Matheson Lang
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Matheson Alexander Lang (born May 15, 1879, Montreal; died April 11, 1948, Bridgetown, Barbados) was a Canadian who achieved fame in Great Britain as a stage and film actor in the early 20th century.
Lang made his stage debut in 1897 and became known for his Shakespearean roles in such plays as Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. He also appeared in plays by Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw. He performed in the theatrical companies of Sir Frank Benson, Lillie Langtry, and Ellen Terry.
Lang married actress Hutin Britton (1876-1965), and they formed their own company, which toured India, South Africa, and Australia from 1910-13 performing Shakespeare. In 1913, Lang returned to England and created one of his most memorable roles, the title character in Mr. Wu. He reprised this part in a 1919 silent film, and became so identified with the role that he titled his 1940 memoirs Mr. Wu Looks Back. In 1914, he and Britton successfully produced The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, and Hamlet at the Old Vic.
In 1919, Lang became one of the first major theatre stars to act in a silent film, as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. He went on to appear in over 30 films and was one of Britain's leading movie stars of the 1920s. Among his memorable roles were Guy Fawkes (1923), Matthias in The Wandering Jew (1923), Henry IV in Henry, King of Navarre (1924), and Henry V in Royal Cavalcade (1935).
Lang also wrote the plays Carnival (1919) and The Purple Mask (1920), both of which were produced on Broadway and made into films.
Matheson Lang died at age 68 in Barbados.
