Cecil Stuart Reginald Bevan (May 1, 1875 January 22, 1953) was a British supporting and character actor on stage and screen."England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008". FamilySearch. Retrieved 20, 2021.

Early life Bevan was born in London, the son of a clergyman, Reverend Cecil Bevan. He worked as an accountant and partnership agent, and acted as an amateur with groups including the Romany Amateur Dramatic Club at St. George's Hall, London in 1900, and the Phoenix Amateur Dramatic Club at the Bijou Theatre, London, in 1901.

Career By 1907, Bevan had begun acting professionally with George Alexander's company in Alfred Sutro's new play, John Glayde's Honour. He also appeared with the Herbert Sleath Company and the London Repertory Theatre under its director J. T. Grein.

In 1912, he played the governor of HM Prison Holloway in a satirical play by Lillie Langtry titled Helping the Cause, in which Langtry played a militant suffragist. The play, with the cast including Langtry, Bevan, Leonora Braham and Alfred Mansfield, toured the United Kingdom and the United States.

In the 1910s and 1930s-40s, Bevan appeared in West End theatres in supporting roles in plays by dramatists such as Harley Granville-Barker, Elmer Rice, Jerome K. Jerome, and Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein. He received praise for his performances, in particular for his role as Christopher Branley in John Glayde's Honour by Alfred Sutro (1907-1908), Captain Montgomerie in W. Somerset Maugham's Lady Frederick (1908), and Dr. O'Shea in Roland Pertwee's Pink String and Sealing Wax (1943).

Bevan also appeared on screen from 1921 to 1952. His performance as Sampson Brass in The Old Curiosity Shop (1921) was described as "excellent". His last appearance on screen was as Reverend Mayne in Autumn Crocus (1952).

Personal life He married twice, firstly to Violet Gordon Robbins in 1900, and later to Frieda Haesler. He was a member of the Green Room Club and the Conservative Association. He died in 1953 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where he had lived for over thirty years.

Selected stage performances Year Title Author Theatre Role Notes 1900 A Pair of Spectacles Sydney Grundy, adapted from Les Petits Oiseaux by Eugène Labiche and Alfred Delacour St. George's Hall, London Percy Goldfinch Romany Amateur Dramatic Club 1900 The Money Spinner Arthur Wing Pinero St. George's Hall, London Lord Kingussie Romany Amateur Dramatic Club 1905 Mrs. L'Estrange Kinsey Peile Shaftesbury Theatre, London Jules 1907 John Glayde's Honour Alfred Sutro Theatre Royal, Bath Christopher Branley George Alexander Productions 1908 John Glayde's Honour Alfred Sutro Borough Theatre, Stratford; The Kennington Theatre, south-east London Christopher Branley George Alexander Company 1908 Lady Frederick W. Somerset Maugham King's Theatre, Sunderland; Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne Captain Montgomerie 1909 A White Man Edwin Milton Royle Theatre Royal, Woolwich; Empire Theatre, Southend-on-Sea Earl of Kerhill Herbert Sleath Company 1911 The Quality of Mercy Hall Caine Theatre Royal, Manchester Mr. Pettigrew John Hart and M. V. Leveaux. World Premiere 1912 Helping the Cause Percy Fendall and Lillie Langtry Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Greater Manchester; Glasgow Empire Theatre, Scotland; B. F. Keith's Theater, Cincinnati; Hippodrome Theater (Cleveland, Ohio); Orpheum Theater, Brooklyn, United States Sir Martyn Mangles, governor of Holloway gaol 1912 The Right Sort (a short version of The Degenerates) Sydney Grundy The Empire Palace Theatre, Leeds Duke of Orme 1914-1915 The Dynasts Thomas Hardy, adapted by Harley Granville-Barker Kingsway Theatre, London 1st Passenger; Colonel Graham; General Sir Thomas Picton 1915 On Trial Elmer Rice Lyric Theatre, London Clerk 1915 The World of Boredom Adapted from Édouard Pailleron's Le Monde où l'on s'ennuie by Maria Leonard and J. T. Grein Queen's Theatre, London Monsieur de Millets 1915 The Three Patriots Jerome K. Jerome Queen's Theatre, London Doctor 1915 The Dummy Harvey J. O'Higgins and Harriet Ford Prince of Wales Theatre, London Fisher 1917 Ruts Harry Wall Court Theatre, London Mr. Boulder London Repertory Theatre, dir. J. T. Grein 1933 The Brontës Alfred Sangster Royalty Theatre, London William Smith Williams 1943 Pink String and Sealing Wax Roland Pertwee Theatre Royal, Brighton; Theatre Royal, Nottingham; Duke of York's Theatre, London Dr. O'Shea 1944 Pink String and Sealing Wax Roland Pertwee Phoenix Theatre, London Dr. O'Shea 1945 Chicken Every Sunday Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein, based on the novel by Rosemary Drachman Taylor Savoy Theatre, London Reverend Wilson

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1921 The Old Curiosity Shop Sampson Brass 1937 The Elder Brother Coroner 1937 Jump for Glory Cyril 1937 Night Ride 1937 The Cavalier of the Streets 1937 Paradise for Two, released in the US as The Gaiety Girls Renaud or Renard 1938 The Beautiful One Scribe 1939 Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday Man In Solicitor's Office 1942 Let the People Sing Minor Role 1943 Subject for Discussion #5 of the Into Battle series produced by the Ministry of Information1945 Twilight Hour Hartley 1945 Waltz Time Minister of Health 1947 The White Unicorn Clerk to the Assizes 1948 The Blind Goddess Morton 1949 Once Upon a Dream Wright 1950 The Reluctant Widow 1951 Night Was Our Friend Clerk of the Court 1952 Autumn Crocus Reverend Mayne, the clergyman

References

External links

Cecil Bevan at Theatricalia Cecil Bevan at the British Film Industry Cecil Bevan at AllMovie