Sir Henry Irving Dead.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXII, Issue 42792, 17 October 1905, Page 3

Sir Henry Irving Dead.

SEIZURE WHILST ACTING. [united PRESS ASSOCIATION —BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH-—COPYRIGHT.] London, Yesterday. Sir Henry Trving was playing the part of Becket in Tennyson’s tragedy play which was ending when Sir Henry Irving, who had fallen '; on his knees, had just uttered the last line of his part : “ Into thy hands 0 Lord, into thy hands,” when he was attacked with syncope and immediately taken to his hotel where he died in a few minutes.": , ; '

Sir Henry Irving, Hon. D. Lift., LL.D. Dublin, Cambridge, Glasgow, was originally named John Henry Brodribb, but assumed hia present name by loyal patent. He was born at Keinton, Glastonbury, 1838, and was educated at Dr Pinches’ school in London. His first appearance on the stage was at the Sunderland theatre in ’56, and he afterwards played at Edinburgh, London, Glasgow, Manchester Liverpool, and e'sewhere. His firsgreat success was made in ’7O, as Dig by Grant in the comedy “ Two Roses.” In’7l he first appeared at the Lyceum in “ The Bells,” and then after a series of successes in “ Charles 1., “ Eugene Aram,” atd “Richelieu,” came that famous representation of “Hamlet” in ’74, which created such a sensation, and finally gave him his pre-eminent position on the stage. “ Macbeth,” “ Othello,” Tennyson’s “Queen Mary,” “Richard 111., and “ The Lyons Mail,” fol-

lowed in ’75, ’76 and ’77; and. then in December ’7B, he took over the sole management of the Lyceum, which ended in ’99. In “ Othello ” afterwards he alternated the characters of “Othello” and “lago ” with the late Mr Edwin Booth, and produced, and in conjunction with Miss Ellen Terry played in “The Merchant of Venice,” “ Much Ado about Nothing,” “ Faust,” 1 The Dead Heart (’B9), “Ravenswood” (’9O), “The Corsican Brothers” (’9l), “Henry VTII.” (’92), Tennyson’s “Becket” (’93), “King Arthur” (’95), “Oymbeline” (’96), “ Madame Sans-Cene ’ (’97), and “Peter the Great” ((’9B)The interest in the last play was greatly increased by the fact that the. author was Mr Lawrence Irving, the great actor’s son. In 'B3 he first visited America, land the visit has been many times repeated since. He produced a play by M. Sardou on “ Dante ” at Drury Lane in the spring of ’O3. In ’95 Sir Henry was knighted.