Margaret Halstan
A white woman wearing a dark gown with a low neckline and a string of pearls; her dark wavy hair is parted center and dressed back to the nape
Margaret Halstan, from a 1904 publication
Born
Clara Maud Hertz

25 December 1879 (1879-12-25)
London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom
Died8 January 1967 (1967-01-09) (aged 87)
Hornchurch, Greater London, England, United Kingdom
OccupationActress
Years active1895-1963
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1905; died 1955)​

Margaret Halstan (25 December 1879[1] – 8 January 1967[2]) was a British stage, radio, television and film actress. In theatre and film roles she often played upper-class ladies of the gentry, with a career spanning over six decades.[1] She was particularly known for her Shakespearian roles, having debuted in 1895, at the turn of the century she joined Sir Frank Benson theatre company, and also played in the theatrical company's of Sir George Alexander and Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, before making her debut in silent film in 1916.[3]

Biography

She was born Clara Maud Hertz in Greater London in 1879, of apparently Jewish descent[3]and later used the stage name Margaret Halstan.[4][5] Her parents were Henry Anthony Hertz and his wife Elizabeth Maud.[1]

Before becoming a professional actor, Halstan performed as an amateur with the Strolling Players and the Bancroft Amateur Dramatic Society.[1] She performed in a show titled Beethoven's Romance at the Royalty Theatre on 1 December 1894.[6] Halstan made her first professional stage appearance at the Haymarket Theatre on 30 October 1895, as a walk-on in Trilby.[1] She was fluent in English, German, and French, and performed on stage in all three languages.[7][8] Halstan also acted in BBC radio productions such as the 1938 radio adaptation of the novel If I Were You,[9] and the 1940 radio adaptation of the short story "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime".[10]

Halstan married lawyer John Hartman Morgan in 1905.[11]

Theatre

Show Dates Theatre Role Ref(s)
Antony and Cleopatra 24 May – 5 June 1897 Olympic Theatre Octavia [6]
My "Soldier" Boy 3 January – 18 March 1899 Criterion Theatre Geraldine [6]
You Never Can Tell 26 November 1899 Royalty Theatre Gloria Clandon [12]
The Wisdom of the Wise 22 November 1900 – 12 January 1901 St James's Theatre Mrs. Tommie Bistern [13]
Das große Licht 16 December – 22 December 1902 Great Queen Street Theatre Charlotte Eggers [13]
The Good Hope 26–27 April 1903 Imperial Theatre Jo [12]
Ina 15–17 May 1904 Royal Court Theatre Ina [12]
Othello 12 January 1907 Queen’s Theatre, Manchester Desdemona [14]
The Rights of the Soul 21–22 February 1909 Kingsway Theatre Anna [13]
What the Public Wants 2 May – 26 June 1909 Aldwych Theatre and Royalty Theatre Emily Vernon [12]
Twelfth Night 8 January 1910 Queen’s Theatre, Manchester Viola [15]
A Fool There Was 21 March – 13 May 1911 Queen’s Theatre and Aldwych Theatre The Wife [16]
Arms and the Man 18 May – 1 July 1911 Criterion Theatre Raina [17]
The Man of Destiny 28 January 1912 Savoy Theatre Strange Lady [17]
The Gold Thread 7 November 1912 Royal Court Theatre, London Mrs. Innes [18]
A Scrap of Paper 16 June – 25 July 1914 Criterion Theatre Lucy, Lady Icebrook [17]
The Stormy Petrel 30 September – 9 October 1915 Criterion Theatre Frances Weir [17]
As You Like It 24 January 1916 Queen’s Theatre, Manchester Rosalind [19]
Where Is He? 4 September 1916 Gaiety Theatre, Manchester Marged [19]
The House of Peril 8 March – 7 June 1919 Queen's Theatre Anna Wolsky [17]
Brown Sugar 7 July 1920 – 19 February 1921 Duke of York's Theatre and Garrick Theatre Lady Honoria Nesbitt [20]
The Desire for Change 26 October – 14 November 1925 Playhouse Theatre Countess Sucha [20]
The Blue Kitten 23 December 1925 – 24 April 1926 Gaiety Theatre, London and London Pavilion Mme Lucile Popp [20]
The Lady-in-Law 29 September – 12 November 1927 Wyndham's Theatre Magda Kramsen [20]
Wooden Shoes 13 November – 13 December 1930 Kingsway Theatre Trine Krebs [21]
The Young Idea 31 August – 24 October 1931 St Martin's Theatre Julia Craigworthy [21]
The Admirable Crichton 28 October – 23 December 1943 His Majesty's Theatre, London Countess of Brocklehurst [22]
The Dark Lady of the Sonnets 28 November 1944 – 17 January 1945 Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith The Lady [22]
Pygmalion 12 December 1944 – 20 January 1945 Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith Mrs. Higgins [22]
The Holly and the Ivy 28 March – 29 April 1950 Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith Aunt Lydia [23]
The Holly and the Ivy 10 May 1950 – 5 May 1951 Duchess Theatre Aunt Lydia [23]
Indian Summer 12 December – 29 December 1951 Criterion Theatre Muriel Petersham [23]
The Children's Hour 19 September – 28 October 1956 Arts Theatre Amelia Tilford [23]
My Fair Lady 30 April 1958 – 19 October 1963 Theatre Royal, Drury Lane Queen of Transylvania [23]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1916 A Bunch of Violets Lady Marchant
1917 Profit and the Loss Unknown role
1922 Tell Your Children Lady Sybil Edwards
1922 Brown Sugar Honoria Nesbitt Performed the same role in the 1920 play[20]
1930 The Middle Watch Lady Agatha Hewitt
1931 The Beggar Student Countess Novalska
1935 Drake of England Lady Sydenham
1940 Old Mother Riley in Society Duchess
1941 Quiet Wedding Lady Yeldham
1942 The Black Sheep of Whitehall Matron
1952 The Holly and the Ivy Aunt Lydia Performed the same role in the 1950 play[23]
1953 Blood Orange Lady Marchant
1955 Touch and Go Mrs. Pritchett

