Lyn Harding

Lyn Harding Biography

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, notably Professor Moriarty in dramatisations of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Early years

He was born in 1867 at St Brides Wentloog, in Monmouthshire, 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 from Shakespeare at a chapel in Cardiff. 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 on 28 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 on 19 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 and Burma. He worked at different times with John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Anthony 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 Glynd?r in Shakespeare's Henry IV for BBC radio.

He lived for about ten years in Leverstock Green, near Hemel Hempstead where he played an active role in the local community, even staging plays and revues with fellow actors to help raise funds for a much needed parish hall. He died in London in 1952.

Lyn Harding filmography

1920 Bachelor Husband
1922 When Knighthood Was in Flower
1924 Yolanda
1927 The 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
1935 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 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 Sherlock Holmes: Silver Blaze

This webpage uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lyn_Harding" and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Reality TV World is not responsible for any errors or omissions the Wikipedia article may contain.

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