Leslie Howard's New York Times obituary
Thursday, June 3, 1943
"Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!"
Leslie Howard's entry in Who's Who In The Theatre 1938
(updated 1940)
HOWARD, Leslie, actor; b. London, 3 Apr., 1893; s. of Frederick Stainer; e. Dulwich; m. Ruth Evelyn Martin; was formerly a bank clerk; he then joined the Army, and on being discharged, made his first appearance on the stage, in 1917, when he toured as Jerry in "Peg o' My Heart"; during 1917 toured as Charley Wykeham in "Charley's Aunt," and as Monty Vaughan in "Under Cover"; made his first appearance in London, at the New Theatre, Feb., 1918, appeared as Ronald Herrick in "The Freaks"; at the Royalty, July, 1918, as John Culver in "The Title"; at the Criterion, Apr., 1919, played Lord Bagley in "Our Mr. Hepplewhite"; at the New Theatre, Jan., 1920, Brian Strange in "Mr. Pim Passes By"; at the Prince of Wales's, Feb., 1920, Lord Stevenage in "The Young Person in Pink"; at the Lyric, June, 1920, appeared as Billy Benson in "East is West"; he then went to the United States, making his first appearance on the New York stage at the Henry Miller Theatre, 1 Nov., 1920, as Sir Calverton Shipley in "Just Suppose"; at the Gaiety, New York, Oct., 1921, played Roddy in "The Wren"; at the Thirty-ninth Street Theatre, Dec., 1921, Percy Sturgess in "Danger"; at the Booth, Mar., 1922, Oliver Blayds in "The Truth About Blayds"; at the Little, New York, Aug., 1922, Jerry Middleton in "A Serpent's Tooth"; at the Comedy, New York, Nov., 1922, Gervase Mallory in "The Lady Cristilinda"; at the Comedy, New York, Feb., 1923, Hal Turner in "Anything Might Happen"; at the Gaiety, New York, May, 1923, the Hon. Willie Tatham in "Aren't We All"; at the Ritz, Jan., 1924, Henry in "Outward Bound"; at the Forty-ninth Street Theater, Aug., 1924, Pablo Moreira in "The Werewolf"; Empire, Jan., 1925, Peter Graham in "Isabel," and Mr. Preen in "Shall We Join the Ladies?"; at Chicago, Apr., 1925, and Broadhurst, New York, Sept., 1925, Napier Harpenden in "The Green Hat"; reappeared in London, at the Queen's, July, 1926, as Bobby Rendon in "The Way You Look at It"; returned to New York, at the Empire, Mar., 1927, scored a great success when he played André Sallicel in "Her Cardboard Lover"; Bijou, Sept., 1927, played Wrigley in his own play "Murray Hill"; Booth, Oct., 1927, played Matt Denant in "Escape"; returned to London, 1928, and appeared at the Lyric, Aug., 1928, in his old part in "Her Cardboard Lover"; Mar., 1929, played Peter Standish in a revival of "Berkeley Square"; was responsible for the staging of the two last-mentioned productions; at Southampton, Aug.,1929, played Joseph in "Candle Light," and then returned to New York to play the same part at the Empire, Sept., 1929; at the Lyceum, Nov., 1929, again played Peter Standish in "Berkeley Square"; Broadhurst, Jan., 1932, played Tom Colier in "The Animal Kingdom," which he produced and staged with Gilbert Miller; Lyric, London, Oct., 1933, William Shakespeare in "This Side Idolatry"; Broadhurst, New York, Jan., 1935, with Gilbert Miller, presented "The Petrified Forest," in which he appeared as Alan Squier; Imperial, New York, Nov., 1936, appeared as Hamlet in his own production; commenced film career, 1930, and has appeared in "Outward Bound," "Never the Twain Shall Meet," "A Free Soul," "A Daughter of Luxury" ("Five and Ten"), "Devotion," "Service for Ladies" ("Reserved for Ladies"), "Smilin' Through," "The Animal Kingdom" ("The Woman in His House"), "Secrets," "Captured," "Berkeley Squre," "The Lady is Willing," "Of Human Bondage," "British Agent," "The Scarlet Pimpernel," "The Petrified Forest," "Romeo and Juliet," "It's Love I'm After," "Stand-In," "Pygmalion," "Gone With the Wind," "Intermezzo," etc.; was co-director for the film "Pygmalion"; his play "Murray Hill" was produced at the Ambassadors', London, June, 1928, under the title of "Tell Me the Truth," and was subsequently re-written as "Elizabeth Sleeps Out"
Recreation: Riding. Clubs: Lotos and Coffee House, New York. Address: Westcott, near Dorking, Surrey. Telephone No.: Westcott 109.
From Great Stars of the American Stage: A Pictorial Record by Daniel Blum
