Charles Clemson Percy Danby (1858 â€" 7 September 1906) was a British
actor, singer and comedian of the late Victorian era who regularly
appeared at the Gaiety Theatre in London. During his career he made 37
tours of the United States and three of Australia.Danby was born in
Newport, Monmouth, Wales, the son of Susan née Hickman and Charles
Danby, an architect. On the 1881 Census he is listed as an "Actor
Comedian". On 16 January 1882 he married Frances "Fanny" David
(1859â€"after 1918) at the church of St John the Evangelist in Leeds,
Yorkshire. Their son was Charles David Danby MC (1887â€"1918) who was
killed in a flying accident having served as a Captain in the RFC
during World War I. Fanny began divorce proceedings against him in
1890, gaining a decree absolute in 1892 on account of his physical
cruelty to her and his adultery with various women throughout their
marriage, including the actress Florence Levey, with whose parents he
was residing in 1891.His first success on the London stage was as
Morel in Monte Cristo Jr. at the Gaiety Theatre (1886) and in a tour
of Australia in 1888/9 and the United States in 1889; he played
Captain Sneak in a revival of Alfred Cellier's The Sultan of Mocha
(1887); Don Salluste in Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué at the Gaiety
Theatre (1889); Valentine in Faust up to Date in an American tour with
the Gaiety Company (1890); Jacques Darc in the burlesque Joan of Arc
at the Opera Comique (1891); Sir Ludgate Hill in Cinder Ellen up too
Late at the Gaiety Theatre (1891); Squire Higgins in Morocco Bound at
the Shaftesbury Theatre (1893), a role he played over 500 times;
Roberts in The Lady Slavey at the Royal Avenue Theatre (1894) of which
The critic for The Sketch wrote, "Mr. Charles Danby's dictionary
probably does not contain the word "subtlety", yet his vast energy and
broad sense of humour are far more useful, and certainly, whatever you
may think of the means he uses, he is one of the funniest players in
his line" and after at the Casino Theatre in New York (1896); he was
Blueskin opposite Ellaline Terriss as Winifred and his then mistress
Florence Levey as Polly Stanmore in a revival of Little Jack Sheppard
at the Gaiety Theatre (1894); and Griffard in The Cadet Girl at the
Herald Square Theatre on Broadway (1900).In 1893 he was initiated as a
Freemason into The Eccentric Lodge No. 2488.
actor, singer and comedian of the late Victorian era who regularly
appeared at the Gaiety Theatre in London. During his career he made 37
tours of the United States and three of Australia.Danby was born in
Newport, Monmouth, Wales, the son of Susan née Hickman and Charles
Danby, an architect. On the 1881 Census he is listed as an "Actor
Comedian". On 16 January 1882 he married Frances "Fanny" David
(1859â€"after 1918) at the church of St John the Evangelist in Leeds,
Yorkshire. Their son was Charles David Danby MC (1887â€"1918) who was
killed in a flying accident having served as a Captain in the RFC
during World War I. Fanny began divorce proceedings against him in
1890, gaining a decree absolute in 1892 on account of his physical
cruelty to her and his adultery with various women throughout their
marriage, including the actress Florence Levey, with whose parents he
was residing in 1891.His first success on the London stage was as
Morel in Monte Cristo Jr. at the Gaiety Theatre (1886) and in a tour
of Australia in 1888/9 and the United States in 1889; he played
Captain Sneak in a revival of Alfred Cellier's The Sultan of Mocha
(1887); Don Salluste in Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué at the Gaiety
Theatre (1889); Valentine in Faust up to Date in an American tour with
the Gaiety Company (1890); Jacques Darc in the burlesque Joan of Arc
at the Opera Comique (1891); Sir Ludgate Hill in Cinder Ellen up too
Late at the Gaiety Theatre (1891); Squire Higgins in Morocco Bound at
the Shaftesbury Theatre (1893), a role he played over 500 times;
Roberts in The Lady Slavey at the Royal Avenue Theatre (1894) of which
The critic for The Sketch wrote, "Mr. Charles Danby's dictionary
probably does not contain the word "subtlety", yet his vast energy and
broad sense of humour are far more useful, and certainly, whatever you
may think of the means he uses, he is one of the funniest players in
his line" and after at the Casino Theatre in New York (1896); he was
Blueskin opposite Ellaline Terriss as Winifred and his then mistress
Florence Levey as Polly Stanmore in a revival of Little Jack Sheppard
at the Gaiety Theatre (1894); and Griffard in The Cadet Girl at the
Herald Square Theatre on Broadway (1900).In 1893 he was initiated as a
Freemason into The Eccentric Lodge No. 2488.
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