Cyril Harcourt

British actor and playwright (1872–1924)

Cyril Harcourt

In A Pair of Petticoats (1918)

Born|

Cyril Worsley Perkins

(1872-12-30)30 December 1872

Hendon, Middlesex, England

Died| 4 March 1924(1924-03-04) (aged 51)

Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Burial place| Cimetière du Trabuquet
Occupation(s)| Actor, playwright

Cyril Harcourt (1872-1924) was a noted writer for the London and New York City stages who appeared in his own plays.

## Biography

[edit]

Born in Hendon, Middlesex, on 30 December 1872, Cyril Harcourt (originally named Cyril Worsley Perkins), was educated at Bedford School between 1881 and 1888. He intended to take holy orders but instead qualified as an engineer. He then studied for the operatic stage, ultimately becoming an actor in his own plays. His first play, The Axis, was produced for the Criterion Theatre in July 1905, and was followed by The Reformer in 1907, and The Recompense in 1910. He had greater success with A Place in the Sun, at the Comedy Theatre in 1913, in which he played a brilliant man of letters soured by early poverty. However, his greatest success and his most well-known play was A Pair of Silk Stockings, produced at the Criterion Theatre in 1914, which transferred to New York City and had been adapted for the cinema three times by 1932.[1] In May 1917, Wanted, A Husband, starring Gladys Cooper, was produced at the Playhouse Theatre. In the Night was produced at the Kingsway Theatre in 1919, and Will You Kiss Me? was produced at the Comedy Theatre in 1920.[2] Cyril Harcourt set up a management company with Norman Pritchard at the Comedy Theatre, New York, in 1918.[3] He died in Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, France, on 4 March 1924, aged 51.[4]

Harcourt's grave at Cimetière du Trabuquet

## Plays

[edit]

* The Axis, Criterion Theatre, 1905
* The Reformer, Criterion Theatre, 1907
* The Recompense, Criterion Theatre, 1910
* A Place in the Sun, Comedy Theatre, 1913
* A Pair of Silk Stockings, Criterion Theatre, 1914
* Wanted, A Husband, Playhouse Theatre, 1917
* In the Night, Kingsway Theatre, 1919
* The Intruder, 1920
* Will You Kiss Me?, Comedy Theatre, 1920

## Film adaptations

[edit]

* A Lady's Name, 1916
* A Pair of Silk Stockings, 1918
* In the Night, 1922
* They Just Had to Get Married, 1932

## Novels

[edit]

* The World's Daughter, 1913
* First Cousin to a Dream, 1914

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "'Silk Stockings' Will Come Here - Cyril Harcourt's Comedy May Bring Sam Sothern Back to America. Zangwill's New Play 'Plaster Saints' Not Likely to Please Many Theatregoers in London or Anywhere Else". The New York Times. 21 June 1914.
2. ^ Obituary, The Ousel, Vol.XXVIII, No.588, 29 March 1924, p. 19
3. ^ "The Other Side of Cyril Harcourt". The New York Times. 24 March 1918. p. X10.
4. ^ "Mr. Cyril Harcourt". The Times. No. 43594\. 7 March 1924. p. 15. Retrieved 26 July 2024 - via The Times Digital Archive.

## External links

[edit]

* Cyril Harcourt at IMDb
* Cyril Harcourt at the Internet Broadway Database