Henry Ainley

Henry Ainley

British Shakespearean stage and film actor
Date of Birth: 21.08.1879
Country: Great Britain

Content:
  1. Biography of Henry Ainley
  2. Early Career and Theater Success
  3. Film and Other Accomplishments
  4. Personal Life and Legacy

Biography of Henry Ainley

British Shakespearean theater and film actor, Henry Ainley, was born on August 21, 1879, in Leeds. He was baptized at St. George's Parish Church in the city center and was raised in Morley by his parents, Richard and Ada Ainley.

Henry Ainley

Early Career and Theater Success

After reaching adulthood, Ainley moved to London to pursue an acting career. He made his professional acting debut as part of Frank Benson's theater company and later joined Herbert Beerbohm Tree's company. Ainley gained popularity in 1902 when he played Paolo in "Paolo and Francesca." He then went on to play roles such as Gloucester in "Henry V" at the Lyceum Theatre in London and returned to Leeds to perform at the Grand Theatre. Ainley also portrayed Oliver Cromwell, Mark Antony in "Julius Caesar," and Macbeth. He appeared as Malvolio and Leontes in productions directed by Granville Barker and played Hamlet multiple times, including in a "royal" production in 1930.

Henry Ainley

Film and Other Accomplishments

Ainley's Shakespearean roles extended to film, where he portrayed Henry VIII in 1911 and the Old Duke in "As You Like It" in 1936, alongside his son Richard and Laurence Olivier. His active creative career spanned from 1900 to 1936, encompassing stage, radio, and film performances.

Outside of acting, Ainley became a member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1921 and served as its president from 1931 to 1933. His own theater company launched the career of actor Robert Eddison. Ainley also participated in a campaign to save the financially struggling Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1932.

Personal Life and Legacy

Henry Ainley was married three times, to Susanne Sheldon, Elaine Fearon, and novelist Bettina Riddle, later known as Baroness von Hutten zum Stolzenberg. He had several children with a significant age difference, including actors Henry T. Ainley, Richard Ainley, and Anthony Ainley. He was also the father of Sam Ainley and Timothy Ainley, who did not pursue acting. Timothy and Anthony Ainley were registered under their mother's surname, Clarice Holmes, after their birth. While their birth certificates remain blank, Anthony Ainley's marriage certificate lists his father's name. Ainley was also the father of Henrietta Riddle, briefly engaged to British journalist and television presenter Alistair Cooke in 1932.

Ainley's influential connections in the theater world included being the godfather to John Pertwee, son of playwright, actor, and director Roland Pertwee. Pertwee played the Third Doctor in the cult television series "Doctor Who" from 1970 to 1974 and returned for the 1983 anniversary episode "The Five Doctors," in which Anthony Ainley also appeared as an antagonist.

Henry Ainley passed away on October 31, 1945, in London at the age of 66. Alongside his filmography, he left behind several recordings made for the Gramophone Company. There have been suggestions of a romantic relationship between Ainley and Laurence Olivier, supported by 15 letters in possession of Olivier's widow, Joan Plowright. Biographer Terry Coleman has noted the explicit homosexual content in those letters, implying Ainley's affection towards Olivier, although some members of Olivier's family, including his son Tarquin Olivier, insist that these feelings were not mutual.

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