Hugh Williams

Hugh Williams
Born	Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams 6 March 1904 Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, England
Died	7 December 1969 (aged 65) London, England
Years active	1930–66
Spouse(s)	Gwynne Whitby (1925–40; divorced) 2 children Margaret Vyner (1940–69; his death) 3 children

Hugh Anthony Glanmore Williams (6 March 1904 – 7 December 1969) also known by his nickname Tam, was an English actor, playwright and dramatist of Welsh descent.^[1]

Personal life

Born in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex as Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams, his nickname was "Tam". He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.^[2][3] He was a popular film and stage actor, who became a major film star in the British cinema of the 1930s. In 1930 he toured America in the cast of the R.C. Sheriff play Journey's End and appeared in his first film Charley's Aunt during a spell in Hollywood.^[4] He then returned to Britain and became a mainstay of the British film industry. He made 57 film appearances as an actor between 1930 and 1967. He collaborated with his second wife on several plays, such as The Grass is Greener and the screenplay for the subsequent film The Grass is Greener. He died from throat cancer, aged 65, in London.^[2][5][6]

Marriages and grandchildren

He was married twice:

• Gwynne Whitby (1925–1940) (two children)
  • Loo Williams
  • Prue Williams
• Margaret Vyner (1940–1969) (three children):
  • Hugo Williams (born 1942), poet
  • Simon Williams (born 1946), actor who married Belinda Carroll and Lucy Fleming
  • Polly Williams (1950-2004), actress who married Nigel Havers

and his grandchildren included:

• Kate Dunn, actress
• Amy Williams, actress
• Tam Williams, actor

Filmography

• Charley's Aunt (1930) as Charlie Wykeham
• Night in Montmartre (1931) as Philip Borell
• A Gentleman of Paris (1931) as Gaston Gerrard
• Down Our Street (1932) as Charlie Stubbs
• Insult (1932) as Captain Ramon Nadir
• In a Monastery Garden (1932) as Paul Ferrier
• White Face (1932) as Michael Seeley
• Rome Express (1932) as Tony
• After Dark (1933) as Richard Morton
• The Jewel (1933) as Frank Hallam
• The Acting Business (1933) as Hugh (aka This Acting Business)
• Bitter Sweet (1933) as Vincent
• Sorrell and Son (1934) as Kit Sorrell as an Adult
• Elinor Norton (1934) as Tony Norton
• All Men Are Enemies (1934) as Tony Clarendon
• Outcast Lady (1934) as Gerald March
• Lieut. Daring R.N. (1935) as Lt. Bob Daring (aka Lieutenant Daring R.N.)
• David Copperfield (1935) as Steerforth
• Let's Live Tonight (1935) as Brian Kerry
• The Happy Family (1936) as Victor Hutt
• The Last Journey (1936) as Gerald Winter
• The Amateur Gentleman (1936) as Ronald
• Her Last Affaire (1936) as Alan Heriot
• The Man Behind the Mask (1936) as Nick Barclay (aka Behind the Mask (UK: reissue title))
• The Windmill (1937) as Peter Ellington
• Side Street Angel (1937) as Peter
• The Perfect Crime (1937) as Charles Brown
• Gypsy (1937) as Brazil
• Brief Ecstasy (1937) as Jim Wyndham (aka Dangerous Secrets)
• Premiere (1938) as Rene Nissen (aka One Night in Paris)
• The Dark Stairway (1938) as Dr. Thurlow
• Bank Holiday (1938) as Geoffrey (aka Three on a Weekend (USA))
• His Lordship Goes to Press (1939) as Lord Bill Wilmer
• Wuthering Heights (1939) as Hindley Earnshaw
• Dead Men Tell No Tales (1939) as Detective Inspector Martin
• Inspector Hornleigh (1939) as Bill Gordon, Ann's Brother
• The Dark Eyes of London (1939) as Det. Insp. Larry Holt (aka The Human Monster)
• Ships with Wings (1942) as Wagner, Papa's Pilot
• The Day Will Dawn (1942) as Colin Metcalfe (aka The Avengers (USA))
• One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942) as Frank Shelley, Observer/Navigator in B for Bertie
• Secret Mission (1942) as Major Peter Garnett
• Talk About Jacqueline (1942) as Dr. Michael Thomas
• A Girl in a Million (1946) as Tony
• Take My Life (1947) as Nicholas Talbot
• An Ideal Husband (1947) as Sir Robert Chiltern
• Elizabeth of Ladymead (1948) as John Beresford in 1946
• The Blind Goddess (1948) as Lord Brasted
• The Romantic Age (1949) as Arnold Dickson (aka Naughty Arlette (USA))
• Paper Orchid (1949) as Frank McSweeney
• Gift Horse (1952) as Captain David G. Wilson, Division Commander (aka Glory at Sea (USA))
• The Holly and the Ivy (1952) as Richard Wyndham
• Twice Upon a Time (1953) as James Turner
• The Fake (1953) as Sir Richard Aldingham
• Star of My Night (1954) as Arnold Whitman
• The Intruder (1953) as Tim Ross
• Khartoum (1966) as Lord Hartington
• Doctor Faustus (1967) as Scholar

Writing credits

• The Grass is Greener (play) (1952) (book)
• The Grass Is Greener (1960) (screenplay)
• Charlie Girl (book) (with Margaret Williams)

Notable television appearances

• Masterpiece Playhouse in episode: Richard III (episode No. 1.2) (1950)
• The Count of Monte Cristo playing Millet in episode: "Flight to Calais"
• Colonel March of Scotland Yard playing Harold Hartley in episode: "The Talking Head" (episode No. 1.11) (1956)
• Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents as Shayar (sic!) in "Scheherezade" (episode No. 5.10) (1956)
• The New Adventures of Charlie Chan playing Inspector Marlowe in episode: "Dateline Execution" (episode No. 1.18) (1957)
• The New Adventures of Charlie Chan playing Inspector Marlowe in episode: "No Future for Frederick" (episode No. 1.23) (1958)
• The New Adventures of Charlie Chan playing Inspector Marlowe in episode: "Safe Deposit" (episode No. 1.24) (1958)

References

1. "Hugh Williams". BFI.
2. "Hugh Williams movies, photos, movie reviews, filmography, and biography - AllMovie". AllMovie.
3. RADA profile of Hugh Williams
4. Sweet p.90
5. "Hugh Williams". britmovie.co.uk.
6. "The-Grass-Is-Greener - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - NYTimes.com". nytimes.com.

Bibliography

• Sweet, Matthew. Shepperton Babylon: The Lost Worlds of British Cinema. Faber and Faber, 2005.

External links

• Hugh Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• Hugh Williams at the Internet Broadway Database
  
• Hugh Williams at Find a Grave