Arthur Margetson

Arthur Margetson (27 April 1887 – 13 August 1951) was a British stage and film actor^[1] and radio broadcaster. He was also a composer of music and lyrics, and an impersonator of performers such as G P Huntley, Alfred Lester, and Harry Weldon.

From 1925 to 1949 Margetson crossed the Atlantic, either alone or with his current wife, at least 20 times in several different liners, including the Île de France and the Queen Elizabeth. On 21 August 1924, the French vessel De Grasse transported Arthur and his first wife Rosamund on its maiden voyage from Le Havre, arriving in New York on 5 September.^[2]

Stage performances

Source:^[3]

(1917) Theodore and Co., at the Prince's, Edinburgh
(1918) Telling the Tale at the Ambassador’s
(1919) Duets given with Eileen Molyneux at the Chiswick Empire
(1919) Midnight Frolics at The Hippodrome, Boscombe
(1919) Topsy-Turvey — 1919 at the Kennington Theatre
(1921) The Follies of 1921 at King’s Theatre, Dundee
(1922) His Girl at the Gaiety Theatre, Sheffield
(1925) Little Miss Bluebeard at Wyndham’s, with Irene Bordoni
(1925) Betty in Mayfair at the Adelphi, with Jack Hobbs
(1926) Kid Boots at the Winter Garden
(1926) Just a Kiss at The Empire, Liverpool
(1927) The Blue Train at the King’s Theatre, Southsea
(1927) Noël Coward’s Home Chat at the Duke of York’s
(1928) Paris at the Wilbur Theatre, Boston in June; then at the Music Box Theatre, New York in October
(1929) Replaced Owen Nares as boxing hero Jim Brooks in Hold Everything! at the Palace Theatre, London
(1930) Watch Beverly at the Q Theatre, Kew Bridge
(1930) Heads Up! at the Palace Theatre
(1930) Let us be Gay at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham with Tallulah Bankhead in the lead; his first appearance in a straight play
(1931) Naughty Cinderella at the Comedy
(1931) In an adaptation of Maugham’s novel The Painted Veil at The Playhouse
(1932) Lovely Lady at the Phoenix. Closed after four performances
(1932) Men About the House at the Theatre Royal, Bournemouth with Olga Lindo in the lead
(1932) Nona at the Avon Theatre, New York
(1933) A Good Woman, Poor Thing, at the Avon, New York
(1933) A Saturday Night, at the Playhouse, New York
(1933) Music in the Air, at His Majesty's Theatre, London
(1934) No More Ladies, at Wyndham's, London
(1936) Mainly for Lovers,^[4] at the 48th Street Theatre, New York
(1937) The Laughing Cavalier, at The Adelphi, London
(1938) Back Your Fancy, at the Theatre Royal, Brighton
(1939) Magyar Melody, at His Majesty's, London
(1939) Billy Draws a Horse,^[5] at the Playhouse, New York
(1940) Charley's Aunt, at the Cort Theatre, New York
(1940) A Case of Youth, National Theatre, New York
(1941) Maugham’s Theatre, at the National, Washington
(1942) Punch and Julia, at the National, Washington
(1942) Flare Path, at Henry Miller's Theatre, New York, with Alec Guinness in his Broadway début
(1943) Another Love Story, at the Fulton Theatre, New York
(1944) Lovers and Friends, at the National, Washington
(1944) Mrs. Kimball Presents, at the 48th Street Theatre, New York
(1945) Life with Father, at the Empire, New York
(1946) Park Avenue, at the Schubert, New York
(1946) Claudia, at the Shubert, New York
(1946) Around the World, at the Adelphi, New York
(1946) Little Brown Jug, at the Martin Beck Theatre, New York
(1948) The Play’s the Thing, at the National, Washington
(1949) Clutterbuck, at the Biltmore, New York

Filmography

Wolves (1930) as Mark (film debut)
Other People's Sins (1931) as Bernard Barrington
Many Waters (1931) as Jim Barcaldine
Flat No. 9 (1932) as John Danvers
His Grace Gives Notice (1933) as George Barwick
The Great Defender (1934) as Leslie Locke
Little Friend (1934) as Hilliard
Royal Cavalcade (1935) as Dining Officer
The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (1935) as Capt. Benjamin Briggs
The Divine Spark (1935) as Ernesto Tosi
I Give My Heart (1935) as Count Du Barry
Music Hath Charms (1935) as Alan Sterling
Broken Blossoms (1936) as Battling Burrows
Juggernaut (1936) as Roger Clifford
Head Office (1936) as Dixon
Pagliacci (1936) as Tonio
Smash and Grab (1937) as Malvern
Action for Slander (1938) as Capt. Hugh Bradford
The Return of Carol Deane (1938) as Mark Poynton
Me and My Pal (1939) as Andrews
The Nursemaid Who Disappeared (1939) as Det. Antony Gethryn
Return to Yesterday (1940) as Osbert
Random Harvest (1942) as Chetwynd
Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942) as German Colonel
Thumbs Up (1943) as Bert Lawrence
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) as Dr. Bob Sexton (final film)

Personal life

Arthur Charles Margetson was born on 27 April 1897 in Marylebone, the second son of Edward John (a fruit salesman and Freemason^[6]) and Marion Stocqueler Home (née Wardroper). He attended the Royal Masonic School for Boys in Bushey.^[7]

Margetson married in turn:

Rosamond Bertram Ifould (née Hobson) in Manhattan on 5 March 1923. She had had three children by her first marriage. They were divorced in London in 1925.^[8]
Vera Alys Lennox, at the Savoy Chapel on 28 June 1926.^[9] She divorced him in London in 1932.^[10]
Actress Shirley Grey (born Agnes Evangeline Zetterstrand in Connecticut), at Caxton Hall Register Office in 1936.^[11] A lighthearted account of their courtship is available online.^[12]
Barbara Joyce Wood, a former photographers model,^[13] in New York in 1948.^[14]

Hammer House historian Howard Maxford states Margetson was originally a stockbroker, but provides no evidence.^[15] Arthur's brother Edward was an insurance brokers manager in 1939.^[13]

Arthur Margetson was keen on swimming, music, and lyric writing. He was a member of the Savage Club, the Stage Golfing Society^[16] and the Green Room Club.^[17]

Margetson died at the Central Middlesex Hospital on 12 August 1951. His home was at 20 Abbey Road St John's Wood.^[18]

References

^ BFI Database entry
^ UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960
^ This list was compiled by searching contemporary newspapers, the IBDB:Internet Broadway Database (https://www.ibdb.com/) and Theatricalia (https://theatricalia.com/person/pmj/arthur-margetson).
^ Also known as Lovers' Leap
^ Also known as Tony Draws a Horse
^ United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers, 1751-1921
^ 1911 Census
^ "Divorce Court File: 8574". The National Archives. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
^ "The Weekly Dispatch Office". Weekly Dispatch. London. 27 June 1926.
^ "Divorce Court File: 4570". The National Archives. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
^ "Actress weds". Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX. 3 January 1936.
^ "Category Archives: Arthur Margetson". The Bela Lugosi Blog. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
^ a b 1939 England and Wales Register
^ New York, Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018
^ Maxford, Howard (2018). Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company. McFarland. p. 537. ISBN 9781476629148. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
^ "Welcome to The Stage Golfing Society". The Stage Golfing Society. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
^ Parker, John, ed. (1936). Who’s Who in the Theatre. London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd.
^ National Probate Calendar

External links

Arthur Margetson at the Internet Broadway Database
Arthur Margetson at IMDb