Died 21 April 1941 | Children Charles Melbourne Ward | |
Hugh Joseph Ward (24 June 1871 – 21 April 1941) was an American-born stage actor who had a substantial career in Australia as comic actor, dancer, manager and theatrical impresario.
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History
Ward was born in Philadelphia in 1871, and arrived in Australia as an actor, first appearing in June 1899 at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney in the Hoyt - McKee company's production of A Stranger in New York, which toured extensively throughout Australia to rave reviews. The company returned to America after playing New Zealand in February 1900, all except Ward, who had been offered a contract by J. C. Williamson. He visited London in 1903, playing at Drury Lane with the Arthur Collins company, played at New York for the notorious Klaw and Erlanger, then returned to Australia in 1906. He produced a number of plays for George Willoughby. In 1909 he formed a company of his own, which toured India, Burma and China for Allan Hamilton and, reportedly, displayed a gift for publicity stunts by faking the abduction of a princess, before returning to Australia, where he is made his "last appearance on stage" on 4 March 1910, in a revival of The Man from Mexico, though Melba-like, he made another farewell appearance in The Girl from Rector's in Brisbane in March 1911.
He joined "The Firm" of J. C. Williamson in 1908, for whom he worked with considerable success as a managing director. On the death of Williamson in July 1913 he became chairman of directors. He announced his resignation in March 1922 to form his own management business, Hugh J. Ward Theatres. Ltd., in association with the Fuller brothers.
He was a notable fundraiser for patriotic causes during the First World War, and in recognition of his aid to Belgium he was made Knight of the Order of Leopold II. He became a naturalised Australian in 1922, and his obituaries report him as receiving an OBE, though he had hoped for a knighthood, but this is hard to verify and must surely be fictitious. He retired from the theatre in September 1926, but maintained a high public profile until shortly before his death of heart failure in 1941.
He was notable as an organizer of activities in conjunction with the Sydney sesquicentenary celebrations in 1938.
Tributes
Ward was a blue-eyed handsome, benevolent, outgoing fellow, a raconteur with a ready wit, who could entertain his friends for hours with anecdotes of the stage and performers.
On his death E. J. Tait, managing director of J. C. Williamson, Ltd., paid tribute to him as "... 100 per cent, in earnest all through his career, and never appeared in a "flop", except The Emerald Isle .... The longer I knew him, the more I admired his strength and great will-power. The theatre will sadly miss him." John Fuller said of Ward "... he was a gentleman in every respect, and a noteworthy judge of things theatrical. He had associated himself with everything that was cultural and beautiful in the life of this country. He had been a great and noble citizen."
The theatre critic of the Sydney Morning Herald, calling him a "picturesque theatrical personality" praised his public-spiritedness and dedication to his craft.
Performances
He was a clever and agile dancer, described as an early Fred Astaire. His "Scarecrow Dance" (perhaps invented by Johnny Coleman) received favorable reviews in New York and London, as well as in Sydney. Though appearing in many musicals, critics never mentioned his singing ability, though he must have been an adequate basso as he played in at least one Gilbert and Sullivan opera. Grace Palotta (1870 – 21 February 1959) was the leading lady in most of these productions.
He achieved great success in a wide variety of comic characters:
Other performances may have included (no dates found):
Other interests
Ward was a foundation member of the Millions Club on Rowe Street, Sydney and a member of the Lambs Club of New York (satirised as "actors trying to be gentlemen"). He was a regular movie-goer, an aficionado of Grand Opera and ballet, and of course the theatre, for which he maintained a lifelong interest.
He was a director of the Sydney Hospital and a generous contributor to worthy causes.
Family
He married (Mary) Grace Miller ( – ) in Pittsburg, Pa. on 30 June 1897; they had two sons:
They had a home at Potts Point, Sydney. Grace Miller (as she was professionally known) was fine soprano and a successful singing teacher whose pupils included Gladys Moncrieff, Dorothy Brunton, Gracie Lavers, Cecil Bradley, Gladys Cole and Bessie Storey.
Archive
The State Library of New South Wales has a collection of Ward artefacts. See Ward family papers 1831–1983