Cuyler Hastings

Cuyler Hastings (c. 1864[1] – 10 January 1914) was an American stage actor, remembered for his portrayal of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.

Cuyler Hastings
Cuyler Hastings, Australia, c. 1905
Borncirca 1864
Died10 January 1914
Forth Avenue
OccupationStage Actor

History

Australia

In 1902 Hastings was contracted by J. C. Williamson's to play the Holmes character on stage in Melbourne and Sydney — he would sail from San Francisco on 14 August 1902. Williamson already had Harry Plimmer, an Australian actor, playing the part to such business that his season in Perth was being extended, and Hastings could open in Melbourne in mid-September, with Sydney following a month later.[2] He arrived in Sydney by the Sierra on 5 September, and opened in Melbourne with Sherlock Holmes — The Strange Case of Miss Faulkner by William Gillette, based on the work of Conan Doyle, who was credited as co-author. Director was H. H. Vincent, and the cast included F. Lumsden Hare as Watson, May Chevalier as Faulkner, J. B. Atholwood as Moriarty, Redge Carey as Billy.

Cuyler Hastings is a magnetic actor. He equally compels attention and admiration. Impossible to take the eyes away from him for a moment. . . In appearance Mr. Hastings is tall, slight, handsome, from an intellectual standard, and so dark-complexioned as to make his grave, thoughtful face extremely melancholy. When he sits, as he has a habit of doing, with half-closed eyes and lips severely set, his face is one of extreme gloom. Even his smile has little mirth. In this probably is his facial resemblance to the Sherlock Holmes of Conan Doyle.[3]

He also played[4]

He was reportedly less than memorable as Francois Villon in Justin Huntly McCarthy's If I Were King

While in Australia he became a friend of journalist Eugenia Stone who, later in London as Eugenia, Lady Doughty, introduced him to several notable people, including Sir Herbert Tree.[5]

Return to America

He played the reform candidate "Matthew Standish" in the New York production of William C. De Mille's play The Woman.[6]

Death

He killed himself by pistol shot in his room on Fourth Avenue, NYC. He had recently suffered an attack of partial paralysis, coupled with some financial setback which, it was speculated, may have contributed to his urge to suicide.[1]

By his will, executed at The Players club on 3 December 1913, he left the bulk of his estimated $25,000 estate to a half-brother George W. Hastings (a lawyer in Toronto) and a half-sister Anna Garrett Munro. Also mentioned was $1,000 to Marion Irene Vivers of New South Wales, for whom he was also holding some stocks and shares.[7] An article written in 1914 asserts that this beneficiary was a love interest.[8]

References
  1. "The Late Cuyler Hastings". The Barrier Miner. Vol. XXVII, no. 7978. New South Wales, Australia. 9 March 1914. p. 6. Retrieved 4 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "Musical and Dramatic Notes". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 20, 098. New South Wales, Australia. 9 August 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 4 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "The Gay Metropolis". The Critic (Adelaide). South Australia. 20 September 1902. p. 29. Retrieved 4 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Stage Detective". The Sun (Sydney). No. 1106. New South Wales, Australia. 12 January 1914. p. 1. Retrieved 4 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Ladies Letter". Table Talk. No. 1505. Victoria, Australia. 28 May 1914. p. 36. Retrieved 5 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Music and Drama". The Brisbane Courier. No. 17, 077. Queensland, Australia. 5 October 1912. p. 12. Retrieved 5 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Cuyler Hastings' Will". The Kalgoorlie Miner. Vol. 20, no. 4808. Western Australia. 1 June 1914. p. 2. Retrieved 4 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia. This may refer to Marion Irene Marks who married Dr George Vivers in 1910, divorced 1935.
  8. "Ladies Letter". Table Talk. No. 1505. Victoria, Australia. 28 May 1914. p. 36. Retrieved 5 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
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