Henry Kendall (actor)


Henry Kendall AFC, was an English stage and film actor, theatre director and revue artiste.
His early theatrical career was curtailed by the First World War, in which he served with distinction. Resuming his stage career in 1919 he appeared mostly in the West End, with one excursion to Broadway and occasional tours of the British provinces, particularly during the Second World War. He was dismissive of his career as a screen actor, but made more than 40 films for the cinema. As a theatre director he was responsible for more than 20 productions, in a minority of which he also starred.
In his later years he had heart problems, which forced his temporary withdrawal from the theatre in 1957. He died of a heart attack in the south of France in 1962, at the age of 65. He was unmarried.

Early life

Kendall was born in London in 1897, the son of William Kendall and his wife Rebecca, née Nathan. He was educated at the City of London School. He began his stage career "walking on" in Tommy Atkins at the Lyceum Theatre in 1914. From then until he joined the armed forces during the First World War he was first a chorus member in Business as Usual at the Hippodrome Theatre, then a supporting player in Watch Your Step ; and for nine months a member of the Old Vic company, playing juvenile parts in Shakespeare repertory, including Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, Florizel in The Winter's Tale, and Sebastian in Twelfth Night.
From 1916–1919 Kendall served as a captain in the Royal Flying Corps, winning the Air Force Cross.

Stage career from 1919

1919 to 1930

In the post-war decade Kendall played more than 30 roles in the West End and on Broadway:
PlayRoleTheatreYear
Cyrano de BergeracSecond MarquisGarrick1919
Cyrano de BergeracChristianDrury Lane1919
MumsieGuyLittle1920
French LeaveLt George GrahamGlobe1920
Where the Rainbow EndsSaint GeorgeApollo1920
Polly With a PastHarry RichardsonSt James's1921
The CircleEdward LutonHaymarket1921
ThreadsJamesSt James's1921
The Hotel MouseBarry ScarlettQueen's1921
Two Jacks and a JillTom GodlingRoyalty1921
The Curate's EggVarious rolesAmbassadors1922
Arms and the ManBluntschliEveryman1922
East of SuezHarold KnoxHis Majesty's1922
Marriage by InstalmentsJohn WiltshireAmbassadors1923
Stop FlirtingGeoffrey DangerfieldShaftesbury1923
HavocDick ChappellRegent1923
HavocDick ChappellHaymarket1924
Bachelor HusbandsBilly ReynoldsRoyalty1924
As You Like ItOrlandoRegent1924
Charlot's RevueVariousPrince of Wales1924
Tunnel TrenchLt St AubynPrince's1925
The CzarinaCount Alexei CzernyQ1925
On 'ChangeDr Tom PearsonSavoy1925
Naughty CinderellaGerald GrayLyceum, New York1925
This Woman BusinessHoney Ritz, New York1926
The Silent HouseCapt Philip BartyComedy1927
The Road to RomeMagoStrand1928
A Damsel in DistressReggie HigginsNew1928
Wrongs and RightsHugh RawsonStrand1928
Baa, Baa, Black SheepHugo BonsorNew1929
The Flying FoolVincent FloydPrince's1929
He's MineMaxime de BellencontreLyric1929
The Ghost TrainTeddy DeakinComedy1929

1930 to 1945

In the 1930s and during the Second World War Kendall continued to appear mainly in the West End, but toured in three productions:
PlayRoleTheatreYear
Odd NumbersJohn StrangeComedy1930
Charlot's Masqueraderevue – variousCambridge1930
A Murder Has Been ArrangedMaurice MullinsStrand and St James's1930
Cut for PartnersHugotour1934
Someone at the DoorRonnie MartinAldwych and New1935
The World WaitsKenneth BriceAldwych1935
Bats in the BelfryEdward MortonAmbassadors1937
This Money BusinessGerald EsmondAmbassadors1938
Room for TwoHubert CroneComedy1938
Punch Without JudyMicky SaundersQ1939
House PartyMichael DrumleyQ1940
Nap HandJohnny Pottertour1940
High TemperatureTony HamiltonQ and Duke of York's1940
High TemperatureTony Hamiltontour1941
Rise Above Itrevue – variousComedy1941
Scooprevue – variousVaudeville Theatre1942
A Little Bit of FluffJohn AyersAmbassadors1943
The Fur CoatDominic MalloryComedy1943
Sweet and Lowrevue – variousAmbassadors1944
Sweeter and Lowerrevue – variousAmbassadors1944

