Henry Kendall

Henry Kendall AFC, (28 May 1897 – 9 June 1962) was an English stage and film actor, theatre director and revue artiste. His early theatrical career was curtailed by the First World War, in which he served with distinction. Resuming his stage career in 1919 he appeared mostly in the West End, with one excursion to Broadway and occasional tours of the British provinces, particularly during the Second World War. He was dismissive of his career as a screen actor, but made more than 40 films for the cinema. As a theatre director he was responsible for more than 20 productions, in a minority of which he also starred. In his later years he had heart problems, which forced his temporary withdrawal from the theatre in 1957. He died of a heart attack in the south of France in 1962, at the age of 65. He was unmarried. Early life Kendall was born in London in 1897, the son of William Kendall and his wife Rebecca, née Nathan. He was educated at the City of London School. He began his stage career "walking on" (as a non-speaking extra) in Tommy Atkins at the Lyceum Theatre in 1914. From then until he joined the armed forces during the First World War he was first a chorus member in Business as Usual at the Hippodrome Theatre (1914), then a supporting player in Watch Your Step (Empire Theatre, 1915); and for nine months a member of the Old Vic company, playing juvenile parts in Shakespeare repertory, including Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, Florizel in The Winter's Tale, and Sebastian in Twelfth Night (1915–1916).