Nationality British Other names Nutcombe Gould | Occupation Stage actor Name James Gould | |
Born 24 February 1849 ( 1849-02-24 ) Stoke-in-Teignhead, Devon, England Died October 10, 1899, Paddington, London, United Kingdom | ||
James Nutcombe Gould (known as Nutcombe Gould) (24 February 1849 in Stoke-in-Teignhead, Devon – 10 October 1899 in Paddington) was an English stage actor.
He was the son of John Nutcombe Gould (1805-1878), a wealthy rector, and Katherine Emma née Grant (1821-1903), a daughter of Major-General James Grant (1780-1852). James had wanted to follow his father into the church. However, his stammer was so bad as to preclude this career. He worked as a bank clerk until he inherited sufficient wealth to marry well and to change career onto the stage, mostly in London. He took the stage name Nutcombe Gould and never suffered from his stammer on stage.
Notably, Gould originated the role of Lord Darlington in Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde when it premiered in 1892.
His name appears in the biography of Ellen Terry.
Family
Nutcombe Gould married Edith Mitchell (1859-1900) in 1878 at St George's, Hanover Square, with 5 children:
- Marjory Nutcombe Gould (1881-1946)
- Olave Edith Nutcombe Gould (1883-1941)
- Katharine Winifred Nutcombe Gould (1884-1960)
- Mary Dorothy Nutcombe Gould (1886-1934)
- Millicent Mary Nutcombe Gould (1889-1932)
He died at the early age of 50, in Paddington on 10 October 1899. His wife also died early in Weymouth on 13 December 1900, aged 41. Both he and his wife are buried in the churchyard of Church of St John the Baptist, Lustleigh, Devon, where a memorial lamp gifted by them to the Church is now a Grade II listed object.
His brother Edward Blencowe Gould is held to be responsible for the first import of Siamese cats into the UK.