Arliss, George

(1868-1946)

   Born in London as Augustus George Arliss-Andrews, he spent most of his career on Broadway stages as well as motion pictures. Arliss debuted in 1901, costar-ring with Mrs. Patrick Campbell in The Second Mrs. Tangueray, after which he was hired by David Belasco to play the villain in The Darling of the Gods (1902). This was followed by a stint as leading man for Minnie Maddern Fiske, appearing opposite her in Becky Sharp (1904), Leah Kleschna (1904), Hedda Gabler (1904), The Rose (1905), The Eyes of the Heart (1905), The New York Idea (1906), and Rosmersholm (1907). Under Harrison Grey Fiske's management, Arliss scored a long-running success in Ferenc Molnar's The Devil (1908), followed by Septimus (1909). His acclaimed performance in Louis N. Parker's Disraeli (1911) kept him playing the role in New York and on tour for four years. Disraeli provided Arliss with ample opportunity to demonstrate his gift for bringing to life a vivid character from history through his angular physical presence and carefully detailed intellectual approach. Arliss's long, dour face and aquiline nose may have "typed" him as those historical figures he resembled or in villainous roles, but his highly technical approach to acting was widely applauded both on stage and screen.

   Following Disraeli, Arliss returned to Broadway to play another historical character in Paganini (1916), followed by a revival of J. M. Barrie's The Professor's Love Story (1917) and Hamilton (1918). For the American Red Cross during World War I, Arliss appeared in J. Hartley Manners's Out There, costarring with George M. Cohan, James K. Hackett, Chauncey Olcott, Laurette Taylor, and other leading lights of the American stage. Arliss acted in Poldekin (1920) before assaying another of his most admired roles as the villainous Rajah in The Green Goddess (1921), after which he acted in John Galsworthy's Old English (1924) and in 1928 as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice for producer Winthrop Ames on Broadway and on tour.