his American successes he was engaged by
Henry Irving
in 1888 to play Jacques Strop at the
Lyceum Theatre
in
Charles Selby
's
Robert Macaire
.
[7]
He was nearly dismissed for interpreting Irving's direction, "You must imitate
me
", as an instruction to give an impersonation of the star's well-known mannerisms.
[6]
His earliest notable success was made in
A Pantomime Rehearsal
,
[8]
a short play (parodying incompetent amateur theatricals) with which he was associated for many years.
[5]
In 1888 Grossmith joined the company of Richard Mansfield in
Wealth
, playing the role of Percy Palfreyman.
[7]
In the following year he began a long association with the
Court Theatre
; he appeared there in
Aunt Jack
,
The Cabinet Minister
and
The Volcano
.
[7]
He also played in
The School for Scandal
at the
Globe Theatre
(1889) and portrayed Joseph Lebanon in
Arthur Wing Pinero
's
Cabinet Minister
(1890).
[3]
In 1891, in partnership with
Brandon Thomas
, Grossmith presented and appeared in a triple bill, which included
A Pantomime Rehearsal
. After a shaky start, the production became a huge success; Grossmith appeared in it for more than 700 performances, in four different
West End
theatres, and he later calculated that
Sebastian Smith
as the leading man must have played the part about 1,000 times in London and on tour.
[5]
Iris Hoey, Lilias Waldegrave and Grossmith in
Baby Mine
(1911)
Grossmith went on to appear in plays by playwrights such as
Henry Arthur Jones
and
Jerome K. Jerome
, opposite actors such as
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
at the
Haymarket Theatre
and with
Mrs. John Wood
at the
Court Theatre
.
[8]
In 1892, he played in
W. S. Gilbert
's
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
, a parody of
Hamlet
, at the
Royal Court Theatre
. He became known for playing comedy character roles, noting, "I am almost invariably cast for cowards, cads and snobs", and he was particularly good at portraying harassed, misunderstood little men as, like his brother George, he was small in stature.
[4]
The Times
wrote that the "Weedon Grossmith" part had become a recognised feature of current drama.
[5]
He portrayed Archibald Rennick in
Arthur Law
's
The New Boy
(1894), Hamilton Preedy in
Mr. Preedy and the Countess
(1905), Jimmy Jinks in
Baby Mine
(1911), the Earl of Tweenwayes in
The Amazons
, Boney in
The Misleading Lady
, and the Judge in
Stopping the Breach
, his last new role (1917).
[8]
The critic B. W. Findon
[9]
wrote, "Among the survivors of the old brigade – of the artists who thoroughly understand the requirements of farcical comedy, who know how to treat its humour with breadth, and grapple successfully with its ludicrous situations – is Mr. Weedon Grossmith. He is one of the best – I think I may say the best actor of farce on the stage of to-day."
[10]
Grossmith's last stage appearance was in 1918, in his old role of Lord Arthur Pomeroy in
A Pantomime Rehearsal
, with an all-star cast including
Charles Hawtrey
,
Fay Compton
,
Irene Castle
and
Rutland Barrington
, at a charity matinée attended by
King George V
,
Queen Mary
and
Queen Alexandra
.
[11]
Grossmith was also the lessee of London's
Vaudeville Theatre
from 1894 to 1896
[12]
and
Terry's Theatre
until 1917.
Author and playwright
Grossmith's illustration of Charles (left) and Lupin Pooter (Chap. VI of
The Diary of a Nobody
)
In 1892, Grossmith collaborated with his brother George to expand a series of amusing columns they had written in 1888–89 for
Punch
.
The Diary of a Nobody
was published as a novel and has never been out of print since. The book is a sharp analysis of social insecurity, and Charles Pooter of The Laurels, Brickfield Terrace, Holloway, was immediately recognized as one of the great English comic characters.
[4]
Grossmith created 33 black and white
line drawings
for the novel. According to biographer Tony Joseph, "In their precise and careful detail these illustrations ... reinforce the text to perfection."
[4]
The work has itself been the object of dramatization and adaptation, including three times for television: 1964,
[13]
1979
[14]
and 2007.
[15]
Grossmith published another novel,
A Woman with a History
, in 1896. He also wrote a number of plays, the most successful of which was
The Night of the Party
(1901), for which he also directed, acted the lead role, designed the scenery and painted the advertising poster.
[5]
One of his plays,
The Duffer
, was about students at the Royal Academy, which was successful and enjoyed a
Royal Command Performance
. In 1913 he published his autobiography,
From Studio to Stage
.
Personal life
Grossmith was a member of the
Beefsteak
,
Garrick
and
Savage
clubs.
[3]
In 1895, he married the actress May Lever Palfrey (1867–1929). They had one child, a daughter, Nancy (1896–1921). He died in London at the age of 65.
[16]
A memorial service, attended by leading members of the theatrical profession, was held in
St Martin-in-the-Fields
.