Difference between revisions of "Rolf Lefebvre"
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
1936. | 1936. | ||
| − | His theatre activities in England included working with a weekly rep company that he had founded with Mary Morris in Surrey, for nine months, inter alia performing in ''[[Love from a Stranger]]'' by Agatha Christie at the Barn Theatre, Oxted, with the company called The Strange Players (possibly the company in question) in 1937. Then came “several appearances” in the West End and apparently a tour with Frank Forbes-Robertson in ''[[The Passing of the Third Floor Back]]''. | + | His theatre activities in England included working with a weekly rep company that he had founded with Mary Morris in Surrey, for nine months, inter alia performing in ''[[Love from a Stranger]]'' by Agatha Christie at the Barn Theatre, Oxted, with the company called The Strange Players (possibly the company in question) in 1937. Then came “several appearances” in the West End and apparently a tour with Frank Forbes-Robertson in ''[[The Passing of the Third Floor Back]]''. He also appeared in a number of films. |
In 1940 he was back in South Africa working as an announcer and producer at the Johannesburg Station of the [[South African Broadcasting Corporation]]. He also worked in theatre at this time, notably so at the [[Standard Theatre]] for companies such as the [[Munro-Inglis Company]] and the [[Gwen ffrangçon-Davies/Marda Vanne Company]] (between 1941 and 1946), resigning from the [[SABC]] in 1943 to concentrate on theatre. | In 1940 he was back in South Africa working as an announcer and producer at the Johannesburg Station of the [[South African Broadcasting Corporation]]. He also worked in theatre at this time, notably so at the [[Standard Theatre]] for companies such as the [[Munro-Inglis Company]] and the [[Gwen ffrangçon-Davies/Marda Vanne Company]] (between 1941 and 1946), resigning from the [[SABC]] in 1943 to concentrate on theatre. | ||
| Line 16: | Line 16: | ||
It seems he then returned to the UK, joining the newly formed Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company for the 1948/9 season, but would back to South Africa on occasion to do some work with the newly founded [[National Theatre Organisation]] ([[NTO]]). One play we do know he was in was [[Guy Butler]]'s ''[[The Dam]]''. (In his autobiography, Guy was very complimentary about his performance – thought he was the best thing in it.) | It seems he then returned to the UK, joining the newly formed Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company for the 1948/9 season, but would back to South Africa on occasion to do some work with the newly founded [[National Theatre Organisation]] ([[NTO]]). One play we do know he was in was [[Guy Butler]]'s ''[[The Dam]]''. (In his autobiography, Guy was very complimentary about his performance – thought he was the best thing in it.) | ||
| − | After that he went back to the UK to work in film and television to some extent, but eventually only in radio. Besides the fact that he had an excellent voice, a key reason for avoiding the stage was that he felt he could not trust himself to remember lines. His film credits in this period include ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'' (1965), | + | After that he went back to the UK to work in film and television to some extent, but eventually only in radio. Besides the fact that he had an excellent voice, a key reason for avoiding the stage was that he felt he could not trust himself to remember lines. His film credits in this period include ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'' (1965), |
| + | |||
| + | His TV work saw appearances in the ''BBC Play of the Month'' series (1965) and the TV series ''Theatre 625'' (1964) and for radio he played the ghost in a BBC audio production of William Shakespeare's ''[[Hamlet]]'' (1971). | ||
He died on December 9, 1974. | He died on December 9, 1974. | ||
Revision as of 09:33, 8 March 2022
Rolf Lefebvre (1916-1974) Actor.
Also used the name Rolfe Lefeuvre on occasion.
Contents
Biography
Born in Johannesburg on 12 October, 1916, and presumably grew up there.
He moved to England, where he studied acting, graduating from RADA in 1936.
His theatre activities in England included working with a weekly rep company that he had founded with Mary Morris in Surrey, for nine months, inter alia performing in Love from a Stranger by Agatha Christie at the Barn Theatre, Oxted, with the company called The Strange Players (possibly the company in question) in 1937. Then came “several appearances” in the West End and apparently a tour with Frank Forbes-Robertson in The Passing of the Third Floor Back. He also appeared in a number of films.
In 1940 he was back in South Africa working as an announcer and producer at the Johannesburg Station of the South African Broadcasting Corporation. He also worked in theatre at this time, notably so at the Standard Theatre for companies such as the Munro-Inglis Company and the Gwen ffrangçon-Davies/Marda Vanne Company (between 1941 and 1946), resigning from the SABC in 1943 to concentrate on theatre.
It seems he then returned to the UK, joining the newly formed Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company for the 1948/9 season, but would back to South Africa on occasion to do some work with the newly founded National Theatre Organisation (NTO). One play we do know he was in was Guy Butler's The Dam. (In his autobiography, Guy was very complimentary about his performance – thought he was the best thing in it.)
After that he went back to the UK to work in film and television to some extent, but eventually only in radio. Besides the fact that he had an excellent voice, a key reason for avoiding the stage was that he felt he could not trust himself to remember lines. His film credits in this period include A Tale of Two Cities (1965),
His TV work saw appearances in the BBC Play of the Month series (1965) and the TV series Theatre 625 (1964) and for radio he played the ghost in a BBC audio production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet (1971).
He died on December 9, 1974.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
Among his many stage appearances (while often doubling as a stage manager) in South Africa have been:
Flare Path (playing "Squadron Leader Swanson", 1943), What Every Woman Knows (playing "David Wylie", 1943), Watch on the Rhine (playing "Teck de Brancovis"), Milestones (playing "Arthur Preece", 1944); Blithe Spirit (playing "Charles", 1944), And So to Bed (a comedy about Samuel Pepys, 1944-5), The Merry Wives of Windsor (playing "Frank Ford", 1945), Full House (1945), A Month in the Country (playing "Rakitin", 1946), The Wind of Heaven (playing "Evan Howell", 1946), The Dam (1952).
He also did some radio work, for example he and Marie Ney played Romeo and Juliet for SABC radio (broadcast on 27 April 1944). .
Sources
Percy Tucker. 1997. Just the Ticket. My 50 Years in Show Business. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press: p. 13.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0498902/
Notes from Anthony Akerman. E-mail correspondence 28 February, 2022.
Return to
Return to ESAT Personalities L
Return to South African Theatre Personalities
Return to Main Page
