Dion Titheradge

Dion Titheradge (30 March 1889 – 16 November 1934) was an Australian-born actor, playwright, lyricist, and revue writer whose career spanned stage and screen across Australia, Britain, and the United States. Born in Melbourne, he came from a theatrical family: his father was the actor George Sutton Titheradge, and his sister was the actress Madge Titheradge.

Titheradge made his stage debut in 1908 at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle-on-Tyne, appearing in The Woman of Kronstadt. He subsequently toured Australia and New Zealand in various roles before joining Lewis Waller's company in 1910, touring in Bardelys the Magnificent. His Broadway career began in September 1912 when he appeared alongside Waller at Daly's Theatre, New York, in Henry V. Later that same year, from November 1912 through April 1913, he played Harry Anson in The Whip at the Manhattan Opera House. He returned to that venue for Life by Thompson Buchanan, which ran from October 1914 to March 1915. In November 1916 he appeared in The Harp of Life, written by J. Hartley Manners, at the Globe Theatre, where it ran through May 1917. His Broadway appearances also included Andre Charlot's Revue of 1924, the Charlot Revue, and Her Husband's Wife, with his Broadway activity spanning 1912 to 1926.

Writing came to occupy a central place in Titheradge's career. Working with Kenneth Duffield of South Australia, he created a successful West End revue in London in 1920, and the two collaborated on several further productions before Duffield returned to Australia in 1922, among them A to Z, Puss Puss, Snap, and Pot Luck. The revue A to Z, which opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on 11 October 1921, introduced the song "And Her Mother Came Too," for which Titheradge wrote the lyrics and Ivor Novello composed the music; Jack Buchanan performed it. Another widely noted piece was his sketch "Dinner Napkins," also known as "Double Damask," which appeared in Noel Gay's production Clowns in Clover in 1927.

Titheradge frequently wrote plays under the pen name Geoffrey Warren. His play Loose Ends opened under that pseudonym at the Duke of York's Theatre in London on 19 April 1926, running for 81 performances before transferring to the Shaftesbury Theatre on 7 June. Following its London run, Titheradge directed and performed in the play in New York, where it ran for 40 performances beginning 1 November 1926 at the Ritz Theatre. He played the role of Malcolm Forres, with Molly Kerr appearing as Brenda Fallon in both productions. Loose Ends was later adapted into a film in 1930. His murder mystery The Crooked Billet ran for 168 performances from 13 October 1927 at the Royalty Theatre in London and was also made into a film in 1929. He went on to write the screenplays for Mr. Bill the Conqueror (1932) and Dangerous Ground (1934).

In his personal life, Titheradge married Margaret Ann Bolton in 1909 in New South Wales. They had two children, Meg and the writer Peter Dion Titheradge (1910–1989), and divorced in 1927. He subsequently married the actress Madge Stuart in 1928. Titheradge died in London on 16 November 1934.