Esme Percy, Esmé Saville Percy was a distinguished thespian of the English stage, born in London of French ancestry. He studied acting under Sarah Bernhardt and at the Brussels Conservatoire, making his theatrical debut in 1904. As a young man, he was noted for his good looks. As Percy advanced to star status, he gained a singular reputation as a leading interpreter of roles in plays by George Bernard Shaw. This began as early as March 1928, when he appeared in a radio production of "Man of Destiny", as Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1913, he set up a touring company, specialising in Shavian plays. At the end of World War I, he ran a theatre in Cologne, entertaining British troops as Professor Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady", co-starring opposite Mrs. Patrick Campbell.
By the 1920's, Percy's looks had become somewhat dissipated. He was now rather plump, his nose broken in an accident and he had lost an eye after 'a playful mishap' involving a Great Dane. The resulting glass eye proved frequently disconcerting to other cast members, especially during a 1949 performance of "The Lady's Not for Burning", when it popped out and rolled across the floor. He wore an eye patch during subsequent performances.
No longer a star, Percy entered films in 1930 as a character actor. He came to specialise in period drama, often as indeterminate ethnic types. In this vein, he was particularly effective as Count Aristide Karpathy in Pygmalión (1938), a role written for him by Shaw himself. Other eminent historical personae in Percy's repertoire included Samuel Pepys in Nell Gwyn (1934), Lloyd George in Royal Cavalcade (1935) and Napoleon Bonaparte in La bailarina del conjunto (1935). He also appeared in Asesinato (1930), an early Alfred Hitchcock. Percy's supporting role in the espionage thriller On Secret Service (1933) was described by the New York Times as "an excellently drawn characterisation" (Feb. 10, 1936).
Percy made several television appearances during the last few years of his life (among them, reprising his comic role of Matthew Skipps in "The Lady's Not for Burning" for the BBC) and acted with the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre. He died in June 1957 at the age of 69.
By the 1920's, Percy's looks had become somewhat dissipated. He was now rather plump, his nose broken in an accident and he had lost an eye after 'a playful mishap' involving a Great Dane. The resulting glass eye proved frequently disconcerting to other cast members, especially during a 1949 performance of "The Lady's Not for Burning", when it popped out and rolled across the floor. He wore an eye patch during subsequent performances.
No longer a star, Percy entered films in 1930 as a character actor. He came to specialise in period drama, often as indeterminate ethnic types. In this vein, he was particularly effective as Count Aristide Karpathy in Pygmalión (1938), a role written for him by Shaw himself. Other eminent historical personae in Percy's repertoire included Samuel Pepys in Nell Gwyn (1934), Lloyd George in Royal Cavalcade (1935) and Napoleon Bonaparte in La bailarina del conjunto (1935). He also appeared in Asesinato (1930), an early Alfred Hitchcock. Percy's supporting role in the espionage thriller On Secret Service (1933) was described by the New York Times as "an excellently drawn characterisation" (Feb. 10, 1936).
Percy made several television appearances during the last few years of his life (among them, reprising his comic role of Matthew Skipps in "The Lady's Not for Burning" for the BBC) and acted with the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre. He died in June 1957 at the age of 69.
FILMOGRAFÍA
1940 Veintiún juntos as Wallen
1945 Al morir la noche - Antiques Dealer
The Public Prosecutor (1953) ... Sanson
The Lady's Not for Burning (1950) ... Matthew Skipps
Death in the Hand (1948) (Short) - Cosmo Vaughan
The Ghosts of Berkeley Square (1947) - Vizier
Lisbon Story (1946) - Mariot
1945 César y Cleopatra - Major Domo
1942 El vencedor de Napoleón - Minor Role
1941 Amor en onda corta - Lord Chamberlain
1941Tú cambiarás de vida -
1938 Pygmalión - Count Aristid Karpathy
1937 El retorno de la Pimpinela Escarlata -
1937 Our Fighting Navy - Diego de Costa
1937 The Frog - Philo Johnson
1937 Cuando el ladrón encuentra al ladrón - Robinson
Alice Through the Looking Glass (1937) ... Humpty Dumpty
1936 Acusada - Morel
1936 Crímenes en Londres
1936 Se acabó la música - Austrian Ambassador
1936 Un trono por una canción - Gabriel Donozetti
1936 A Woman Alone - General Petroff
1936 Caballero improvisado - John Townsend
1936 The Invader - Jose
1935 Abdul Hamid, el sultán rojo - Ali - Chief Eunuch
1935 Sucedió en París - Pommier
1935 Royal Cavalcade - Lloyd George
1935 La bailarina del conjunto - Napoleon Bonaparte
1934 Unfinished Symphony - Huettenbrenner
1934 Lord Edgware Dies - Duke of Merton
1934 Nell Gwyn - Samuel Pepys
1934 Love, Life & Laughter - Goebschen
1933 On Secret Service - Bleuntzli - Reporter
1933 Summer Lightning - Baxter
1933 Bitter Sweet - Hugh Devon
1932 The Lucky Number - The Chairman
1930 Asesinato - Handel Fane
1940 Veintiún juntos as Wallen
1945 Al morir la noche - Antiques Dealer
The Public Prosecutor (1953) ... Sanson
The Lady's Not for Burning (1950) ... Matthew Skipps
Death in the Hand (1948) (Short) - Cosmo Vaughan
The Ghosts of Berkeley Square (1947) - Vizier
Lisbon Story (1946) - Mariot
1945 César y Cleopatra - Major Domo
1942 El vencedor de Napoleón - Minor Role
1941 Amor en onda corta - Lord Chamberlain
1941Tú cambiarás de vida -
1938 Pygmalión - Count Aristid Karpathy
1937 El retorno de la Pimpinela Escarlata -
1937 Our Fighting Navy - Diego de Costa
1937 The Frog - Philo Johnson
1937 Cuando el ladrón encuentra al ladrón - Robinson
Alice Through the Looking Glass (1937) ... Humpty Dumpty
1936 Acusada - Morel
1936 Crímenes en Londres
1936 Se acabó la música - Austrian Ambassador
1936 Un trono por una canción - Gabriel Donozetti
1936 A Woman Alone - General Petroff
1936 Caballero improvisado - John Townsend
1936 The Invader - Jose
1935 Abdul Hamid, el sultán rojo - Ali - Chief Eunuch
1935 Sucedió en París - Pommier
1935 Royal Cavalcade - Lloyd George
1935 La bailarina del conjunto - Napoleon Bonaparte
1934 Unfinished Symphony - Huettenbrenner
1934 Lord Edgware Dies - Duke of Merton
1934 Nell Gwyn - Samuel Pepys
1934 Love, Life & Laughter - Goebschen
1933 On Secret Service - Bleuntzli - Reporter
1933 Summer Lightning - Baxter
1933 Bitter Sweet - Hugh Devon
1932 The Lucky Number - The Chairman
1930 Asesinato - Handel Fane