Robertson Hare

2022-08-13T10:56:40Z

2A00:23C6:3310:E101:8C80:D9E8:B33C:B380: /* Life and career */

{{short description|British actor (1891-1979)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
[[File:Robertson-Hare.jpg|thumb|Robertson Hare as the Ven. Henry Blunt, Archdeacon of St. Ogg's, in ''[[All Gas and Gaiters]]'', late 1960s]]

'''John Robertson Hare''', [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was a British actor, who came to fame in the [[Aldwych farce]]s. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the [[Archdeacon]] in the popular [[BBC]] [[sitcom]], ''[[All Gas and Gaiters]]''.

Short in stature and of unheroic appearance, Hare made his stage career in character roles. From his early days as an actor he was cast as older men. One of his favourite parts, which he played in the provinces before achieving [[West End theatre|West End]] success, was "Grumpy", a retired lawyer, in which he toured before the [[First World War]].

After war service in the army, Hare got his big break. He was cast in a long-running farce with [[Ralph Lynn]] and [[Tom Walls]]. His meek and put-upon character was repeated in various incarnations in the eleven [[Aldwych farce]]s presented by Walls between 1923 and 1933. He also appeared in film versions of most of the farces. After the Aldwych series came to an end, Hare continued to be cast in similar roles in new plays by [[Ben Travers]] and many others.

Occasionally Hare took a break from farce, appearing in revue with [[Benny Hill]] and in a musical with [[Frankie Howerd]]. His final major role was on television in the late 1960s, as the Archdeacon of St Ogg's in the [[BBC]] comedy series ''[[All Gas and Gaiters]]''.

==Life and career==

===Early years===
Hare was born in [[Islington]], London, the younger child and only son of Frank Homer Hare, an accountant, and his wife, Louisa Mary, ''née'' Robertson.<ref name=dnb>Midwinter, Eric. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31198 "Hare, (John) Robertson (1891–1979)]", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2011, retrieved 12 February 2013 {{ODNBsub}}</ref> He was educated at Margate College in [[Kent]] and then studied drama with the actor and librettist [[Cairns James]].<ref name=who>Gaye, pp. 703–704</ref>

In 1911 Hare made his professional stage debut, playing the Duke of Gallminster in a provincial production of ''The Bear Leaders''.<ref name=who/> The following year he made his London début as one of the crowd in [[Gilbert Murray]]'s version of ''[[Oedipus Rex]]'' at the [[Royal Opera House]], [[Covent Garden]].<ref name=who/> In 1913 he had his first role in a [[West End theatre|West End]] production, as Kaufman in a detective play, ''The Scarlet Band'', at the [[Comedy Theatre]].<ref name=who/> He then toured the provinces for a number of years. His first leading part was the title role of ''Grumpy'', by [[Horace Hodges]] and T. Wigney Percyval, which was one of his favourite roles.<ref name=dnb/><ref name=times>"Mr Robertson Hare", ''The Times'', 16 November 1979, p. vi</ref> Even at this early stage of his career Hare was playing old men: "Grumpy" is an irascible retired lawyer.<ref>"Gaiety Theatre – Grumpy, ''The Manchester Guardian'', 26 October 1920, p. 14</ref> In December 1915 he married (Alice) Irene Mewton (1890/91–1969); they had one daughter.<ref name=dnb/>

===Aldwych farce===
After war service with the army in France, Hare resumed his acting career, and came to the notice of the West End public as James Chesterman in a new farce, ''[[Tons of Money (play)|Tons of Money]]'', in which he and the actor-manager [[Tom Walls]] played supporting roles, with [[Ralph Lynn]] in the lead.<ref>"Tons of Money", ''The Times'', 15 April 1922, p. 10</ref> The play ran for nearly two years, after which Walls recruited Lynn and Hare to join him in a series of new farces at the [[Aldwych Theatre]]. There were eleven plays in this series, which came to be known as [[Aldwych farce]]s; they played continuously from 1923 to 1933.<ref name=lynn>"Mr. Ralph Lynn", ''The Times'', 10 August 1962, p. 11</ref> Hare played in them all; his roles were: William Smith (''[[It Pays to Advertise (play)|It Pays to Advertise]]''); The Rev Cathcart Sloley-Jones (''[[A Cuckoo in the Nest]]''); Harold Twine (''[[Rookery Nook (play)|Rookery Nook]]''); Hook (''[[Thark (play)|Thark]]''); Oswald Veal (''[[Plunder (play)|Plunder]]''); Ernest Ramsbotham (''[[A Cup of Kindness (play)|A Cup of Kindness]]''); Miles Tuckett (''A Night Like This''); Edwin Stoatt (''[[Turkey Time (play)|Turkey Time]]''); Clement Peck (''Dirty Work''); Montague Trigg (''Fifty-Fifty''); and Augustus Pogson (''A Bit of a Test'').<ref name=who/>

