Lupino Lane
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| Lupino Lane | ||
| Background information | ||
| Birth name: | Henry William George Lupino | |
| Date of birth: | June 16, 1892 | |
|---|---|---|
| Birth location: | London | |
| Date of death: | November 10, 1959 | |
| Death location: | London | |
| Genres: | Music hall comedian & acrobat actor film & theatre film director |
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| Spouse(s): | Violet Blythe | |
Henry William George Lupino or Lupino Lane (June 16, 1892 London – November 10, 1959 London) was a British-born actor of the Lupino family, a theatre family that could trace their roots back to an Italian immigrant in the 17th century. He adopted the surname Lane from his great-aunt Sarah Lane (1822-1899, née Borrow), the director of the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton.
He appeared as an actor between 1915 and 1940. He also directed and produced films in the late 1920s and 1930s.
His wife was actress Violet Blythe, and their son was also an actor, Lauri Lupino Lane.
His brother, Wallace Lupino (1898 - 1961) was an actor, as was Wallace's son, Richard Lane.
Henry and Wallace Lupino's niece, Ida Lupino, the daughter of actors Stanley Lupino (1893 - 1942) and Connie Emerald (1892 - 1959), was the most famous member of this acting family.
Lupino was renowned for his comedy and acrobatic stunts. The Lupino family also had a reputation for hurtling through traps, the trapdoors in the stage that allowed a sudden appearance in the middle of the stage. At one time Lupino Lane held the record both for height, 8ft 5ins, at the Victoria Palace Theatre and for speed, 83 traps in six minutes, at the London Hippodrome. In 1937 he starred in Me and My Girl, and was responsible for popularising the Lambeth Walk. During his lifetime he performed in 53 films, directed a further 20, and was a scriptwriter on 4.
In 1946, after damage sustained during World War II, Lupino Lane purchased the shell of the Gaiety Theatre in the Aldwych to rescue it from dereliction, and provide a permanent home for comedic performance, but refurbishment was beyond their means, and eventually the theatre was demolished in 1956.
Lupino Lane died on November 10, 1959 in London, England at age 67. He is buried in the South London Crematorium and Streatham Park Cemetery.
[edit] Brief credits
- 1913-1920: Acted in British shorts, including the experimental Mr Butterbuns series.
- 1920-1922: Starred in Broadway show Afgar.
- 1922-1923: Acted in shorts and features for Fox
- 1924: Acted in D.W. Griffith's feature Isn't Life Wonderful?
- 1925-1929: Acted and directed shorts for Educational
- 1929-1930: Played supporting roles in U.S. features
- 1930-1940: Directed and acted in British features
- 1939-1959: On stage and television in England.
