Percy Waram

Percy Thomas Carne Waram ( ; 28 October 1880 – 5 October 1961) was a British-born stage and film actor who spent much of his career in the United States. His career lasted 55 years on the American stage, and he had memorable roles in The Shanghai Gesture, Elizabeth the Queen, Mary of Scotland, Pride and Prejudice, and Anne of the Thousand Days. He starred in the Chicago production of Life With Father for three years, setting box office and attendance records, after which he took the production on the road for another 38 weeks. He starred in the Broadway production of The Late George Apley for a year, and then spent another 80 weeks with the show's national tour.

Waram originated the role of Horace Vandergelder in The Merchant of Yonkers, and appeared in an influential if not successful modern dress version of Hamlet.

Waram made only a few films, and had no starring roles, but is best remembered now for his role as General Haynesworth in the film A Face in the Crowd.

Early life Percy Thomas Carne Waram was born 28 October 1880 in Cornwall in the United Kingdom to Joseph Carne Waram and his wife, Margaret Frances ( Powrie). His father served in the British Army, He was a descendant of Mary Saunderson Betterton (1637–1712), the famed Elizabethan era actress. Waram came with the Greet troupe when it traveled to the United States in 1902. He made his American stage debut in the play Everyman at the Maryland Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland.

After two years in the United States, Waram returned to the U.K. in 1905 to form his own touring troupe. The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, and The Taming of the Shrew. The Greet players occasionally did other plays, and Waram appeared in She Stoops to Conquer in 1908.

Waram sometimes worked for other companies as well. He appeared in the Violet Allen Company's production of Twelfth Night an American tour in 1903, the Frances Delaval Company's production of Her Lost Self at the St. James' Theatre in London in 1906, and performed for the William Faversham Company in 1909.

In 1910, Waram formed a very small troupe under the name "Percy Waram & Co.", and toured the Keith-Albee-Orpheum and Proctor theater circuits in vaudeville in the sketch The Boatswain's Mate ( The Bos'n's Mate). W. W. Jacobs and Herbert N. Sargent wrote the sketch specifically for Waram, adapting a short story of the same name by Jacobs. The sketch made its debut at the Montauk Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey,

Broadway debut and other early stage work Waram most likely made his Broadway debut in the 1909 production of The Barber of New Orleans at Daly's Theatre. The following year he appeared in Arthur Conan Doyle play The Fires of Fate at the Liberty Theatre on Broadway.

After his three years in vaudeville ended, Waram returned to the stage as Captain Smollett in Treasure Island. The play premiered in June 1916 at the Colonial Theatre in Chicago. In October, the production moved to the Punch and Judy Theatre on Broadway, The play was Waram's first hit, running for 331 performances.

Waram returned to Broadway in the Mark Swan play Somebody's Luggage at the 48th Street Theatre in August 1916. This was followed by the role of the Gardener in the Charles Frohman Company's production of J. M. Barrie play Barbara's Wedding. The play had its world premiere in Buffalo, New York.

His second hit play was Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin Lilac Time, and his first important role. He joined William Faversham's production of Lord and Lady Algy, which premiered at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway in December 1918, and stayed with the production during its 1919 national tour. He played the role of Lord Andrew Gordon in Guy Bolton and George Middleton play Adam and Eva during its national tour, which began in the summer of 1920 and did not end until March 1921. He followed by playing the role of George Herbert in Norman Trevor's Little Theater Group production of The Married Woman at Broadway's Princess Theatre in December 1921.

Waram appeared in a number of Broadway plays over the next five years: As Phillip Blanchard in Eden Phillpotts' The Shadow at the Klaw Theatre in April 1922, as the Elder Brother in The Lucky One at the Garrick Theatre in November 1922, as Jacques in The Tidings Brought to Mary at the Garrick Theatre in December 1922, as Domin in R.U.R. at the Shubert Theatre in April 1923, as Winthrop Field in A Love Scandal at the Ambassador Theatre in November 1923, as Beaucaire in Monsieur Beaucaire at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis in May 1924, as Maitland White in Philip Barry You and I at the Murat Theatre in May 1924, as Hugh Chadwell in Walter Archer Frost Cape Smoke at the Martin Beck Theatre in February 1925, as Horatio in a modern dress version of Hamlet at the Booth Theatre in November 1925, and as Citizen Hogan in Hangman's House at the Forrest Theatre in December 1926. Waram later considered his role in the modern dress Hamlet to be one of the most important in his career. Waram played Sir William Charteris, taking over from McKay Morris (who originated the role on Broadway). The play altered his career, turning him into a major star on the stage. the play moved to Salt Lake City in May 1927, After a four month run in California, the play moved to Kansas City, where it broke box office records for attendance. The play then toured Cincinnati, Detroit, Montréal, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., before returning to Broadway's Majestic Theatre on January 30, 1928 for a final, limited run.

Waram worked steadily through the early years of the Great Depression after the success of The Shanghai Gesture. Taking almost no time off, he appeared as Bill Walker in the October 1928 production of Major Barbara at the Guild Theatre, and the role of the Servant in Camel Through the Needle's Eye at the Guild Theatre in April 1929. He left Camel after just a week in the role to join the national touring company of Major Barbara. The role helped cement his reputation as a reliable actor, and brought him to the attention of producers nationwide. in the regional touring company of Pygmalion. The play premiered in September 1929 at the Wilson Theatre in Detroit for tryouts before moving to Indianapolis, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.

In October 1930, Waram originated the role of Sir Walter Raleigh in Maxwell Anderson new play, Elizabeth the Queen. The play debuted at Ford's Theatre in Baltimore and then played regionally before making its Broadway premiere at the Guild Theatre in November 1930. Waram toured nationally in the role until June 1931.

After taking a year off, Waram took the role of Comte Dubarry in the new operetta The Dubarry, which had its world premiere at George M. Cohan's Theatre in November 1932. The operetta was not successful, and in April 1933 Waram originated the role of Howard Bartlett in Somerset Maugham new play, For Services Rendered. After a tryout in Oakland, California, the first week of April, the play moved to the Booth Theatre on Broadway. With work on the stage scarce due to the Great Depression, Waram joined the summer stock repertory company at the Casino Theatre in Newport, Rhode Island. He appeared in at least one play, the drawing room comedy Aren't We All? In October 1933, he appeared as Don Salluste de Bazan in an English-language adaptation of Victor Hugo Ruy Blas. After a brief run at the Majestic Theatre, the play moved to Baltimore, Efn|Ridges left to take a role in Eugene O'Neill new play, Days Without End. The play quickly closed, and Waram returned to the Casino Theatre's summer stock company, where he appeared in A Bill of Divorcement and Benn Levy Art and Mrs. Bottle. Although Waram had no contract at the start of the 1934-1935 theater season, he appeared as Henry Pryor in the drama Living Dangerously at the Morosco Theatre in January 1935.

Film and stage work after 1935 First film roles and Pride and Prejudice Waram was cast in his first film in March 1935. The role, a small one which barely made the final cut, was for Mutiny on the Bounty.

After completing work in Hollywood, Waram returned to Broadway in the role of Mr. Bennett in Helen Jerome stage adaptation of Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice. The play debuted at the National Theatre in October 1935, and was a major hit. It ran for 219 performances (with only short interruptions for cast vacations) until May 1936.

A series of much less successful plays followed over the next two years. These included the role Sir Hudson Lowe in the American premiere of St Helena in October 1936 at the Lyceum Theatre, Mr. Pinchwife in The Country Wife in December 1936 at Henry Miller's Theatre, and Malvolio in Twelfth Night at the Mohawk Drama Festival in Schenectady, New York, in July 1937. He joined the repertory company at the County Theatre in Suffern, New York, in the summer of 1937, appearing in A Bill of Divorcement and Pride and Prejudice. After nearly a year's break, Waram returned to the stage in Ruy Blas at a drama festival in Central City, Colorado, in May 1938.

Three and a half years after Mutiny on the Bounty, Waram signed to do a second film. He played the role of slumlord business manager Arthur Mather in the social drama ...One Third of a Nation...

