Arliss, George [né Augustus George Arliss‐Andrews] (1868–1946), actor. He was born in London and made his American debut in 1901 opposite Mrs. Patrick
Campbell as Cayley Drummle in
The Second Mrs. Tanqueray. After playing a season of repertory with her, he was enlisted by David
Belasco to portray the villainous Zakkuri in
The Darling of the Gods (1902). Arliss then came under the management of Harrison Grey
Fiske and appeared with Mrs.
Fiske as the Marquis of Steyne in
Becky Sharp (1904), Raoul Berton in
Leah Kleschna (1904), Judge Brack in
Hedda Gabler (1904), Sir Cates‐Darby in
The New York Idea (1906), and Ulric Brendel in
Rosmersholm (1907). After playing the title role in
The Devil (1908) and the absent‐minded inventor
Septimus (1909), Arliss essayed one of his greatest interpretations, the title part in
Disraeli (1911), a role he played across the country for four years. This was followed by the leading figure in
Paganini (1916), a revival of
The Professor's Love Story (1917), and the principal role in
Hamilton (1918). He toured as a member of the all‐star cast of
Out There (1918) before assuming another of his most famous roles, the malevolent of Rajah in
The Green Goddess (1921). Alexander
Woollcott wrote of his performance, “With his countenance at once gentle and diabolic, with his cat‐like tread and with his uneasy but sinister hands, he seems to have been roaming our stage all his days in wistful quest of a play about a rajah with . . . an evil heart.” After making many films, Arliss returned to Broadway in 1924 to play the dogged eighty‐year‐old Sylvanus Heythorp in
Old English, then four years later offered his Shylock on tour and then in New York before retiring. Autobiography:
Up the Years from Bloomsbury, 1927.