H. Lane Bayliff

(b. Kensington, London, 06/04/1872 – d. Katoomba, New South Wales, 21/09/1937). British-born actor/producer/manager, later in Australia. Though he started his working life as a clerk with the Bank of England, Henry William Lane Bayliff (usually credited as H. Lane Bayliff), soon turned to the stage and is known to have played a servant in A Life of Pleasure at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the tailor in The Private Secretary with Sir Charles Hawtrey at the Comedy Theatre, both in 1893. Between 1895 and 1914 he appeared in the provinces as well as in London’s West End in a wide range of plays, from Lady Windermere’s Fan to Milestones, frequently acting with George Arliss. He first came to South Africa as early as March 1902 with the Sass-Nelson Company, acting in plays such as The Second in Command and Sweet Nell of Old Drury. Later he joined the Wheeler-Edwardes Gaiety Company, which staged A Country Girl, Three Little Maids, etc. Between 1911 and 1918 he was also very active as a producer, notably for 2½ years at the Liverpool Playhouse. He appeared in at least one film in England (The Shadow Between/1920), before he came out to South Africa for the second time in July 1920 as the producer of the New London Dramatic Company, opening with De Luxe Annie at His Majesty’s Theatre on 30 August, followed by Tilly of Bloomsbury, Eyes of Youth, etc.

Subsequently he joined Gertrude Elliott (Lady Forbes Robertson), becoming manager of her touring company and producing The Man Who Came Back, Paddy the Next Best Thing and The Dawn of a Tomorrow (all 1921) at His Majesty’s Theatre in Johannesburg. During this time he also took the role of Captain John Lant in The Reef of Stars (1923), the Joseph Albrecht film version of the novel by H. De Vere Stacpoole, which was released in South Africa after he had left for Australia with Lady Forbes Robertson. He appeared in numerous plays across the country and in New Zealand and in 1925 he married Betsy Scott. He became the business manager of the Allan Wilkie Shakespearean Company, of which his wife was also a member, and toured Australia for eight years. He also did radio work for the Australian Broadcasting Company/Commission. In 1934 he was the adjudicator of the Australian Women’s Weekly Screen Personality contest and between 1933 and 1937 he appeared in five films, three of them directed by Ken G. Hall, including the popular The Squatter’s Daughter (1933) and The Silence of Dean Maitland (1934). (FO)

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