The Merchant of Yonkers and Life With Father

In December 1938, Waram originated the role of Horace Vandergelder in Thornton Wilder new play, The Merchant of Yonkers. After a brief tryout in Boston, the play moved to the Guild Theatre on Broadway. Actress Jane Cowl (who played the role of Dolly Levi) intensely disliked director Max Reinhardt, and Reinhardt retaliated by isolating Cowl physically on stage. The play was considered a disappointment, and ran for only 28 performances.

After another year away from the theater, Waram took the role of "Father" Clarence Day Sr. in a Chicago production of the hit Broadway play Life With Father. After a tryout at the Maryland Theatre in Baltimore, it opened at the Blackstone Theatre in Chicago on February 19, 1940. Waram was the first individual to take over the role of Father from the play's co-author Howard Lindsay, who originated the role on Broadway. The play called for Father to stamp a foot on the floor, calling for the cook to come upstairs. Waram stomped so ferociously that he broke his foot, and had to switch feet for the scene. The tour ran until July 1942, and resumed again in October 1942 with June Walker as "Mother". After another 38 and a half weeks on the road and net profits of $559,000 ($ in dollars), the tour finally came to an end.

Just as the tour of Life With Father came to an end, Waram was cast as Inspector Prentice in Paramount Pictures' noir crime film, Ministry of Fear.

The Late George Apley and Anne of the Thousand Days After a year away from the stage, Waram returned to acting in the role of Roger Newcombe in an adaptation of the novel The Late George Apley. Waram originated the role, with Leo G. Carroll in the leading role of George Apley. After a tryout at the Wilmington Playhouse in Wilmington, Delaware, in October 1944 and the Plymouth Theatre in Boston in November, With only brief interruptions to rest the cast, the play ran until November 1945 on Broadway before embarking on an 80-week national tour.

Just five months after finishing the Apley tour, Waram originated the role of Marcus Hubbard in Lillian Hellman play Another Part of the Forest. The play premiered in Wilmington before additional tryouts in Baltimore and Detroit. It premiered on Broadway at the Fulton Theatre in November 1946,

In June 1946, during the national tour of The Late George Apley, Waram was cast as Roger Newcombe in the film version. Filming commenced in September 1947, and did not end until December.

In November 1948, a year after filming The Late George Apley, Waram originated the role of Cardinal Wolsey in the new Maxwell Anderson play Anne of the Thousand Days. The play premiered at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia and moved to Broadway's Shubert Theatre in early December. Waram stayed with the production until early June 1949.

Final years Last roles Waram was cast in 1949 as senior law partner John Benley, father of Elizabeth Taylor Mary Benley, in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1950 comedy The Big Hangover.

Now 70 years old, Waram did not work in 1950 or 1951. He returned to Broadway in October 1952 in the dual role of the Station Master and God in Ugo Betti play The Gambler (adapted by Alfred Drake). The play premiered at the Lyceum Theatre, and closed after a short run. Waram returned to acting in October 1954, originating the role of Lucas Edgerton, a wealthy industrialist who goes on an art buying spree, in Reclining Figure.

Waram's final hit stage role was that of the no-nonsense Judge in Enid Bagnold new play The Chalk Garden. The play had its world premiere at the Shubert Theater in Hartford, Connecticut, before moving to the Wilbur Theatre in Boston. running for 182 performances.

In September 1956, Waram was cast in his final film role, that of General Haynesworth, chief executive officer of a vitamin company, in the film A Face in the Crowd.

Waram appeared in his final stage role before moving to Broadway's John Golden Theatre two weeks later. The play closed after 63 performances.

Death Waram's wife, Lucia, died in March 1961.

In September 1961, Waram traveled to Huntington, New York, to be close to his daughter, who was ill. He entered the hospital himself on September 24, The couple made their home in Stonington, and Julian Thomas Cole Waram (1913-1982), for years a member of the United States Coast Guard. Waram's children were educated at a private school in Switzerland.

Waram once voiced a fondness for quiet roles, and later said he preferred bloody mystery-thrillers.

Boating and golfing were Waram's favorite pastimes, and he often smoked cigars. He was a member and strong supporter of the Actors' Equity Association (the American stage performer's union).