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Parker, John (1939). Who's Who in the Theatre: A Biographical Record of the Contemporary Stage (ninth ed.). New York: Pitman Publishing Company. p. 744.
  2. ^ "Obituary". The Stage. 12 January 1967. p. 15.
  3. ^ a b "Margaret Halston: Beautiful Shakespearian Actress and Film Star". The Cabinet Card Gallery. 2017-07-18. Retrieved 2020-12-27 – via cabinetcardgallery.com.
  4. ^ Mills, Steve (2019). The Dawn of the Drone: From the Back-Room Boys of World War One. Casemate. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-61200-790-8.
  5. ^ Room, Adrian (2014). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (5th ed.). McFarland. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-7864-4373-4.
  6. ^ a b c Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1890–1899: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Scarecrow Press. pp. 232, 342, 401. ISBN 978-0-8108-9282-8.
  7. ^ The Royal Magazine, Volume 7. London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd. 1902. p. 311.
  8. ^ The Royal Magazine, Volume 12. London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd. 1904. p. 291.
  9. ^ "'IF I WERE YOU'". BBC Genome: Radio Times. BBC. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Oscar Wilde's famous story 'LORD ARTHUR SAVILE'S CRIME'". BBC Genome: Radio Times. BBC. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  11. ^ Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News, Volume 63. George S. Maddick. 1905. p. 740.
  12. ^ a b c d The Incorporated Stage Society (1909). Ten Years 1899 to 1909. Chiswick Press.
  13. ^ a b c Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1900–1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 36, 123, 453. ISBN 978-0-8108-9294-1.
  14. ^ Carson, L. The Stage Year Book 1908. Carson & Comerford, Ltd.
  15. ^ Carson, L. (1911). The Stage Year Book 1911. London: The Stage.
  16. ^ Carson, L. (1912). The Stage Year Book 1912. London: The Stage.
  17. ^ a b c d e Wearing, J. P. (2013). The London Stage 1910–1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. pp. 81, 123, 212, 278, 288, 345, 374, 499. ISBN 978-0-8108-9299-6.
  18. ^ Carson, L. (1913). The Stage Year Book 1913. London: The Stage.
  19. ^ a b Carson, L. (1917). The Stage Year Book 1917.
  20. ^ a b c d e Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1920–1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 42, 395, 410, 541. ISBN 978-0-8108-9302-3.
  21. ^ a b Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1930–1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 67, 140. ISBN 978-0-8108-9304-7.
  22. ^ a b c Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1940–1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 129, 177, 178. ISBN 978-0-8108-9306-1.
  23. ^ a b c d e f Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1950–1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 13, 20, 137, 454, 568. ISBN 978-0-8108-9308-5.
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