Atwill, Lionel

(1885-1946)

   Born in Croyden, England, Lionel Atwill gained significant acting experience in provincial theatres before touring the United States in the company of Lillie Lang-try. He debuted on Broadway, directing himself in The Lodger (1917), which was well-received. His next few endeavors failed until he appeared opposite Alla Nazimova in a series of Henrik Ibsen's plays produced by Arthur Hopkins, including The Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler, and A Doll's House, all in 1918. Atwill had a long run and tour in Tiger! Tiger! (1918), followed by another hit in Sacha Guitry's Deburau (1920), playing early 19th-century French pantomimist Jean Gaspard Deburau. In the early 1920s, Atwill found success in two more Guitry plays, The Grand Duke (1921) and The Comedian (1923), and in The Outsider (1924). He played opposite Helen Hayes in George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra (1925). Later, he went to Hollywood and became a venerable character actor in over 75 motion pictures.