Waram went mostly bald early in life. He had mid frontal baldness, and wore a toupée on stage in most of his roles. While starring in the play Lilac Time, his toupée caught on a piece of stage scenery. The near-disaster led him to grow out a mustache out of a fear that a fake mustache would fall off during a performance.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1935 Mutiny on the Bounty Coleman first film role1939 ...One Third of a Nation... Arthur Mather 1944 Ministry of Fear Inspector Prentice 1947 It Had to Be You Horace Stafford 1947 The Late George Apley Roger Newcombe 1950 The Big Hangover John Belney 1957 A Face in the Crowd Gen. Haynesworth final film role

Stage roles Year Title Role Location Notes1895 East Lynne English maid; French maid not known stage debut; United Kingdom stage debut1902 Everyman not known Baltimore, Md. United States stage debut1903 Twelfth Night not known national tour 1906 Her Lost Self not known West End (London) 1909 The Barber of New Orleans not known Broadway Broadway debut1910 The Fires of Fate not known Broadway 1916 Treasure Island Capt. Smollett Chicago; Broadway Chicago stage debut; first hit1916 Somebody's Luggage not known Broadway 1916 Barbara's Wedding Gardener Buffalo, N.Y. play's world premiere1918 Lilac Time Captain Paget national tour 1918 Lord and Lady Algy not known national tour 1920 Adam and Eva Lord Andrew Gordon national tour 9 months in the role1921 The Married Woman George Herbert Broadway 1922 The Shadow Phillip Blanchard Broadway 1922 The Lucky One Elder Brother (Bob Farringdon) Broadway 1922 The Tidings Brought To Mary Jacques Hury Broadway 1923 R.U.R. Domin Broadway 1923 A Love Scandal Winthrop Field Broadway 1924 Monsieur Beaucaire Beaucaire Indianapolis, Ind. 1924 You and I Maitland White Indianapolis, Ind. 1925 Cape Smoke Hugh Chadwell Broadway 1925 Hamlet Horatio Broadway modern dress staging1926 Hangman's House Citizen Hogan Broadway 1927 The Shanghai Gesture Sir William Charteris Chicago, national tour 11 months in the role1928 Major Barbara Bill Walker Broadway 1929 Camel Through the Needle's Eye Servant Broadway 1929 Major Barbara Bill Walker national tour 1929 Pygmalion Col. Pickering Detroit, regional tour 1930 Elizabeth the Queen Sir Walter Raleigh Broadway, national tour originated the role1932 The Dubarry Comte Dubarry Broadway originated the role1933 For Services Rendered Howard Bartlett Broadway originated the role1933 Aren't We All? not known Newport, R.I. 1933 Ruy Blas Don Salluste de Bazan Broadway, Baltimore 1933 Mary of Scotland Lord Morton Broadway 1934 Picnic Uncle Robert Broadway 1934 A Bill of Divorcement not known Newport, R.I. 1934 Art and Mrs. Bottle not known Newport, R.I. 1935 Living Dangerously Henry Pryor Broadway 1935 Pride and Prejudice Mr. Bennett Broadway originated the role; 8 months on Broadway1936 St Helena Sir Hudson Lowe Broadway 1936 The Country Wife Mr. Pinchwife Broadway 1937 Twelfth Night Malvolio Schenectady, N.Y. 1937 A Bill of Divorcement not known Suffern, N.Y. 1937 Pride and Prejudice Mr. Bennett Suffern, N.Y. 1938 Ruy Blas Don Salluste de Bazan Central City, Colo. 1938 The Merchant of Yonkers Horace Vandergelder Broadway originated the role1940 Life With Father "Father" Clarence Day Sr. Chicago, national tour record-breaking 66 weeks in Chicago; 57 weeks on tour1944 The Late George Apley Roger Newcombe Broadway, national tour originated the role; 11 months on Broadway; 80 weeks on tour1946 Another Part of the Forest Marcus Hubbard Broadway originated the role; 11 months on Broadway1946 Anne of the Thousand Days Cardinal Wolsey Broadway originated the role; 7 months on Broadway1952 The Gambler Station Master/God Broadway 1954 Reclining Figure Lucas Edgerton Broadway originated the role1955 The Chalk Garden The Judge Broadway originated the role; 7 months on Broadway1957 Monique Insp. Desiré Merlin Broadway originated the role; final stage role