Robert Courtneidge (29 June 1859 – 6 April 1939) was a British theatrical manager-producer and playwright. He is best remembered as the co-author of the light opera Tom Jones (1907) and the producer of The Arcadians (1909). He was the father of the actress Cicely Courtneidge, who played in many of his early 20th century productions.
Courtneidge began as a comic actor in the late 1870s, working with Kate Santley, George Edwardes and others. In the early 1890s, he toured in Australia with Edwardes and J. C. Williamson companies. In 1896, he became a theatre manager in Manchester and then a West End theatre producer. In the first years of the 20th century, he began to direct musical theatre pieces and to write or co-write the book for some of his productions, including Tom Jones (1907). His most popular productions included The Arcadians (1909), Princess Caprice (1912), Oh! Oh! Delphine (1913) and The Cinema Star (1914). He directed the hit musical The Boy in 1917.
After the war, he presented Paddy the Next Best Thing, which had a long run, and then took a touring company to Australia, presenting a repertory of comedies. In the 1920s, he returned to producing British provincial tours and became the lessee of the Savoy Theatre, presenting a mixture of productions ranging from Shakespeare to farce. A lifelong socialist, he joined with other managers in campaigning for fair pay and treatment of actors. He also returned briefly to acting. Later in the decade, he presented more West End musicals and operettas, producing his last show in 1930. In 1933 he wrote a novel, Judith Clifford.
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RobertCourtneidge (29 June 1859 – 6 April 1939) was a British theatrical manager-producer and playwright. He is best remembered as the co-author of the...
comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright RobertCourtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West End by the age of...
with Liverpool's Green Room Club, he obtained an engagement under RobertCourtneidge, and appeared at London's Savoy Theatre, opening on 26 December 1923...
Cobbett Sir Hal Pateshall Colebatch Mortimer Collins Wilkie Collins RobertCourtneidge Most of the members of The Crazy Gang Augustin Daly Richard Davey...
she appeared in A Persian Princess (1909) and on stage for producer RobertCourtneidge. She made several return trips to perform in Australia, in 1912 and...
career she was an opera singer. She was spotted by the impresario RobertCourtneidge and recruited for his productions in the West End of London and on...
hopelessly out of it when you are forty." In June 1922, producer RobertCourtneidge took up an option on Coward's play and mounted a tour of it, beginning...
February 1916, while still an actor, he married Cicely Courtneidge, the daughter of RobertCourtneidge, a theatrical manager, in Hampstead. On 2 March, the...
ISBN 1-55783-516-0 Smythe, pp. 80–87 Smythe, pp. 87 Rowell, passim "Obituary, Mr. RobertCourtneidge", The Times, 8 April 1939, p. 14 Smythe, pp. 98 and 112 Article referring...
professional stage debut in 1924 with Henry Baynton's company. In 1924, RobertCourtneidge's Shakespearian company arrived in Halifax. Portman joined the company...
Furthermore, Marshall remembered playing a footman alongside Eric Blore in RobertCourtneidge's The Arcadians; his mention of Blore added an appearance in November...
the hit musical The Arcadians (1909), staged by her brother-in-law RobertCourtneidge. Beyond musical comedy, Blanche appeared in farces and other comedies...
success with Tom Jones for the Apollo Theatre in 1907, produced by RobertCourtneidge for the Fielding bicentenary. The score is one of German's finest...
Orlando in As You Like It , again opposite Courtice Pounds and starring RobertCourtneidge at the Prince's Theatre, Manchester. In 1903 he toured in Laurence...
he married Rosaline Jane Courtneidge (1903–1926), a daughter of RobertCourtneidge; her eldest sister was Cicely Courtneidge. Peter and Rosaline Tildsley...
in The Taming of the Shrew. In 1922 the company was taken over by RobertCourtneidge from when Baynton was paid a salary of £50 a week plus a share of...
piece enjoyed subsequent productions in New York, Australia (with RobertCourtneidge as Valentine) and elsewhere. This type of burlesque, or travesty was...
touring company he was engaged by the impresarios George Edwardes and RobertCourtneidge to play comic roles in musical comedy. He also played in variety shows...
concerts, and Queen's Hall orchestral concerts, and was engaged by RobertCourtneidge in musical comedy. He enlisted with the Royal Navy during the Great...
running for 265 performances until January 1913. It was produced by RobertCourtneidge. The piece then toured. Jasomir (Steward to Princess Helen) – Courtice...
17 October 1903 and ran for 236 performances. It was directed by RobertCourtneidge, choreographed by Willie Warde and had scenery by Joseph Harker and...
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