Fred Terry

Fred Terry (9 November 1863 – 17 April 1933) was an English actor and theatrical manager born in London into a prominent theatrical family. His parents, Benjamin Terry (1817–1896), of Irish descent, and Sarah Terry, née Ballard (1819–1892), of Scottish ancestry, were comic actors in a touring company based in Portsmouth, where Sarah's father served as a Wesleyan minister. Benjamin and Sarah had eleven children, of whom Fred was the youngest son. At least five of the children pursued acting careers: Kate, Ellen, Marion, Florence, and Fred. Two others, George and Charles, were connected with theatre management. His sister Kate enjoyed considerable success on the stage before her marriage and retirement in 1867, while his sister Ellen became the foremost Shakespearean actress of her era. His great-nephew John Gielgud, the grandson of Kate, became one of the most respected actors of the twentieth century. Terry received his education in London, France, and Switzerland.

Terry made his first stage appearance at the Haymarket Theatre in 1880, at the age of sixteen, in a revival of Bulwer-Lytton's Money with the Bancrofts. Following further appearances on tour, he was engaged at the Lyceum Theatre in 1884 in Henry Irving's production of Twelfth Night, playing Sebastian opposite his sister Ellen as Viola. He subsequently returned to touring in Britain and the United States. By July 1887 he was back in London, appearing in Nina at the Strand. In 1890 he achieved a success at the Avenue Theatre as Dr. William Brown in Dr Bill by Hamilton Aidé. That same year he joined Herbert Beerbohm Tree's company at the Haymarket Theatre, remaining with the company until 1894. His roles during this period included D'Aulnay in W. S. Gilbert's Comedy and Tragedy (1890) and John Christison in Henry Arthur Jones's The Dancing Girl (1891). It was in the cast of the latter production that he met Julia Neilson, daughter of Alexander Ritchie Neilson, whom he married later that year. He also appeared for Tree as Laertes in Hamlet and in Sydney Grundy's translation of A Village Priest, as well as in Beau Austin and Peril. The couple's daughter Phyllis was born in 1892.

In 1894, Terry and Neilson appeared together in Shall We Forgive Her? by Frank Harvey at the Adelphi Theatre. Their son Dennis was born in October 1895, and two months later the family traveled to the United States to perform with John Hare's company. It was during this American engagement that Terry's Broadway career began, spanning the years 1895 to 1910. In New York, he and Neilson appeared together in The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith by Arthur Wing Pinero. Returning to England in 1896, Terry played Charles Surface in a revival of Sheridan's The School for Scandal at the Lyceum with Johnston Forbes-Robertson. From October 1897 through the summer of 1898, he and Neilson appeared together in The Tree of Knowledge and other productions, including Much Ado About Nothing at the St James's Theatre, in which Terry played Don Pedro. They subsequently appeared in The Gipsy Earl, and in 1900 Terry played Squire Thornhill in William Gorman Wills's Olivia at the Lyceum, after which the couple toured in As You Like It.

For the following 27 years, Terry and Neilson performed together primarily in popular romantic historical dramas, with Terry taking swashbuckling roles. They held annual six-month London seasons at the New Theatre from 1905 to 1913, during which they premiered several new productions in London. Among these was Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel, which Terry and Neilson adapted for the stage with J. M. Barstow in 1905. Terry created the role of Sir Percy Blakeney, which became one of his signature parts. Despite critical disapproval, the production was a record-breaking success, running for more than 2,000 performances and enjoying numerous revivals. At the Haymarket, Terry was also particularly associated with the role of King Charles II in Sweet Nell of Old Drury by Paul Kester, which became another of his signature roles. Additional productions in which he and Neilson starred included For Sword or Song by Robert Legge and Louis Calvert (1903), Dorothy o' the Hall by Paul Kester and Charles Major (1906), and Henry of Navarre (1909) by William Devereux, the last of which also featured in his Broadway appearances. Henry of Navarre and Sweet Nell of Old Drury became their signature pieces during extensive tours of the British provinces and during their American tour in 1910.

Terry and Neilson also produced The Popinjay by Boyle Lawrence and Frederick Mouillot (1911) and Mistress Wilful by Ernest Hendrie (1915). In 1915, the couple took over the management of the Strand Theatre, reviving Sweet Nell of Old Drury. Their later productions included The Borderer (1921), A Wreath of a Hundred Roses (1922), a masque by Louis N. Parker performed at the Duke's Hall to mark the Royal Academy's centenary, The Marlboroughs (1924), and The Wooing of Katherine Parr by William Devereux (1926). Terry was also well regarded on tour for his Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and his Charles Surface. In 1918, a group of British theatre managers representing sixty theatres in which he had performed presented Terry with a portrait, painted by Frank Daniell, depicting him as Sir Percy Blakeney. He retired from the stage in 1927.

Beyond his theatrical career, Terry was a Freemason, joining the Green Room Lodge No. 2957 on 6 May 1904, an actors' lodge whose members included Leedham Bantock, George Grossmith Jr., and Gerald du Maurier. The couple's son Dennis became an actor, though his career ended with his death in 1932, and their daughter Phyllis Neilson-Terry also became a noted actress. Terry died at his home in St Pancras, London, in 1933 at the age of 69, and is buried at Hampstead Cemetery alongside his wife and son Dennis.