His biographer, Eric Midwinter, writes of Hare's characters in these farces:
{{blockquote|Hare created a cosily familiar style and was identified completely with, in effect, one part, that of the prissy little man, constantly in a state of unease and agitation, invariably sucked into some maelstrom of domestic upset and dislocation, unfailingly compromised and often trouserless. The bald dome, with brows furrowing anxiously beneath it; the spectacles, emphasizing the shock and bewilderment with which he responded to his travails; the jerky, staccato movements as his distress grew – these made him a highly recognisable stage figure. In concert with the worldly wise Tom Walls and the affable Ralph Lynn … he became one of the premier exponents of English farce.<ref name=dnb/>|}}

===Later years===
Hare appeared in films of most of the Aldwych farces, and played more than a dozen film roles in the post-war years.<ref name=dnb/> For the rest of his stage career he was usually cast in similar roles. After the last Aldwych farce in 1933 he played his customary types in more than twenty new farces over the next three decades.<ref name=dnb/> Among his most successful creations of this kind was Willoughby Pink in Travers's ''[[Banana Ridge (play)|Banana Ridge]]'' in 1938, in which he played a [[British Empire]] builder with a dubious past.<ref name=times/> In 1947 he starred at the [[Apollo Theatre]] in ''[[She Wanted a Cream Front Door]]'', 1954 saw him in the political farce ''[[The Party Spirit]];'' in 1956 he was in [[John Dighton]]'s ''[[Man Alive! (play)|Man Alive!]]'' at the Aldwych. The same year he appeared with [[Cicely Courtneidge]] in the long-running ''[[The Bride and the Bachelor]]'' at the [[Duchess Theatre]]. He made a few appearances in [[revue]]: his first was ''Fine Fettle'' (1959) in which he appeared with [[Benny Hill]] and [[Shani Wallis]].<ref>"Benny Hill in a Musical Romp", ''The Times'', 7 August 1959, p. 13</ref> In 1963 Hare played in a long-running stage musical, ''[[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]]'' (762 performances), in which he was cast as Erronius to [[Frankie Howerd]]'s Pseudolus.<ref>Hope-Wallace, Philip. "A Funny Thing ... at the Strand", ''The Guardian'', 4 October 1963, p. 9</ref>

In the 1960s Hare toured in ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace (play)|Arsenic and Old Lace]]''.<ref name=dnb/> In 1962 he briefly escaped type-casting, appearing with [[Wilfrid Hyde White]] in a comedy film ''[[Crooks Anonymous]]'', in which he played an old lag, his familiar bald head disguised under a wig.<ref name=times/> In 1968 he joined [[Naunton Wayne]] in ''Oh, Clarence!'', an adaptation of a [[P. G. Wodehouse]] [[Blandings Castle|Blandings]] novel, which he played in London, on tour in the provinces, and in South Africa.<ref name=dnb/> He reached a new public in the late 1960s in a television series, ''[[All Gas and Gaiters]]''. He played the Archdeacon of St. Ogg's, the Ven Henry Blunt. His co-stars were [[William Mervyn]] as the Rt Rev Cuthbert Hever, Bishop of St Ogg's, [[Derek Nimmo]] as the Rev Mervyn Noote, the Bishop's chaplain, and [[John Barron (actor)|John Barron]] as the Very Rev Lionel Pugh-Critchley, Dean of St Ogg's.<ref>Barron was succeeded in the role by [[Ernest Clark]], but resumed the role later in the run of the programme.</ref> [[George Melly]] wrote:
{{blockquote|Most weeks the plot hangs on the rivalry between the pompous but cosy Bishop and the austere, perfectionist Dean. Derek Nimmo does his clerical silly ass and Robertson Hare is a sherry-loving rather simple-minded Archdeacon … Hare is not only innately comic in himself but manages to suggest a certain depth in a character who on the page can hardly exist.<ref>Melly, George. "Television", ''The Observer'', 2 February 1969, p. 28</ref>|}}

Hare was awarded the [[OBE]] in 1979, shortly before his death. He died in London at the age of 87.<ref name=times/>

