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Biography
Matheson Lang (1879-1948) was born in Canada. Handsome, with a strong voice and imposing stage presence, he became a popular British matinee idol and Shakespearean actor. After touring with Frank Benson’s company and with Lillie Langtry and Ellen Terry, he appeared in Granville Barker’s productions of Bernard Shaw and Ibsen plays at the Royal Court Theatre.
Having married the actress Hutin Britton (1876-1965), he formed his own company with her and, from 1910 to 1913, they toured Australia, South Africa and India with a Shakespeare repertoire that included Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice. On their return to Britain in 1913, Lang created the leading role of Mr Wu, a part that brought him fame and which he was frequently to revive. In 1914, he and his wife produced the first Shakespeare season at the Old Vic.
Later, he achieved considerable success with his performance in The Wandering Jew that he presented on Broadway in 1927. Between 1916 and 1936, he appeared in 32 films and was, in the mid-1920s, Britain’s leading screen actor. He also wrote a couple of successful plays: Carnival and The Purple Mask, both of which were presented on Broadway and turned into films.
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