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	{{Tom Walls}}		{{Tom Walls}}

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Walls, Tom}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Walls, Tom}}

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	{{~~short description~~\|~~British actor}}~~		{{Infobox person
	{{~~Use dmy dates~~\|~~date~~=~~July 2014~~}}		\| name =
	{{~~Use British English~~\|~~date~~=~~July 2014~~}}		\| image = Tom Walls.jpg<!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [[brackets]] -->
	[[~~File:Tom-Walls-1925.png~~\|~~thumb~~\|~~Walls in 1925]]~~		\| alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
			\| caption =
			\| birth_name = Thomas Kirby Walls
			\| birth_date = {{Birth date\|1883\|02\|18\|df=y}}
			\| birth_place = [[Kingsthorpe]], [[Northampton]]
			\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|1949\|11\|27\|1883\|02\|18\|df=y}}
			\| death_place = [[Ewell]], Surrey
			\| other_names =
			\| occupation =
			\| years_active =
			\| known_for =
			\| notable_works =
			}}
	'''Thomas Kirby Walls''' (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the [[Aldwych farce]]s in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adaptations of those plays in the 1930s.		'''Thomas Kirby Walls''' (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the [[Aldwych farce]]s in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adaptations of those plays in the 1930s.

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{{short description|British actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
[[File:Tom-Walls-1925.png|thumb|Walls in 1925]]

'''Thomas Kirby Walls''' (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the [[Aldwych farce]]s in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adaptations of those plays in the 1930s.

Walls spent his early years as an actor, from 1905, mostly in [[Edwardian musical comedy|musical comedy]], touring the British provinces, [[North America]] and [[Australia]] and in the [[West End theatre|West End]]. He specialised in comic character roles, typically flirtatious middle aged men. In 1922 he went into management in partnership with the comic actor [[Leslie Henson]]. They had an early success in the West End with a long-running farce, ''[[Tons of Money (play)|Tons of Money]]'', after which Walls commissioned and staged a series of farces at the [[Aldwych Theatre]] that ran almost continuously over the next decade. He and his co-star [[Ralph Lynn]] were among the most popular British actors of their time.

In addition to his work in the theatre, Walls directed and acted in more than forty films between 1930 and 1949. Some of these were screen versions of the successful stage plays, others were specially-written comedies on similar lines, and there were also serious films, particularly later in Walls's career.

Away from acting, Walls's passion was horse racing. He set up stables at his home in [[Surrey]] and trained about 150 winners, including [[April the Fifth]], his 1932 [[Epsom Derby|Derby]] winner.

==Life and career==

===Early years===
Walls was born in [[Kingsthorpe]], [[Northampton]], the son of John William Walls, a plumber and builder, and his wife, Ellen, ''née'' Brewer.<ref name=dnb>Fielding, Sean, rev. Robert Sharp. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36710, "Walls, Tom Kirby (1883–1949)"], Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2011 accessed 11 February 2013 {{ODNBsub}}</ref> He was educated at Northampton County School,<ref name=times>"Obituary – Mr. Tom Walls", ''The Times'', 29 November 1949, p. 7</ref> after which he tried a variety of jobs, working in [[Canada]] for a year and, on his return, joining the [[Metropolitan Police]].<ref name=dnb/>

In 1905 Walls embarked on a stage career. His first engagement was as member of a seafront [[Pierrot]] troupe in [[Brighton]].<ref name=dnb/> He played in [[pantomime]] in ''Aladdin'' at [[Glasgow]] in the 1905–06 season, under the management of [[Robert Courtneidge]].<ref name=times/> He performed in a [[Concert Party (entertainment)|concert party]] and in musical comedy, touring the British provinces and North America as the Jester in ''The Scarlet Mysteries''.<ref name=parker>Parker, p. 1127</ref> In 1907 he made his [[West End theatre|West End]] debut, playing Ensign Ruffler in ''Sir Roger de Coverley'' at the [[Empire, Leicester Square]].<ref name=times/>

Walls appeared in [[Edwardian musical comedies]] in the West End and on tour from 1908 to 1921. In February 1910 he married Alice Hilda Edwards, an actress on the musical comedy stage. They had one son, Tom Kenneth Walls.<ref name=dnb/> During 1910–11, Walls toured in Australia, playing Peter Doody in ''[[The Arcadians (musical)|The Arcadians]]'', Mr. Hook in ''[[Miss Hook of Holland]]'', and the Marquis de St. Gautier in ''The Belle of Brittany''.<ref name=who>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U233077 "Walls, Tom"], Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2012, accessed 11 February 2013 {{subscription}}</ref>

Back in London, Walls had substantial roles in ''[[The Sunshine Girl]]'' (1912); ''[[The Marriage Market]]'' (1913) and ''[[A Country Girl]]'' (1915). Later in 1915 he played Coquenard in a revival of [[André Messager|Messager]]'s ''[[Véronique (operetta)|Veronique]]''; between then and 1921 he appeared in nine other musical comedies and a pantomime.<ref name=parker/> His best known show of these years was probably ''[[Kissing Time]]'' (1919), in which he played Colonel Bolinger opposite [[Leslie Henson]].<ref>Findon, B. H., "Kissing Time", ''[[The Play Pictorial]]'', May 1919, p. 82.</ref> His biographer, Sean Fielding, writes, "His forte was the portrayal of amiable philanderers or eccentric older gentlemen, usually with a forceful, even hectoring manner."<ref name=dnb/>

===Actor manager===
[[File:A-cuckoo-in-the-nest-1925.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|''[[A Cuckoo in the Nest]]'', 1925: Walls, left, with [[Ralph Lynn]], [[Yvonne Arnaud]], Hastings Lynn and Madge Saunders]]
Walls went into partnership with Henson and became managing director of Tom Walls and Leslie Henson, Ltd, controlling several touring companies.<ref name=parker/> In 1922 the partnership presented the farce ''[[Tons of Money (play)|Tons of Money]]'' at the [[Shaftesbury Theatre]]. It was a great popular success, running for nearly two years. Walls played a supporting role in the piece and cast [[Ralph Lynn]] in the leading part, propelling Lynn to stardom.<ref name=timesl/> Walls took a lease of the [[Aldwych Theatre]], where he and Henson presented another farce, ''It Pays to Advertise'', which ran for nearly 600 performances.<ref name=timesl>"Mr. Ralph Lynn", ''[[The Times]]'', 10 August 1962, p. 11</ref> To replace the piece, Walls acquired the rights to another farce, ''[[A Cuckoo in the Nest]]'' by [[Ben Travers]].<ref name=parker/>

Walls and Lynn co-starred in the Aldwych productions, and Travers was careful to maintain the equilibrium of their stage partnership by ensuring that each had as many funny lines as the other.<ref>Travers, p. 95</ref> Initially, Travers found Walls difficult as an [[actor-manager]], and also distressingly unprepared as an actor. But even Walls's calls to the stage manager for lines became a popular part of opening nights at the Aldwych.<ref name=Selective>Smith, Leslie. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dsEDv-7JoxUC&pg=PA50 "Ben Travers and the Aldwych Farces"], ''Modern British Farce: A Selective Study of British Farce from Pinero to the Present Day'', Rowman & Littlefield, 1989, pp. 50–69 {{ISBN|0389208205}}, accessed 4 June 2012</ref>

There were twelve [[Aldwych farce]]s under Walls's management. The first eight averaged runs of 369 performances. The last four did less well, averaging under 150 performances.<ref name=timesl/> Walls gathered a regular troupe of supporting actors, including [[Robertson Hare]], [[Mary Brough]] and [[Winifred Shotter]]. Travers wrote for these players, drawing on their strengths, his plays populated by:
{{quote|the horsy, cunning Tom Walls; the silly ass Ralph Lynn, always dropping his monocle; the bald, clerkish, respectable Robertson Hare always liable at some point in the play to have his trousers removed for perfectly logical reasons; the slim, pretty Winifred Shotter, equally liable to dash across the stage in her underclothes; and Mary Brough, the gruff, suspicious landlady.<ref>Trussler, p. 278</ref>|}}

In 1935 Tom Walls was the prominent name showing on a hoarding in [[Knightsbridge]] for Lady In Danger at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://spitalfieldslife.com/2016/02/18/streets-of-old-london/|title = Streets of Old London | Spitalfields Life}}</ref>

[[File:F_Lane,_jockey,_cigarette_card.jpg|thumb|right|Fred Lane, April the Fifth's jockey, in Walls' racing colours from a 1936 cigarette card]]

===Later career===
Walls made an early foray into films in 1924 in a silent screen version of ''Tons of Money'', though he did not reprise his stage role. When the [[sound film|talkies]] arrived, Walls moved his focus away from the theatre and into cinema. He directed seventeen films between 1930 and 1938, acting in most of them. He directed his last, ''Old Iron'', at the end of the 1930s. In the 1930s, Walls and Lynn regularly appeared in the lists of the top ten British film stars. Walls usually outranked Lynn in the top ratings, because, in the words of the critic Jeffrey Richards, "everyone warmed to the old reprobate whereas the 'silly ass' was not to everyone's taste."<ref>Richards, pp. 101–02</ref>

Walls continued to act on screen in both comedies and dramas until his death, often playing character roles in other directors' films. In 1943 he appeared in the serious film ''[[Undercover (1943 film)|Undercover]]'' as the father of a guerrilla leader in [[Yugoslavia]]. His final film was ''[[The Interrupted Journey]]'' (1949).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120712052721/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b9f456646 Tom Walls filmography], British Film Institute; accessed 17 February 2013</ref>

In his private life Walls's great passion was [[flat racing]]. In 1927 he established a stable at his home in [[Ewell]], [[Surrey]], with up to twenty-five horses at any one time. Over the next twenty years his horses won about 150 races, including the 1932 [[Epsom Derby|Derby]] won by his [[April the Fifth]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk/WallsTom.html|title=WALLS, Thomas Kirby|publisher=Epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk|accessdate=2014-06-21}}</ref> The expense of the stables, together with a generally lavish lifestyle, was a severe drain on Walls's finances.<ref name=dnb/>

In 1939 Walls took over the Alexandra Theatre in the London suburb [[Stoke Newington]], which he ran as a repertory theatre. On tour and then at the Shaftesbury Theatre he produced and acted in a farce by Wilfred Eyre, ''His Majesty's Guest'' (1939).<ref>"Manchester Opera House – Autumn Programme", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 28 July 1939, p. 13, and "Shaftesbury Theatre", ''The Times'', 8 November 1939, p. 6</ref> He toured in ''Springtime for Henry'' (1940), of which ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' commented, "Mr. Tom Walls is, of course, outstanding. Deliciously amusing, with a masterly attention to detail, his progress from sin to virtue and back again is a delight to watch".<ref>"The Prince's", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 26 March 1940, p. 8</ref> The following year he toured in [[Frederick Lonsdale]]'s ''Canaries Sometimes Sing'',<ref>"Opera House", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 1 April 1941, p. 6</ref> and in 1942 presented and starred in another farce, ''Why Not To-Night?'' on tour and then at the [[Ambassadors Theatre (London)|Ambassadors]] in London.<ref>"Drama and Film", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 3 January 1942, p. 5, and "Ambassadors Theatre", ''The Times'', 20 March 1942, p. 6</ref>

His last stage appearance was in 1948, in a revival of ''[[The Barretts of Wimpole Street]]'', in which his performance as the tyrannical Edward Moulton-Barrett was thought to lack menace.<ref>"Opera House – The Barretts of Wimpole Street", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 20 April 1948, p. 3, and "Garrick Theatre", ''The Times'', 7 May 1948, p. 6</ref>

Walls died at his home in [[Ewell]], Surrey at the age of 66.<ref>"Tom Walls Dies at 66", ''Gloucestershire Echo'', 28 November 1949, p. 1</ref> His ashes were scattered on Epsom racecourse.<ref name=dnb/>

==Filmography==
===Actor===
{{Div col}}
*''[[Rookery Nook (film)|Rookery Nook]]'' (1930) - Clive Popkiss
*''[[On Approval (1930 film)|On Approval]]'' (1930) - Duke of Bristol
*''[[Canaries Sometimes Sing]]'' (1930) - Geoffrey Lymes
*''[[Plunder (1931 film)|Plunder]]'' (1931) - Freddie Malone
*''[[A Night Like This (film)|A Night Like This]]'' (1932) - Michael Mahoney
*''[[Thark (film)|Thark]]'' (1932) - Sir Hector Benbow
*''[[Leap Year (1932 film)|Leap Year]]'' (1932) - Sir Peter Traillon
*''[[The Blarney Stone (film)|The Blarney Stone]]'' (1933) - Tim Fitzgerald
*''[[Leave It to Smith]]'' (1933) - Smith
*''[[A Cuckoo in the Nest (film)|A Cuckoo in the Nest]]'' (1933) - Maj. Bone
*''[[Turkey Time (1933 film)|Turkey Time]]'' (1933) - Max Wheeler
*''[[A Cup of Kindness (film)|A Cup of Kindness]]'' (1934) - Fred Tutt
*''[[Lady in Danger]]'' (1934) - Richard Dexter
*''[[Fighting Stock]]'' (1935) - Brig. Gen. Sir Donald Rowley
*''[[Me and Marlborough]]'' (1935) - John Churchill - Duke of Marlborough
*''[[Stormy Weather (1935 film)|Stormy Weather]]'' (1935) - Sir Duncan Craggs
*''[[Foreign Affaires]]'' (1935) - Capt. the Hon. Archibald Gore
*''[[Pot Luck (1936 film)|Pot Luck]]'' (1936) - Inspector Fitzpatrick
*''[[Dishonour Bright]]'' (1936) - Stephen Champion
*''[[For Valour (1937 film)|For Valour]]'' (1937) - Doubleday / Charlie Chisholm
*''[[Second Best Bed]]'' (1938) - Victor Garnett
*''[[Strange Boarders]]'' (1938) - Tommy Blythe
*''[[Crackerjack (1938 film)|Crackerjack]]'' (1938) - Jack Drake
*''[[Old Iron]]'' (1938) - Sir Henry Woodstock
*''[[Undercover (1943 film)|Undercover]]'' (1943) - Kossan Petrovitch
*''[[They Met in the Dark]]'' (1943) - Christopher Child
*''[[The Halfway House]]'' (1944) - Capt. Meadows
*''[[Love Story (1944 film)|Love Story]]'' (1944) - Tom Tanner
*''[[Johnny Frenchman]]'' (1945) - Nat Pomeroy
*''[[This Man Is Mine (1946 film)|This Man Is Mine]]'' (1946) - Philip Ferguson
*''[[Master of Bankdam]]'' (1947) - Simeon Crowther Sr.
*''[[While I Live]]'' (1947) - Nehemiah
*''[[Spring in Park Lane]]'' (1948) - Uncle Joshua
*''[[Maytime in Mayfair]]'' (1949) - Inspector
*''[[The Interrupted Journey]]'' (1949) - Clayton (final film role)
{{div col end}}

===Director===
*''[[Tons of Money (1930 film)|Tons of Money]]'' (1930)
*''[[Rookery Nook (film)|Rookery Nook]]'' (1930)
*''[[On Approval (1930 film)|On Approval]]'' (1930)
*''[[Plunder (1931 film)|Plunder]]'' (1931)
*''[[A Night Like This (film)|A Night Like This]]'' (1932)
*''[[Thark (film)|Thark]]'' (1932)
*''[[A Cuckoo in the Nest (film)|A Cuckoo in the Nest]]'' (1933)
*''[[Turkey Time (1933 film)|Turkey Time]]'' (1933)
*''[[A Cup of Kindness (film)|A Cup of Kindness]]'' (1934)
*''[[Lady in Danger]]'' (1934)
*''[[Dirty Work (1934 film)|Dirty Work]]'' (1934)

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
*{{cite book | first=Jeffrey|last=Richards|chapter=Crisis at Christmas|editor= Mark Connelly| year= 2001| title= Christmas at the Movies: Images of Christmas in American, British and European Cinema | location=London| publisher= Tauris | isbn= 1860643973}}
*{{cite book | last= Parker | first= John |year= 1926| title= Who's Who in the Theatre |edition=4th| location= London and New York | publisher= Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons | oclc= 659887309}}
*{{cite book | last=Travers | first=Ben | year=1978 | title=A-sitting on a Gate | location=London | publisher= W H Allen| isbn= 0491022751 }}
*{{cite book | last=Trussler | first= Simon | year= 2000| title= The Cambridge Illustrated History of British Theatre| location= Cambridge | publisher= Cambridge University Press | isbn= 0521794307}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name | id = 0909398 | name = Tom Walls}}

{{Tom Walls}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walls, Tom}}
[[Category:1883 births]]
[[Category:1949 deaths]]
[[Category:Actor-managers]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English film directors]]
[[Category:British racehorse trainers]]
[[Category:British racehorse owners and breeders]]
[[Category:Owners of Epsom Derby winners]]
[[Category:Aldwych farce]]
[[Category:Actors from Northamptonshire]]
[[Category:People from West Northamptonshire District]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]

Tom Walls - Revision history

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