Sir Edward Seymour Hicks (30 January 1871 â€" 6 April 1949), better
known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer,
playwright, actor-manager and producer. He became known, early in his
career, for writing, starring in and producing Edwardian musical
comedy, often together with his famous wife, Ellaline Terriss. His
most famous acting role was that of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles
Dickens's A Christmas Carol.Making his stage début at the age of nine
and performing professionally by sixteen, Hicks joined a theatrical
company and toured America before starring in Under the Clock in 1893,
the first musical revue ever staged in London. Following this, he
starred in a revival of Little Jack Sheppard at the Gaiety Theatre,
London which brought him to the attention of impresario George
Edwardes. Edwardes cast Hicks in his next show, The Shop Girl, in
1894. Its success led to his participation in two more of Edwardes's
hit "girl" musicals, The Circus Girl (1896) and A Runaway Girl (1898),
both starring Terriss. He first played the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in
1901 and eventually played it thousands of times onstage. Hicks, along
with his wife, joined the producer Charles Frohman in his theatre
company and wrote and starred in a series of extraordinarily
successful musicals, including Bluebell in Fairyland (1901), Quality
Street (1902), The Earl and the Girl (1903) and The Catch of the
Season (1904).Hicks used his fortune from these shows to commission
the building of the Aldwych Theatre in 1905 and the Hicks Theatre in
1906, opening the latter with a new hit show, The Beauty of Bath. His
stage performances were less successful in later years, and he opted
instead to star in music hall tours, including Pebbles on the Beach
(1912). He continued to write light comedies, the most popular of
which was The Happy Day (1916). On film, he first appeared in Scrooge
and David Garrick both from 1913. Later notable films included The
Lambeth Walk (1939) and Busman's Honeymoon (1940), and his last film
was in the year of his death, 1949.
known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer,
playwright, actor-manager and producer. He became known, early in his
career, for writing, starring in and producing Edwardian musical
comedy, often together with his famous wife, Ellaline Terriss. His
most famous acting role was that of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles
Dickens's A Christmas Carol.Making his stage début at the age of nine
and performing professionally by sixteen, Hicks joined a theatrical
company and toured America before starring in Under the Clock in 1893,
the first musical revue ever staged in London. Following this, he
starred in a revival of Little Jack Sheppard at the Gaiety Theatre,
London which brought him to the attention of impresario George
Edwardes. Edwardes cast Hicks in his next show, The Shop Girl, in
1894. Its success led to his participation in two more of Edwardes's
hit "girl" musicals, The Circus Girl (1896) and A Runaway Girl (1898),
both starring Terriss. He first played the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in
1901 and eventually played it thousands of times onstage. Hicks, along
with his wife, joined the producer Charles Frohman in his theatre
company and wrote and starred in a series of extraordinarily
successful musicals, including Bluebell in Fairyland (1901), Quality
Street (1902), The Earl and the Girl (1903) and The Catch of the
Season (1904).Hicks used his fortune from these shows to commission
the building of the Aldwych Theatre in 1905 and the Hicks Theatre in
1906, opening the latter with a new hit show, The Beauty of Bath. His
stage performances were less successful in later years, and he opted
instead to star in music hall tours, including Pebbles on the Beach
(1912). He continued to write light comedies, the most popular of
which was The Happy Day (1916). On film, he first appeared in Scrooge
and David Garrick both from 1913. Later notable films included The
Lambeth Walk (1939) and Busman's Honeymoon (1940), and his last film
was in the year of his death, 1949.
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