1945 to 1961

PlayRoleTheatreYear
Sweetest and LowestrevueAmbassadors1946
À la CarterevueSavoy Theatre1948
On Monday Next...Harry BlackerEmbassy and Comedy1949;
For Love or MoneyLovewellAmbassadors1950
The Dish Ran AwayPeter PerryVaudeville1950
Capricerevue – varioustouring1950
The Happy FamilyHenry LordDuchess1951
Angels in LovePomeroy-JonesSavoy1954
Portrait of a WomanMontague CloudQ1954
Beat the PanelOliver CharringtonRoyal, Nottingham,
and Embassy, London		1955
The Call of the DodoJulian LassiterRoyal, Nottingham1955
Where the Rainbow EndsJoseph FlintNew Victoria1958
Let Them Eat CakeLord WhitehallCambridge Theatre1959
Aunt Edwinatitle roleFortune Theatre1959
Pools ParadiseBishop of LaxPhoenix and on tour1961

Film career

Kendall dismissed his own films, several of which were quota quickies, with the remark that he "commenced film career 1931, and has appeared in innumerable pictures". He played the leading role of Reggie Ogden in the film The Shadow in 1933, and also starred in Alfred Hitchcock's "bravest failure", Rich and Strange, originally released in the United States as East of Shanghai,. Kendall's films included:Mr. Pim Passes By Tilly of Bloomsbury French Leave The Flying Fool Rich and Strange Mr. Bill the Conqueror The Innocents of Chicago The Iron Stair The Man Outside The Ghost Camera The Stickpin Great Stuff The Shadow Counsel's Opinion King of the Ritz Timbuctoo This Week of Grace The Flaw The Girl in Possession Leave It to Blanche The Man I Want Crazy People Death at Broadcasting House Without You Death on the Set Lend Me Your Wife Three Witnesses The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss A Wife or Two Twelve Good Men School for Husbands Take a Chance Side Street Angel The Compulsory Wife Ship's Concert It's Not Cricket The Mysterious Mr. Davis The Butler's Dilemma 29 Acacia Avenue Dumb Dora Discovers Tobacco Helter Skelter The Voice of Merrill An Alligator Named Daisy Shadow of the Cat

Revue

As a West End revue artiste Kendall appeared in Charlot's Revue at the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1924 and Charlot's Masquerade at the Cambridge Theatre in 1930. He co-starred with Hermione Gingold in the three long-running Sweet and Low revues, with scripts by Alan Melville, first taking over from Walter Crisham in 1944; this was followed in June 1948 by the À la Carte revue at the Savoy Theatre.
He appeared with Hermione Baddeley and Hermione Gingold, Walter Crisham and Wilfred Hyde-White, in Leslie Julian Jones's revue Rise Above It, first at the Q Theatre in January 1941, when Hedley Briggs was nominally directing; then in two West End editions of the show which ran for a total of 380 performances at the Comedy Theatre opening in June 1941 and again in December 1941, when he was both starring in and directing the show.
He observed in his autobiography:

Director

In addition to a busy career as an actor and entertainer Kendal was frequently engaged as a director, staging, among other plays, the first productions of See How They Run, and The Shop at Sly Corner. He also directed numerous plays at the Embassy Theatre and Q Theatre.
In Chapter 23 of his autobiography, 'I Remember Romano's', 'An Alligator and Mr. Chaplin',, Kendal wrote that Peter Daubeny asked him in 1955 to "...keep an eye on,, his revival at the Palace",, of The Merry Widow, starring Jan Kiepura and Marta Eggerth, while he was on business in Paris.
Among his productions were:A Lass and a Lackey, Q Theatre, December 1940Rise Above It, Comedy Theatre, June 1941Other People's Houses, Ambassadors Theatre, October 1941Scoop, Vaudeville Theatre, April 1942Man from Heaven, Q Theatre, September 1943This Was a Woman, Comedy Theatre, March 1944 – previously staged at the Q Theatre as The Dark Potential, January 1944Fly Away Peter, Q Theatre, September 1944See How They Run, Q Theatre, December 1944; Comedy Theatre, January 1945Great Day, Playhouse Theatre, March 1945The Shop at Sly Corner, St Martin's Theatre, April 1945Green Laughter, Q Theatre, August 1945; Comedy Theatre, June 1946Fit for Heroes, Embassy Theatre, September 1945; Whitehall, December 1945Macadam and Eve, Aldwych Theatre, March 1951The Nest Egg, Wimbledon Theatre, November 1952Where the Rainbow Ends, Stoll Theatre, December 1953Meet a Body, Duke of York's Theatre, July 1954Tropical Fever, Theatre Royal, Brighton, March 1955Ring for Catty, Lyric Theatre, February 1956You, Too, Can Have a Body, Victoria Palace, June 1958Watch It, Sailor! (in association with André Van Gyseghem, Aldwych Theatre, February 1960Bachelor Flat, Piccadilly Theatre, May 1960
Kendall's autobiography was published by MacDonald & Co in 1960; it was called I Remember Romanos.
In his later years Kendal suffered from heart trouble. He had to give up work for a while in 1957 after a heart attack. In February 1960 he was hospitalised after suffering another attack at his house in Hampstead. He had a final, fatal attack while staying at Le Rayol in the South of France, on 9 June 1962, at the age of 65. He was unmarried.