A touching tribute to Emlyn Williams - 20 Years Gone
George Emlyn Williams
Date of Birth
26 November 1905, Mostyn, Flintshire, Wales, UK
Date of Death
25 September 1987, London, England, UK. (cancer)
A finer character actor there never was in all the land.
He truly became his character, each and every time.
So good was he at this, that few ever saw the true George.
Watch now the mini-tribute done to the thespian time forgot;
courtesy of a true fan called "mooncove":
This special commemorative post made in conjunction with
The Lugubrious Blog.
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Labels: commemorative, history, simulpost
posted by Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ at 11:05 AM
3 Comments:
Birth Name
George Emlyn Williams
Height
5' 9" (1.75 m)
Mini Biography
Born George Emlyn Williams in Pen-y-Ffordd, Mostyn, Flintshire in northeast Wales in 1905, he lived in a rural village in which Welsh was spoken until he was 12 years old, when his family moved to an English-speaking town, Connah's Quay. It changed the course of his life as it was there that the teacher Sarah Grace Cooke, recognizing his literary talent, encouraged him and helped him win a scholarship to Oxford. She is immortalized in the character of Miss Moffat in his play, "The Corn is Green."
Education enabled him to escape the life at hard labor that was the lot of his people. He attended Christ Church, Oxford and also studied in Geneva, Switzerland. He joined a repertory theater and made his acting debut in 'And So To Bed' in London in November 1927. He eventually became an accomplished stage and screen actor, but it as a playwright that he had his greatest success, eventually writing a score of plays.
He had his first theatrical success as a writer with 'A Murder Has Been Arranged'. His play 'Night Must Fall' later made its Broadway debut in September 1936 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and was made into a movie twice, in 1937 with 'Robert Montgomery' in the lead role of the young psychopath, and later in 1964 with Albert Finney taking over the role. "The Corn is Green" was a Broadway triumph for the great Ethel Barrymore in 1940 and brought Bette Davis another of her 10 Oscar nominations in the 1945 film adaptation. The legendary Katharine Hepburn later played the part of Miss Moffat in a TV movie directed by George Cukor in the 1970s.
Williams' plays "Yesterday's Magic," "The Morning Star" and "Someone Waiting" were also performed on Broadway, and he had a success on the Great White Way as an actor himself in a solo performance as Charles Dickens, which he revived twice. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for 'A Boy Growing Up' (1958), an adaptation of a work by fellow Welshman 'Dylan Thomas' . The tribal Williams also nurtured the young Welshman Richard Burton, whom he directed in his first lead film role in 'The Last Days of Dolwyn' (1949). (Burton's professional stage debut had been in Williams' play "Druid's Rest," and Emyln Williams' son 'Brook Williams' became one of his life-long friends.)
In addition to directing and acting in film, Emlyn Williams famously collaborated with the great director Alfred Hitchcock. Williams acted in and wrote additional dialog for both the original 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' (1934) and 'Jamaica Inn' (1939).
Emlyn Williams wrote two memoirs, "George, An Early Autobiography" (1961), and "'Emlyn: An Early Autography, 1927-1935" (1974), as well as a 1967 non-fiction account of the Moors Murders entitled "Beyond Belief." His 1980 novel "Headlong" was adapted by David S. Ward into the movie "King Ralph" (1991).
When he died in 1987, Emlyn Williams had written or co-written 20 screenplays in addition to his 20 plays. As an actor, he had appeared in 41 films and teleplays, plus made numerous appearances on stage.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Jon C. Hopwood
Spouse
Molly O Shann' (1935 - 1970) (her death)
Trivia
From the 1950's until shortly before his death, he toured in several versions of his one-man show "Emlyn Williams as Charles Dickens", which he also recorded on LP and performed on television in two different versions. He also performed the show on Broadway.
Father of actor Brooks Williams (I).
Was nominated for Broadway's 1958 Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for "A Boy Growing Up."
He was 12 when his family moved from the rural village of Pen-y-Fforddto to the English-speaking town of Connah's Quay. There, at Holywell County School, he caught the eye of his eccentric and forthright teacher Miss Sarah Grace Cooke. Cooke encouraged his literary talents and it was mainly through her efforts he won an open scholarship to go to Christ Church College Oxford.
Gave early encouragement to a young Richard Burton. In fact, Burton's stage debut (The Druid's Rest) and film debut (The Last Days of Dolwyn) were both written and directed by Williams. Later, his son Brook Williams became a very close friend of Burton.
Copyright © 1990-2007 Internet Movie Database Inc.
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Ah - they added this bit of data in 2008 it seems:
Was godfather of actress Kate Burton, daughter of Richard Burton.
And, while we're at it, let's share Mr. Williams' filmography too, eh?
