Naunton Wayne
Wayne in The Lady Vanishes, 1938
Born
Henry Wayne Davies

(1901-06-22)22 June 1901
Pontypridd, Glamorgan, Wales
Died17 November 1970(1970-11-17) (aged 69)
Tolworth, Greater London, England
Years active1932–1969

Naunton Wayne (born Henry Wayne Davies,[1] 22 June 1901 – 17 November 1970), was a Welsh character actor, born in Pontypridd, Glamorgan, Wales.[2] He was educated at Clifton College. His name was changed by deed poll in 1933.[3]

Stage actor

His first London stage roles were in Streamline at the Palace in 1934 and in 1066 and All That at the Strand in 1935 (where he provided comic continuity for other performers).[4] His first full role was as Norman Weldon in Wise Tomorrow at The Lyric in 1937. He played Mortimer Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace at the Strand for four years.[5] He was a leading member of The Stage Golfing Society.[6]

From November 1956 he appeared in the long-running farce The Bride and the Bachelor at the Duchess Theatre.

Film actor

He became best known for his role as a supporting character, Caldicott, in the 1938 film version of The Lady Vanishes,[7] a role he repeated in three further films, alongside Basil Radford as his equally cricket-obsessed friend, Charters. The two would go on to appear in other films together, often playing similar characters.[8] Their other joint credits include Night Train to Munich (1940), Crook's Tour (1941), Millions Like Us (1943), Dead of Night (1945), Quartet (1948), It's Not Cricket (1949), and Passport to Pimlico (1949).[9]

Wayne also appeared alone in other films including the Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) and Obsession (1949).[10]

Personal life

Wayne married Gladys Dove, a concert pianist, in 1927 and they had two sons, Peter and John.[11]

Death

Wayne died in Tolworth, in the county of Surrey on 17 November 1970, at the age of 69.[7]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ "Obituary: Naunton Wayne – The Times (18 November 1970)". The Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Wayne, Naunton [formerly Henry Wayne Davies] (1901–1970)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/99637. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ Room, Adrian (2012). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 504. ISBN 978-0-7864-5763-2.
  4. ^ "Naunton Wayne – Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  5. ^ Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1940–1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-8108-9306-1.
  6. ^ "Naunton Wayne: Guardian Obituary". Britmovie. 2015. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Nauton Wayne, 69, British actor, dies". The New York Times. United Press International. 19 November 1970. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Naunton Wayne – Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos – AllMovie". AllMovie.
  9. ^ Sweet, Matthew (29 December 2007). "Mustard and cress". the Guardian.
  10. ^ "Naunton Wayne". Archived from the original on 11 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Film cricketer turns to crime". 1949. Retrieved 11 March 2017.

External links

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