Massey, Raymond Hart (1896–1983), American actor and director, born in Toronto. Through his brother he became associated with the University of Toronto's Hart House Theatre after the First World War, in which he served with the Canadian forces, and in 1922 he made his debut there as Rosmer in
Ibsen's Rosmersholm. He then went to London and made his professional début as Jack in O'Neill's
In the Zone at the
Everyman Theatre, returning there in 1926 as joint manager. He made his New York début as Hamlet in 1931 and for several years was seen in both New York and London, his roles including Ethan Frome in the dramatization of Edith Wharton's novel of that name (NY, 1936) and Harry Van in
Sherwood's Idiot's Delight (London, 1938). His finest performance was as Abraham Lincoln in Sherwood's
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (NY, 1938), a part which made good use of his dark brooding looks, rangy physique, and distinctive voice, and which he played until 1940. His later stage work, confined almost entirely to the USA, included notable appearances in New York in revivals of Shaw's
The Doctor's Dilemma (1941),
Candida (1942), and
Pygmalion (1945), and
Strindberg's The Father (1949). In the opening season at Stratford, Conn., in 1955 (see
AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE THEATRE) he played Brutus in
Julius Caesar and Prospero in
The Tempest, and among his later roles were Mr Zuss in Archibald
Macleish's J. B. (NY, 1958) and Tom Garrison in Robert
Anderson's I Never Sang for My Father (London, 1970). He also directed many plays, and is the author of the play
The Hanging Judge (1952), based on Bruce Hamilton's novel.
His children
Daniel (1933– ) and
Anna (1937– ) were born in England and are both well known on the stage. Daniel played Charles Surface in Sheridan's
The School for Scandal (1962), Captain Absolute in his
The Rivals (1966), and John Worthing in
Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1968). He was later seen in several roles at the
National Theatre, among them the title-role in Horváth's
Don Juan Comes Back from the War (1976), Robert in
Pinter's Betrayal (1978), John Tanner in the full-length version of Shaw's
Man and Superman, and the title-role in
Molière's The Hypochondriac (both 1981). He also starred in the musicals
She Loves Me (NY, 1963) and
Sondheim's Follies (London, 1987). Anna Massey achieved a big success in her first stage appearance, in William Douglas
Home's The Reluctant Débutante (London, 1955; NY, 1956). Notable later roles were Annie Sullivan in William Gibson's
The Miracle Worker (1961), Lady Teazle in Sheridan's
The School for Scandal (1962), Jennifer Dubedat in Shaw's
The Doctor's Dilemma (1963), and Laura Wingfield in Tennessee
Williams's The Glass Menagerie (1965). She appeared for the National Theatre in several productions including Shaw's
Heartbreak House (1975) and Simon
Gray's Close of Play (1979).
