Loraine, Robert

Loraine, Robert (1876–1935), actor and manager. The handsome Englishman, whose huge repertory ranged from the heroes of Shakespearean drama and 18th‐century comedy through swashbuckling melodrama and modern drawing‐room comedy, first played for American audiences in 1901 as the gallant Ralph Percy in To Have and to Hold. From then until shortly before his death, he made numerous return visits. By far his best‐known part, at least for American theatregoers, was John Tanner, which he played in the American premiere of Shaw's Man and Superman (1905), a role Loraine portrayed for six months in New York, then toured the country with for two seasons.