Robert Atkins (actor)

Alexander Robert Atkins CBE (10 August 1886 – 9 February 1972) was an English actor, producer and director.[1]

For other people named Robert Atkins, see Robert Atkins (disambiguation).
Robert Atkins

CBE
"Old Vic" Shakespeare Co. photo
Born
Robert Alexander Atkins

(1886-08-10)10 August 1886
Dulwich, London, England
Died9 February 1972(1972-02-09) (aged 85)
London, England
OccupationActor, producer & director
Spouse(s)Ethel Davey

Biography

Born in Dulwich, London, England, Atkins was most famous for his participation in the theatre.[2] An early graduate of Beerbohm Tree's Academy of Dramatic Art, he joined the Old Vic company in 1915, and became Director of Productions for Lilian Baylis from 1921 to 1926.[2][3][4] He also appeared many times on film and in television, though not with the success of his theatre career.

His first film was a 1913 production of Hamlet, as the First Player, with Johnston Forbes-Robertson in the title role.[5] Atkins went on to appear in several other film and television roles over the next 50 years with the most famous production possibly being A Matter of Life and Death.[6] He also produced and/or directed several adaptations of William Shakespeare plays during the '40s and '50s for British TV.[7][8]

He was director of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford, and along with Sydney Carroll, also founded Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.[4][9][10]

Robert Atkins was married twice: to Mary Sumner whom he divorced, and to Ethel Davey, a film editor. He died in London, England in 1972.[2]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1935Peg of Old DruryDr. Samuel Johnson
1936The CardinalGeneral Belmont
1936Everything Is ThunderAdjutant
1937Victoria the GreatGarter King-at-Arms
1941He Found a StarFrank Forrester
1942Let the People SingHassock
1942The Great Mr. Handel
1946A Matter of Life and DeathThe Vicar
1949That Dangerous AgeGeorge Drummond
1949Black MagicKing Louis XV
1951I'll Never Forget YouDr. Samuel JohnsonUncredited

References
  1. "Atkins, (Alexander) Robert (1886–1972), actor and theatre director". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/40449.
  2. "ROBERT ATKINS, 85, ACTOR AND DIRECTOR". The New York Times. 11 February 1972.
  3. Pigott-Smith, Tim (1 June 2017). Do You Know Who I Am?: A Memoir. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472934253 – via Google Books.
  4. "STR Publications: Robert Atkins - An Unfinished Autobiography". www.str.org.uk.
  5. "BFI Screenonline: Hamlet (1913) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  6. "Robert Atkins".
  7. "Scenes from Shakespeare: The Merry Wives of Windsor (BBC, 1937)". 3 April 2014.
  8. "BFI Screenonline: The Tempest On Screen". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  9. "Touchstone : Online Exhibition". www.touchstone.bham.ac.uk.
  10. "Robert Atkins - Our Heritage - Open Air Theatre". openairtheatreheritage.com.

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