Seymour Hicks

Seymour Hicks began his six-decade acting career in 1887. A fine comic singer and an even better farceur, Hicks headlined the first revue show ever staged in London, 1893's Under the Clock. Before he had reached his 35th birthday, Hicks had managed several thriving music-hall and "legitimate" theatres, including the legendary Aldwych, which he founded in 1906. One year later, he made his movie debut in a 30-second tableau about his publishing activities, titled Seymour Hicks Edits 'The Tatler'. His "official" entree into films was in 1913; thereafter, he frequently co-starred on screen with his wife, Ellailine Terris, who also served as the subject of his 1939 autobiography Me and the Missus (his first book of reminiscences, Between Ourselves, was published in 1930). Hicks was the first British actor to appear in France during World War I, repeating this accomplishment during World War II -- and winning the French Croix de Guerre on both occasions. In 1922, he collaborated with cinema novice Alfred Hitchcock on the direction of Always Tell Your Wife, based on Hicks' own screenplay. Hicks made his best-remembered talkie appearance as star and scenarist of Scrooge, the 1935 remake of Hicks' 1913 silent film; also in 1935, Hicks became Sir Seymour Hicks, and his wife Lady Hicks. Sir Seymour Hicks continued appearing in films and on stage up until a year before his death at the age of 78.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide