Philip Merivale

Philip Merivale (2 November 1886 – 12 March 1946) was an English film and stage actor and screenwriter.

Philip Merivale
Merivale in The Stranger (1946)
Born	(1886-11-02)2 November 1886 Rehutia, Manickpur, India
Died	12 March 1946(1946-03-12) (aged 59) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations	Actor screenwriter
Years active	1914–1946
Spouses	Viva Birkett ​ ​ (m. 1912; died 1934)​ Gladys Cooper ​ ​ (m. 1937)​
Children	4, including John

Life and career

Merivale was born in Rehutia, Manickpur, India, to railway engineer Walter Merivale (1855–1902) and Emma Magdalene Merivale ("Maggie"; née Pittman; 1854–1940); his father's profession meant the family lived in India, Costa Rica, and Barbados (where he was Manager of the Barbados Railway) before settling at Chiswick. Philip's sister, Dorothea, was married to the civil servant Sir Henry Bunbury, Accountant-General of the Post Office.

Merivale was a respected stage actor who entered the cinema during the silent era. Merivale appeared in twenty films and also scripted one. He died from a heart ailment aged 59.

He was twice married to:

• the actress Viva Birkett (23 July 1912 – 27 June 1934); (four children: two daughters and two sons, including the actor John Merivale)
• the actress Gladys Cooper (30 April 1937 – 12 March 1946).

Broadway roles

After creating the role of Col. Pickering in the London production of Pygmalion, Philip Merivale (second from right) played Henry Higgins opposite Mrs. Patrick Campbell (right) when Shaw's play was taken to Broadway (1914)

Philip Merivale and Patricia Collinge in the Broadway production of Pollyanna (1916)

• Pygmalion (1914) – Henry Higgins
• Pollyanna (1916) – Pendleton
• The Road to Rome (1927) – Hannibal
• Mary of Scotland (1933) – James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
• Valley Forge (1934) – George Washington

Filmography

• Trilby (1914) – Taffy Wynne
• Whispering Shadows (1921) – Stephen Pryde
• I Loved You Wednesday (1933) – (uncredited)
• Give Us This Night (1936) – Marcello Bonelli
• All In (1936, Writer)
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) – Mr. Ashley Custer
• Rage in Heaven (1941) – Mr. Higgins
• Pacific Blackout (1941) – John Runnel
• Lady for a Night (1942) – Stephen Alderson
• This Above All (1942) – Dr. Roger Cathaway
• Crossroads (1942) – Commissaire
• Hangmen Also Die! (1943) – Policeman (uncredited)
• This Land Is Mine (1943) – Professor Sorel
• Lost Angel (1943) – Professor Peter Vincent
• The Hour Before the Dawn (1944) – Sir Leslie Buchanon
• Nothing But Trouble (1944) – Prince Saul
• Tonight and Every Night (1945) – Reverend Gerald Lundy
• Adventure (1945) – Old Ramon Estado
• The Stranger (1946) – Judge Adam Longstreet
• Sister Kenny (1946) – Dr. Brack (final film role)

External links

• Philip Merivale at IMDb
• Philip Merivale at the Internet Broadway Database
• Philip Merivale at Find a Grave