William Terriss

British actor

Also known as: William Charles James Lewin

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History

William Terriss (born Feb. 20, 1847, London, Eng.—died Dec. 16, 1897, London) was one of England’s leading actors of the later Victorian stage.

After scoring his first success as Doricourt in The Belle’s Stratagem, a comedy by Hannah Cowley, he appeared at the principal London theatres from 1868 until his death. At the Royal Court Theatre in 1878, Terriss acted opposite Ellen Terry, later playing Romeo to the popular Adelaide Neilson’s Juliet. In 1880 he joined Sir Henry Irving, the great Victorian actor-manager, at the Lyceum Theatre, performing such Shakespearean parts as Cassio (in Othello), Mercutio (in Romeo and Juliet), and Henry VIII. He remained with the Lyceum until 1883, when he joined Adelphi Theatre, of which he became the leading man and where, as the hero of a famous series of melodramas, he became a public idol. His gusto and debonair style had great appeal and earned him the affectionate nickname “Breezy Bill.” At the height of his career he was stabbed to death by a madman, Richard Prince, while entering the Adelphi.

Terriss’ daughter Ellaline (b. April 13, 1871—d. June 16, 1971) became a great star in music halls and in both straight and musical plays from the 1890s to the 1920s. After making her debut in 1888, she formed a team with her husband, the actor-manager and dramatist Sir (Edward) Seymour Hicks (1871–1949). She was leading lady at several London theatres. Appearing in her husband’s plays, she toured the United States with him. Returning to London in 1895, she subsequently starred in two of Hicks’s hits during the 1920s, Sleeping Partners and The Man in Dress Clothes (one of his adaptations from French drama). Her husband co-produced Under the Clock, London’s first revue, and later published extensive memoirs. Having entertained troops in France during World War I (and later in World War II), he received, in 1931, France’s Légion d’Honneur. He was knighted in 1935, Ellaline then becoming Lady Hicks.