William Sydney Penley (18 November 1851 – 11 November 1912) was an English actor, singer and comedian best remembered as producer and star of the phenomenally successful 1892 Brandon Thomas farce, Charley's Aunt and as the Reverend Robert Spalding in many productions of The Private Secretary.
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Penley was born at Broadstairs, St. Peters, Kent, England on the 18th or 19th of November 1851. He was educated in London, where his father had a school and studied singing at the Chapel Royal Choir. He was a chorister at the Chapel Royal and at Westminster Abbey[1]
Penley made his stage debut in 1871 at the Court Theatre as Tim in My Wife's Second Floor.[2]
He joined Richard D'Oyly Carte's Company in the chorus in Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury at the Royalty Theatre in London and on tour in 1875. In November of that year, he was promoted to the role of the Foreman of the Jury after the opera had returned to the Royalty. He continued in that role when Trial toured again and then was transferred to the Opera Comique late in 1876. In March 1876, he temporarily replaced Fred Sullivan as the Judge, when Sullivan's health declined from tuberculosis.[3] Penley returned to the role of Foreman at the Royal Strand Theatre and on tour in 1877.[2] Penley was considered to be an important addition in the small role, with his malleable comic features.[4] In between these engagements, he played Baron Jacquier in Nottingham through the summer of 1876 and Zapeter (at the Strand Theatre in London) in the fall of 1876 in W. S. Gilbert and Frederic Clay's comic opera Princess Toto.[5] Penley later again played the Learned Judge and also the Usher in Trial.
In 1879, Penley played Mr. Grinder in a revival of B. C. Stephenson and Arthur Sullivan's The Zoo at the Royalty. He then rejoined D'Oyly Carte as Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore on tour in 1879.[6] After that, among many other roles, he played Brother Pelican in Falka (1893) and the Reverend Robert Spalding in The Private Secretary at the old Globe Theatre in Newcastle Street, in 1884. He succeeded Herbert Beerbohm Tree in this role and was famous for his portrayal of it for many years.
Penley re-joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company again in 1891, playing Punka, the Rajah of Chutneypore, in The Nautch Girl at the Savoy Theatre, while Rutland Barrington stepped out of the role to tour with Jessie Bond. Barrington returned to the company later that year, and Penley moved on to other projects.[2]
On 29 February 1892, Penley produced the comedy Charley's Aunt at Theatre Royal, Bury St. Edmunds, appearing in the role of Lord Fancourt Babberley (who impersonates Donna Lucia, as shown in the photo at right). Brandon Thomas wrote the play as a vehicle for Penley, and this turned out to be a very happy event for the star. The piece was a success, and Penley then produced it in London at the Royalty Theatre in December 1892, after which it transferred to the Globe Theatre in 1893. Charley's Aunt became an unprecedented hit, running for 1,466 performances in London, a historic record that lasted for decades. The original run finally ended in December 1896, but the play was revived several times afterwards. Penley's contract with Thomas gave Penley a seven-year lease to produce the piece, with an option for an additional seven years. Charley's Aunt would earn Penley £200,000.[7] During the run, Penley also directed curtain raisers, including Journey's End by Horace Wykeham C. Newte.
In 1900, Penley had the Novelty Theatre rebuilt, renaming it as the Great Queen Street Theatre. There he first produced and starred in A Little Ray of Sunshine. After this production came revivals of The Private Secretary and Charley's Aunt later that year. Penley retired from acting in 1901 but continued to manage the Great Queen Street Theatre until 1907.[2] Penley was an early member of the Green Room Lodge and the Savage Club's Masonic Lodge.
Penley and his wife had two sons and three daughters. After a two-month illness, Penley died at the age of 60 at his home in St. Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex.[8] He is buried at Hasting Borough Cemetery.[9]