- Lyn Harding
Lyn Harding (
12 October 1867 –26 December 1952 ) (real name David Llewellyn Harding) was a Welsh actor who spent 40 years on the stage before entering British made silent films, talkies and radio. He had an imposing and menacing stage presence and came to be cast as the villain in many films, notablyProfessor Moriarty in dramatisations of theSherlock Holmes stories.Early years
He was born in 1867 at
St Brides Wentloog , inMonmouthshire ,Wales , into a strict Congregationalist Welsh-speaking family.Acting career
He started his career as an apprentice draper in
Newport , Wales and but he was drawn to an acting career . He began giving readings fromShakespeare at a chapel inCardiff . In 1890 a chance meeting with a touring group on a train led to him standing in for a sick actor and his first professional engagement. He opened on28 August 1890 in 'The Grip Of Iron' at the Theatre Royal,Bristol .He toured the Provinces and eventually made his London debut at the Shakespeare Theatre,
Clapham on19 July 1897 .He later changed his name to "Lyn" to make it more acceptable to English audiences who found "Llewellyn" difficult to pronounce.
His career spanned stage, silent screen, talkies and radio productions and he toured in the
USA ,Japan ,India andBurma . He worked at different times withJohn Gielgud ,Ralph Richardson andAnthony Quayle .His last stage appearance was as Abu Hassan in
Chu Chin Chow in the West End in 1941 when he was 74 years old.At the age of nearly 80 he played
Owain Glyndŵr in Shakespeare's Henry IV forBBC radio.He lived for many years in
Hemel Hempstead and died inLondon .Lyn Harding Filmography
*1920 "
Bachelor Husband
*1922 "When Knighthood Was in Flower
*1924 "Yolanda
*1927 "Further Adventures of the Flag Lieutenant
*1927 "Land of Hope and Glory
*1930 "Sleeping Partners
*1931 "The Speckled Band
*1932 "The Barton Mystery
*1933 "The Constant Nymph
*1934 "The Lash
*1934 "The Man Who Changed His Name
*1934 "Wild Boy
*1935 "Escape Me Never
*1935 "The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes
*1936 "An Old Spanish Custom
*1936 "Spy of Napoleon
*1936 "The Man Who Changed His Mind
*1937 "Fire over England
*1937 "Knight without Armour
*1937 "Les Perles De La Couronne
*1937 "Murder at the Baskervilles
*1937 "Please Teacher
*1937 "Silver Blaze
*1937 "The Mutiny on the Elsinore
*1937 "Underneath the Arches
*1939 "Goodbye, Mr. Chips
*1939 "The Missing People
*1941 "The Prime Minister
*1941 "References
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0362361/ Entry at IMDB]
* [http://www.holmesonscreen.com/Harding.htm Review of film career]
* [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=30346 Entry at the All Movie Guide]
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