OBITUARY

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 198, 19 May 1936, Page 9

OBITUARY

Sir Philip Ben Greet (Received May IS, 9.30 p.m.) London, May 17. The death has occurred of Sir Philip Ben Greet, the well-known actor and manager. Sir Ben Greet was born in 1857 on a recruiting ship on the Thames commanded by his father. Captain William Greet, R.N. After beinjr educated at the Royal Naval School, New Cross, he worked as a private tutor and for a stock company before taking up a stage career. He spent three years with Miss Thorne’s company at Margate, and was the originator of Dashitall in "My Sweetheart.” He next appeared-vwith the companies of Miss Mary Anderson and Mr. Laurence Barrett, both” at the Lyceum, and also at the Haymarket during the run of “Jim the Penman." Sir Ben Greet then went into management, and was in 1886 the pioneer of the Pastoral Play, acted by professional actors. For many years he produced .Shakespearean plays, in the open air as well as in theatres, in London, the provinces and the United States. Parts he played included Malvolio, Dogberry, Sir Peter Teazel, Benedick, Shylock," all the Falstaffs, Triplet (over 1000 limos), 'Tony Lumpkin. Friar Laurence, Hamlet, Touchstone, Dromio. the Cardinal in Captain Robert Marshall’s “A Royal Family.” and several hundred others. In 1902 he was associated with Mr. William I’oel, of the Elizabethan Stage Society, in the production of the old morality play “Everyman.” which he later took to America, where he became known as an actor and producer of Shakespearean plays over the period 1902-14. At the Old Vic, London, during the wnr he produced 24 of Shakespeare’s plays and 15 others, including "Everyman.” He influenced the London City Council to allow the children of its schools to attend the Shakespeare plays and gave up the work at the Vic at the request of the Shakespeare for Schools Committee of the Board of Education in order to present the plays in every part of London and the suburbs. This resulted in over 1,000,000 attendances of children at these plays This system was discontinued in 1922. but after that he continued to present plays under a new scheme of the Loudon City Council which partly restored the Shakespeare for Schools movement. He was partly instrumental in establishing a permannt English Theatre at Paris for the in 1925-27, and gained the diploma and gold medal for English productions nt the Exposition of 1926. He returned to the United States in 1929 and the three succeeding years and then joined Mr. Sydney Carroll's open-air theatre in 1933, 1934 and 1935, nnd Sir Seymour Hicks in his season at. the Victoria Palace. Sir Ben has described his recreation as “watching the remarkable eminence to which nearly all members of the Ben Greet companies have attained and how easily they have done it." M. Tsaldaris Athens, May 17. The death has occurred of M. Panaghis Tsaldaris, former Premier. He attended a meeting yesterday morning and had a heart, seizure at night. M. Tsaldaris was born at Corinth in 1868. and educated at the Universities of Athens, Gottingen, Berlin. Leipzig.' and Paris. He took up a legal career and was elected a member of the Greek Parliament in 1910. He was Minister of Justice in 1915. Secretary of the Home Department and of Communication, 1920-22, a member of The Hague Court in 1921, and State Secretary of the Home Department in 1926. He was Prime Minister from 1933 until last year. Under his Premiership the Balkan Pact assuring the co-operation of Greece. Yugoslavia, Rumania, and Turkey was signed. His firm attitude during the Venizelist rising contributed in a great measure to the rapid restoration of order. When the Monarchists demonstrated last October. demanding the immediate recall of the King. M. Tsaldaris's Government resigned. The late General Kondylis succeeded as Prime Minister, and at the following elections their candidates formed one group. The elections resulted in n very even position between the opposing parties, and the late M. Demerdjis formed a Ministry, being succeeded n month later by General Metaxas, M. Tsaldaris was leader of the Popular Party. Archdeacon Hindley (Received May 18. 11.30 p.m.) Melbourne, May 18. The death has occurred of Archdeacon Hindley, aged S 3. 111-health had precluded his taking an active part in church affairs for seven or eight years. Archdeacon William George Hindley was born in England, but went to Australia as a young man and was closely identified witli Church of England work in Victoria for many years. He was made Archdeacon of Melbourne in 1902. and had been Vicar-General of the diocese since 1908. Ho had boon incumbent of St. James’s Church. Melbourne, since .1910.