OBITUARY

Southland Times, Issue 22774, 27 December 1935, Page 7

OBITUARY

LIEUT.—COLONEL K. LORAINE. ACTOR AND AIRMAN. (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) London, December 24. The death is announced of Lieut.Colonel Robert Loraine. Robert Loraine, actor, soldier and airman, was born at New Brighton, Cheshire, in January, 1876. He first faced the footlights as a boy of 13, appearing at provincial theatres in “The Armada.” His first chance in London came in 1894 when he was given the part of Alfred Dunscombe in “The Ne’er-do-Well” at the Strand Theatre. This led to other London engagements, including Toni in “The Prisoner of Zenda” and in 1898 Claudio in “Much Ado about Nothing.” On the outbreak of the South African War in 1899 he joined the Army and served with distinction as a machine-gunner. In 1901 he went to New York and played various parts at the Knickerbocker Theatre. After a visit to England to play Henry V. he went back to New York and made one of the greatest successes of his career as John Tanner in “Man and Superman.” For two years he played no other part either in America or England and at intervals in subsequent years he revived the play with equal success. Meanwhile he had become interested in aviation which was then developing rapidly. In September, 1910, he achieved the first flight ever made across the Irish Sea. On the outbreak of the war he joined the Royal Flying Corps and was on active service from the beginning to the end of the conflict, being wounded twice, receiving the D.S.O. and M.C. and reaching the rank of lieut.-colonel. In 1919 he returned to the stage and achieved a triumph in “Cyrano de Bergerac.” He afterwards made two or three ventures in management at London theatres and played in “Arms and the Man.” In January, 1928, his production of “The Dance of Death” by Strindberg led to a diplomatic protest. A translation of the play had been offered him by the Anglo-Swedish Literary Foundation, but, regarding it as unsuitable, he had a special translation made. After the production of the play the Swedish Minister protested that he had “distorted” Strindberg. Loraine defended his translation, declaring that the Minister’s knowledge of English was not sufficient to enable him to judge its quality. In March, 1928, Loraine announced his intention of leaving the stage to take part in the development of the British film industry. M. PAUL BOURGET. FRENCH AUTHOR. (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) Paris, December 24. The death has occurred of M. Paul Bourget, the well-known French author. M. Paul Bourget was born at Amiens in September, 1852. He studied literature in Paris and took his degree at the Sorbonne. During the ’7o’s he published a number of books which at a comparatively early age earned him a European reputation. In his psychological romances of the next decade he proved himself a worthy successor to Stendhal, while in “Essais de Psychologic Contemporaine” (two volumes), which appeared in 1883-6, he followed in the footsteps of Taine. His romance “Le Disciple,” which was issued in 1889 and may be placed alongside Stendhal’s “Rouge et Noir,” is regarded as his best work. Later on, but still long before the war, his books became imbued with the nationalistic spirit. In this domain, however, Bourget was soon outdistanced by Maurice Barres (who died in 1924) and fell more and more into the background.

MR THOMAS CUSHEN. INSTRUCTOR IN ENGINEERING. Tire death occurred in Invercargill yesterday morning of Mr Thomas James Richards Cushen, A.M.I. Meeh. E., engineering instructor at the Southland Technical College. He was born at Battersea (England) in 1883, and came to New Zealand with his parents in the steamer Tainui when three years of age. On leaving school he commenced work with J. Johnston and Sons, Ltd., and subsequently joined the railway workshops at Invercargill, where he remained for five years. He then accepted a position as engineer at the Southland cool stores, remaining there four years, when he was appointed head of the engineering staff of the Southland Technical College, and remained in that position for fifteen years. As a young man Mr Cushen, who was a son of the late Mr T. A. Cushen and Mrs Cushen, of South Invercargill, took a keen interest in sport, especially football and yachting, while he was prominent in lodge circles, being a member of both the Rechabite and Masonic orders. In 1913 he married Miss Maria Skipworth, a daughter of the late Mr F. Skipworth, of Spar Bush, and Mrs Skipworth, Invercargill, and she, with four sons, survives him. Mr Cushen was also a member of the Railway Volunteer Fire Brigade, the Oreti Rifles, and the Garrison Band, and a lieutenant in the Technical College Cadets. He was connected with St. Peter’s Methodist Church, being a member of the Quarterly Board and a trustee.