Lawrence Grossmith

Lawrence Randall Grossmith (29 March 1877 – 21 February 1944) was an English actor, the son of the Gilbert and Sullivan performer George Grossmith and the brother of the actor-manager George Grossmith Jr.

After establishing his career in Edwardian musical comedy in London from the first years of the 20th century until the First World War (except for a brief period in the U.S.), Grossmith left England on an extensive tour of the U.S. and Australia, playing in both musicals and non-musical plays. He continued his stage career in England and America from 1924. From 1933 until his death in 1944, he acted in films as well as on stage.

Grossmith was born in London, the son of the actor George Grossmith, famous for his roles in the Savoy Operas, and Emmeline Rosa Noyce (1849–1905). His uncle was the actor Weedon Grossmith. He was educated at St Paul's College, Stony Stratford, London University School and Shrewsbury School. He was intended for a career as an engineer, but, like his father, his uncle and his elder brother, George Grossmith Jr., he was drawn to the theatre. He made his stage debut, in 1896, as Robert in Mam'zelle Nitouche at the Court Theatre.

In 1901 Grossmith played the title role in a stage adaptation of Struwwelpeter, a role very unlike the flâneur roles with which his name later became associated. In 1904 Grossmith married Coralie Blythe, a star of Edwardian musical comedy. Her brother was the dancer Vernon Castle. In the first years of the 20th century he became known for his appearances in Edwardian musical comedy, in such West End shows as The White Chrysanthemum (1905) and The Girl Behind the Counter (1906). In 1906 Grossmith and his wife Coralie Blythe were invited to go to New York by Lew Fields; taking Blythe's brother Vernon Castle with them. Later in 1906 the trio appeared at the Herald Square Theatre on Broadway in the musical revue About Town. He was back in London after this, appearing in Havana (1908) and Are You There? (1913).

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