Filmography
* 1980s
* 1970s
* 1960s
* 1950s
* 1940s
* 1930s
1. Past Caring (1985) (TV) .... Edward
2. "Rumpole of the Bailey" .... Harold Brittling (1 episode, 1983)
- Rumpole and the Genuine Article (1983) TV episode .... Harold Brittling
3. Emlyn Williams as Charles Dickens (1983) (TV) .... Charles Dickens
4. Deadly Game (1982) (TV) .... Bernard Laroque
5. The Walking Stick (1970) .... Jack Foil
6. David Copperfield (1969) (TV) .... Mr. Dick
7. Eye of the Devil (1966) .... Alain de Montfaucon
... aka 13
8. "The Defenders" .... Gerald Lowen (1 episode, 1964)
- Mind Over Murder (1964) TV episode .... Gerald Lowen
9. The L-Shaped Room (1962) .... Dr. Weaver
10. The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959) .... Sir Wilfred Falcett
11. Beyond This Place (1959) .... Enoch Oswald
... aka Web of Evidence (USA)
12. I Accuse! (1958) .... Émile Zola
13. The Deep Blue Sea (1955) .... Sir William Collyer
14. "Eye Witness" (1 episode, 1953)
- The Baby Sitter (1953) TV episode
15. Ivanhoe (1952) .... Wamba, Ivanhoe's Squire
... aka Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (UK: complete title)
16. Another Man's Poison (1951) .... Dr. Henderson
17. The Magic Box (1951) .... Bank Manager
18. The Scarf (1951) .... Dr. David Dunbar
... aka The Dungeon
19. Three Husbands (1951) .... Maxwell Bard
... aka Letter to Three Husbands
20. The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949) .... Rob
... aka Dolwyn
... aka Women of Dolwyn (USA)
21. Hatter's Castle (1942) .... Dennis
22. This England (1941) .... Appleyard
... aka Our Heritage
23. Major Barbara (1941) .... Snobby Price
... aka George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara (UK: complete title)
24. You Will Remember (1941) .... Bob Slater
25. Girl in the News (1940) .... Tracy
26. The Stars Look Down (1940) .... Joe Gowlan
27. Jamaica Inn (1939) .... Harry (the peddler)
28. Dead Men Tell No Tales (1939) .... Dr. Headlam
29. They Drive by Night (1938) .... Shorty Matthews
30. The Citadel (1938) .... Owen
31. Night Alone (1938) .... Charles Seaton
32. I, Claudius (1937) .... Caligula
33. Broken Blossoms (1936) .... Chen
34. City of Beautiful Nonsense (1935) .... Jack Grey
35. The Dictator (1935) .... King Charles VII of Sweden
... aka For Love of a Queen
... aka Loves of a Dictator (USA)
... aka The Love Affair of the Dictator
36. The Iron Duke (1934) .... Bates
37. Evensong (1934) .... George Leary
38. My Song for You (1934) .... Theodore Bruckner
39. Road House (1934) .... Chester
40. Friday the Thirteenth (1933) .... William Blake
... aka Friday the 13th
... aka Millie the Non-Stop Variety Girl
41. Sally Bishop (1932) .... Arthur Montague
42. Men of Tomorrow (1932) .... Horners
43. The Frightened Lady (1932) .... Lord Lebanon
... aka Criminal at Large (USA)
Writer:
* 1990s
* 1980s
* 1970s
* 1960s
* 1950s
* 1940s
* 1930s
1. King Ralph (1991) (novel "Headlong")
2. "Estudio 1" (1 episode, 1980)
- El difunto Christopher Bean (1980) TV episode (play "El difunto Christopher Bean")
3. The Corn Is Green (1979) (TV) (play)
4. "Play of the Month" (1 episode, 1968)
- The Corn Is Green (1968) TV episode (play)
5. Met voorbedachten rade (1966) (TV) (play "Someone's waiting")
6. Groen koren (1964) (TV) (play "The Corn Is Green")
7. Night Must Fall (1964) (play "Night Must Fall")
8. "Al caer la noche" (1960) (mini) TV mini-series (story)
9. "Play of the Week" (1 episode, 1959)
- A Month in the Country (1959) TV episode (teleplay) (translation)
10. Night Must Fall (1957) (TV) (adaptation) (play)
11. Time Without Pity (1957) (play "Someone Waiting") (uncredited)
12. "Broadway Television Theatre" (1 episode, 1952)
- Night Must Fall (1952) TV episode (play)
13. The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949)
... aka Dolwyn
... aka Women of Dolwyn (USA)
14. "The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre" (1948) TV series (unknown episodes)
... aka Chevrolet Television Theatre (USA)
... aka The Broadway Playhouse
15. The Corn Is Green (1945) (play)
16. Life Begins at Eight-Thirty (1942) (play)
... aka The Light of Heart (UK)
17. This England (1941)
... aka Our Heritage
18. Dead Men Tell No Tales (1939) (uncredited)
19. The Citadel (1938) (additional dialogue)
20. Night Must Fall (1937) (TV) (play)
21. Night Must Fall (1937) (play)
22. Broken Blossoms (1936)
23. The Divine Spark (1935) (adaptation)
24. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) (additional dialogue)
25. Evergreen (1934) (adaptation and dialogue)
26. Friday the Thirteenth (1933)
... aka Friday the 13th
... aka Millie the Non-Stop Variety Girl
Director:
1. The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949)
... aka Dolwyn
... aka Women of Dolwyn (USA)
Self:
* 1980s
* 1970s
* 1960s
1. The New Born King (1985) (TV) .... Himself - reader
2. "Parkinson" .... Himself (1 episode, 1973)
- Episode #3.4 (1973) TV episode .... Himself
3. The Epic That Never Was (1965) (TV) (also archive footage) .... Himself (Caligula)
4. "The Great War" .... Lloyd George (1 episode, 1964)
- We Must Hack Our Way Through (1964) TV episode (voice) .... Lloyd George
Copyright © 1990-2008 Internet Movie Database Inc.
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Aw - it was him the brain power behind the delightfully witty (and under-appraised, alas) King Ralph...
I should have known!
And it is good to mention that he was a godfather too. Kate Burton had a GREAT one. I envy her! Oftentimes, godfathers go unremembered (right, Benny... Ines... Manu?) but when they are of G.E.W.'s magnitude, it must not be omitted nor forgotten.
Again, I am forced to lament:
WHO has replaced this talent, in Tinseltown today...?
No one that was truly great in Hollywood and has left us since has been replaced.
Not a single one of them.
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