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Walter Johnstone Douglas (1886–1972) was the son of
Arthur Henry Johnstone Douglas
and Jane Maitland Stewart and a scion of the Marquesses of
Queensberry.
A Captain in the Lanarkshire Yeomanry, He fought in
the First World War.
A recital he gave in June 1919 of Ivor
Gurney's songs appeared in The Times, The Morning Post, The Sunday Times
and The Lady.
He starred in the opera The Immortal Hour at
London's Regent Theatre, King's Cross, which ran for 216 nights from 13
October 1922.
A production of Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte by Walter
Johnston-Douglas opened at the Kingsway Theatre, London, on 23 March
1927, transferring to the Court on 18 April 1927. A year later
Johnston-Douglas mounted it again at The Court.
He was founder
and director of Webber-Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art.
He died on 11 August 1972 at age 85, unmarried.
Notes:
1. The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber
Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and
originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama
schools in Britain, and offered comprehensive training for those
intending to pursue a professional performance career. During its
100-year history, the Academy produced many established actors of stage
and screen, including Angela Lansbury, Julian Fellowes, Antony Sher,
Donald Sinden, Hugh Bonneville, Minnie Driver, Amanda Root, Julia
Ormond, Terence Stamp.
The school was founded in London in 1926
as the Webber Douglas School of Singing, by singer Walter Johnstone
Douglas and pianist Amherst Webber. It was created from the singing
academy founded in 1906 in Paris by Jean de Reszke. By 1932 the school
had added full theatrical training to its curriculum, and it was renamed
the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art. It was located at
30 Clareville St in South Kensington.
In 2006, the academy was
absorbed into the Central School of Speech and Drama. Many of the
academy's past alumni have formed a theatre company dedicated to keeping
the original spirit of the school alive.
In 2009 the Central
School of Speech and Drama renamed its Embassy Studio the Webber Douglas
Studio.
2. The Walter Johnstone Douglas Memorial Fund
charity was registered on 7th December 1973, It was removed from the
register on 16 August 2013 by which time it had ceased to exist.
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