Arthur Margetson
Arthur Margetson was a British stage and film actor and radio broadcaster. He was also a composer of music and lyrics, and an impersonator of performers such as G P Huntley, Alfred Lester, and Harry Weldon.
Arthur Charles Margetson was born in Marylebone, the younger son of Edward John Margetson, a composer, and Marion Stocqueler Wardroper. His mother was a daughter of an adulterous affair between Joachim Hayward Stocqueler and Mrs Louisa Marianne Wardroper. Arthur was a pupil at the Royal Masonic School for Boys.
From 1925 to 1949 Margetson crossed the Atlantic, either alone or with his current wife, at least 20 times in several different liners, including the Île de France and the Queen Elizabeth. On 21 August 1924, the French vessel De Grasse transported Arthur and his first wife Rosamund on its maiden voyage from Le Havre, arriving in New York on 5 September.
Stage performances
Source:Theodore and Co., at the Prince's, EdinburghTelling the Tale at the Ambassador’s- Duets given with Eileen Molyneux at the Chiswick EmpireMidnight Frolics at The Hippodrome, BoscombeTopsy-Turvey — 1919 at the Kennington TheatreThe Follies of 1921 at King’s Theatre, DundeeHis Girl at the Gaiety Theatre, SheffieldLittle Miss Bluebeard at Wyndham’s, with Irene BordoniBetty in Mayfair at the Adelphi, with Jack HobbsKid Boots at the Winter GardenJust a Kiss at The Empire, LiverpoolThe Blue Train at the King’s Theatre, Southsea
- Noël Coward’s Home Chat at the Duke of York’sParis at the Wilbur Theatre, Boston in June; then at the Music Box Theatre, New York in October
- Replaced Owen Nares as boxing hero Jim Brooks in Hold Everything! at the Palace Theatre, LondonWatch Beverly at the Q Theatre, Kew BridgeHeads Up! at the Palace TheatreLet us be Gay at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham with Tallulah Bankhead in the lead; his first appearance in a straight playNaughty Cinderella at the Comedy
- In an adaptation of Maugham’s novel The Painted Veil at The PlayhouseLovely Lady at the Phoenix. Closed after four performancesMen About the House at the Theatre Royal, Bournemouth with Olga Lindo in the leadNona at the Avon Theatre, New YorkA Good Woman, Poor Thing, at the Avon, New YorkA Saturday Night, at the Playhouse, New YorkMusic in the Air, at His Majesty's Theatre, LondonNo More Ladies, at Wyndham's, LondonMainly for Lovers, at the 48th Street Theatre, New YorkThe Laughing Cavalier, at The Adelphi, LondonBack Your Fancy, at the Theatre Royal, BrightonMagyar Melody, at His Majesty's, LondonBilly Draws a Horse, at the Playhouse, New YorkCharley's Aunt, at the Cort Theatre, New YorkA Case of Youth, National Theatre, New York
- Maugham’s Theatre, at the National, WashingtonPunch and Julia, at the National, WashingtonFlare Path, at Henry Miller's Theatre, New York, with Alec Guinness in his Broadway débutAnother Love Story, at the Fulton Theatre, New YorkLovers and Friends, at the National, WashingtonMrs. Kimball Presents, at the 48th Street Theatre, New YorkLife with Father, at the Empire, New YorkPark Avenue, at the Schubert, New YorkClaudia, at the Shubert, New YorkAround the World, at the Adelphi, New YorkLittle Brown Jug, at the Martin Beck Theatre, New YorkThe Play’s the Thing, at the National, WashingtonClutterbuck, at the Biltmore, New York
Filmography
Wolves as Mark Other People's Sins as Bernard BarringtonMany Waters as Jim BarcaldineFlat No. 9 as John DanversHis Grace Gives Notice as George BarwickThe Great Defender as Leslie LockeLittle Friend as HilliardRoyal Cavalcade as Dining OfficerThe Mystery of the Mary Celeste as Capt. Benjamin BriggsThe Divine Spark as Ernesto TosiI Give My Heart as Count Du BarryMusic Hath Charms as Alan SterlingBroken Blossoms as Battling BurrowsJuggernaut as Roger CliffordHead Office as DixonPagliacci as TonioSmash and Grab as MalvernAction for Slander as Capt. Hugh BradfordThe Return of Carol Deane as Mark PoyntonMe and My Pal as AndrewsThe Nursemaid Who Disappeared as Det. Antony GethrynReturn to Yesterday as OsbertRandom Harvest as ChetwyndCommandos Strike at Dawn as German ColonelThumbs Up as Bert LawrenceSherlock Holmes Faces Death as Dr. Bob SextonPersonal life
Arthur Charles Margetson was born on 27 April 1897 in Marylebone, the second son of Edward John and Marion Stocqueler Home. He attended the Royal Masonic School for Boys in Bushey.Margetson married in turn:
- Rosamond Bertram Ifould in Manhattan on 5 March 1923. She had had three children by her first marriage. They were divorced in London in 1925.
- Vera Alys Lennox, at the Savoy Chapel on 28 June 1926. She divorced him in London in 1932.
- Actress Shirley Grey, at Caxton Hall Register Office in 1936. A lighthearted account of their courtship is available online.
- Barbara Joyce Wood, a former photographers model, in New York in 1948.
Arthur Margetson was keen on swimming, music, and lyric writing. He was a member of the Savage Club, the Stage Golfing Society and the Green Room Club.
Margetson died at the Central Middlesex Hospital on 12 August 1951. His home was at 20 Abbey Road St John's Wood.