==Filmography==
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* ''[[Rookery Nook (film)|Rookery Nook]]'' (1930) - Harold Twine
* ''[[On Approval (1930 film)|On Approval]]'' (1930) - Hedworth
* ''[[Plunder (1931 film)|Plunder]]'' (1930) - Oswald Veal
* ''[[Tons of Money (1930 film)|Tons of Money]]'' (1930) - Chesterman
* ''[[A Night Like This (film)|A Night like This]]'' (1932) - Miles Tuckett
* ''[[Thark (film)|Thark]]'' (1932) - Hook
* ''[[It's a Boy (film)|It's a Boy]]'' (1933) - Allister
* ''[[Friday the Thirteenth (1933 film)|Friday the Thirteenth]]'' (1933) - Ralph Lightfoot
* ''[[A Cuckoo in the Nest (film)|A Cuckoo in the Nest]]'' (1933) - Rev. Sloley Jones
* ''[[Turkey Time (1933 film)|Turkey Time]]'' (1933) - Edwin Stoatt
* ''[[Just My Luck (1933 film)|Just My Luck]]'' (1933) - Trigg
* ''[[A Cup of Kindness (film)|A Cup of Kindness]]'' (1934) - Ernest Ramsbottom
* ''[[Are You a Mason? (1934 film)|Are You a Mason?]]'' (1934) - Amos Bloodqood
* ''[[Dirty Work (1934 film)|Dirty Work]]'' (1934) - Clement Peck
* ''[[Car of Dreams]]'' (1935) - Henry Butterworth
* ''[[Oh, Daddy!]]'' (1935) - Rupert Boddy
* ''[[Fighting Stock]]'' (1935) - Duck
* ''[[Stormy Weather (1935 film)|Stormy Weather]]'' (1935) - Mr. Bullock
* ''[[Foreign Affaires]]'' (1935) - Mr. Hardy Hornett
* ''[[Pot Luck (1936 film)|Pot Luck]]'' (1936) - Mr. Pye
* ''[[You Must Get Married]]'' (1936) - Percy Phut
* ''[[Jack of All Trades (1936 film)|Jack of All Trades]]'' (1936) - Lionel Fitch
{{col-break}}
* ''[[O.H.M.S. (film)|O.H.M.S.]]'' (1937) - (uncredited)
* ''[[Aren't Men Beasts!]]'' (1937) - Herbert Holly
* ''[[A Spot of Bother (1938 film)|A Spot of Bother]]'' (1938) - Dear Mr. Binky Rudd
* ''[[So This Is London (1939 film)|So This Is London]]'' (1939) - Henry Honeycutt
* ''[[Banana Ridge (film)|Banana Ridge]]'' (1942) - Willoughby Pink
* ''[[Women Aren't Angels]]'' (1943) - Wilmer Popday
* ''[[He Snoops to Conquer]]'' (1944) - Sir Timothy Strawbridge
* ''[[Things Happen at Night]]'' (1948) - Vincent Ebury
* ''[[One Wild Oat]]'' (1951) - Humphrey Proudfoot
* ''[[The Magic Box]]'' (1951)<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043769/releaseinfo Release date for The Magic Box], in IMDb.</ref>- Sitter in Bath Studio
* ''[[Our Girl Friday]]'' (1953) - Professor Gibble
* ''[[My Wife's Family (1956 film)|My Wife's Family]]'' (1956) - Noah Parker
* ''[[Three Men in a Boat (1956 film)|Three Men in a Boat]]'' (1956) - Photographer
* ''[[Seven Keys (film)|Seven Keys]]'' (1961) - Mr. Piggott
* ''[[The Night We Got the Bird]]'' (1961) - Doctor Vincent (uncredited)
* ''[[Out of the Shadow (1961 film)|Out of the Shadow]]'' (1961) - Ronald Fortescue
* ''[[The Young Ones (1961 film)|The Young Ones]]'' (1961) - Chauffeur
* ''[[Crooks Anonymous]]'' (1962) - Grimsdale
* ''[[Hotel Paradiso (film)|Hotel Paradiso]]'' (1966) - Duke
* ''[[Salt and Pepper (film)|Salt and Pepper]]'' (1968) - Dove
* ''[[Raising the Roof]]'' (1972) - Old Gent (final film role)
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==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|editor-last= Gaye|editor-first=Freda |year= 1967|title=Who's Who in the Theatre |edition=fourteenth|location=London |publisher=Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons |oclc=5997224 }}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Walker|editor-first=John |year=2001|title=Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies| location=London|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=0-06-093507-3}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|last=Hare|first=Robertson|title=Yours Indubitably|publisher=Robert Hale|location=London|year=1956|oclc=314546991}}

== External links ==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Robertson Hare |sopt=t}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0362823}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hare, Robertson}}
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:Aldwych farce]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]

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Robertson Hare