Arthur Sinbad Pitt
Arthur Sinbad Pitt (18**-194*) was an cabinet maker, actor and set builder.
Contents
Biography
According to the entry on the website Theatricalia[1], he was born Arthur Sinbad Pitt in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and became a cabinet maker by trade, before moving on to stage carpentry and then taking up acting. The earliest appearance recorded was as "Paul Inglis" in The Stowaway at the Royal Theatre, Portsmouth, in 1890. For a time he then worked as actor, setbuilder and probably stage manager for Leonard Rayne's company, a period during which he visited South Africa (1897, 1898 and 1900).
The rest of his acting career includes performances in The Midnight Wedding (November 1909), A Wrecker of Men (1910 and 1911, touring with his wife Cecilia Fisher), Queen of the Redskins (1911), London Pride (Edinburgh, 1917), A Southern Maid (Edinburgh, 1920), "Mustapha" in Alfs Button (Princes Theatre, London, 1924). His last performance seems to have been as "Rev. Dr. Harper" in Arsenic and Old Lace at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool in 1944.
He also did some film work, for example appearing as "Henry Hobson" in the film Hobsons Choice (Master Film Company, 1920).
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
Toured in South Africa with Leonard Rayne's Company in the years, serving both as an actor and as probably something like a stage manager, overseeing stage carpenters, property men, etc.
Sources
Entry on "Arthur Sinbad Pitt", Theatricalia[2] Accessed 27 June, 2020.
D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)
F.C.L. Bosman, 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [3]: pp.
F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.
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