Sir Donald Wolfit, CBE (20 April 1902 – 17 February 1968) was an English actor-manager, known for his touring productions of Shakespeare. He was especially renowned for his performance as King Lear.

Biography

Wolfit was born Donald Woolfitt at New Balderton, near Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, and attended the Magnus Grammar School. He made his stage début in 1920. He first appeared in the West End in 1924, playing in The Wandering Jew but had limited success afterwards, though he played some major supporting roles at the Old Vic Theatre in 1930. Wolfit appeared in Richard of Bordeaux, with John Gielgud.

Wolfit finally gained prominence at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1936 as Hamlet, and he tried to persuade the management to finance him on a tour of the provinces. They declined the invitation, so he withdrew his savings and in 1937 started his own touring company, which he would lead for many years, prompting Hermione Gingold's bon mot: "Olivier is a tour-de-force, and Wolfit is forced to tour."

Wolfit's speciality was Shakespeare. He was known especially for his performances as King Lear and Richard III. He also played Oedipus, and the lead roles in Ben Jonson's Volpone and Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine. His touring company performed in London during the Battle of Britain in 1940 and Wolfit staged a very successful series of abridged versions of Shakespeare's plays in London during World War II in the early afternoon for lunchtime audiences. In January 1942, by arrangement with Lionel L. Falck, Donald Wolfit presented Richard III at the Strand Theatre in London. Wolfit played King Richard; others in the production included Eric Maxon (King Edward IV), and Frank Thornton (Sir William Catesby). In 1947 Wolfit proved unpopular with American critics when he took the company to Broadway. He appeared at Stratford during the 1950s in his signature role of King Lear, and was invited to play Falstaff at the RSC in 1962 but turned the offer down when he discovered Paul Scofield would be playing Lear there at the same time, saying "Lear is still the brightest jewel in my crown!" Edith Sitwell wrote to Wolfit: "The cosmic grandeur of your 'King Lear' left us unable to speak. ... all imaginable fires of agony and all the light of redemption are there."

Wolfit was primarily a stage actor, although he appeared in over thirty films such as Svengali (1954), Blood of the Vampire (1958), Room at the Top (1959), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Becket (1964). He worked a good deal for the BBC, performing as King John and Volpone on television, and as Lear, Falstaff and Richard III for radio – as well as modern parts like Archie Rice in The Entertainer.

Ronald Harwood, who at one time was Wolfit's dresser, based his play The Dresser (later turned into a film) on his relationship with Wolfit. Harwood also wrote Wolfit's biography. Peter O'Toole, who worked with Wolfit on several films and plays over the course of his career, considered Wolfit his most important mentor. Wolfit was also an important influence on the early acting career of Harold Pinter, who worked for the Donald Wolfit Company at the King's Theatre, Hammersmith in 1953–54, performing eight roles with him. Wolfit long maintained a bitter hostility to John Gielgud, fuelled by Wolfit's resentment of Gielgud's public school background and family connections in the theatre. The actor Leslie French has contrasted the two men: "John was a very gentle person, very caring, with a lovely sense of humour. Donald was a joke, a terrible actor with no sense of humour, who believed he was the greatest in the world. Once John and I took a call in front of the curtain; Donald collapsed in tears because he wasn't called."

Wolfit's last appearance on stage was in a musical, as the domineering Mr Barrett in Robert and Elizabeth (1966–67). His final two films, Decline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher and The Charge of the Light Brigade (both 1968), were released posthumously.

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