An Actor's Life: a scrapbook of James Hayter
Childhood
Dad was born in 1907, and is seen here at an early age, 2nd from right at the back, taking part, with his Hayter and Wakefield siblings and cousins, in the Edwardian tradition of dressing up and putting on plays for the family - here in Sleeping Beauty.
Jimmy's first job
As the captions explain, these photos were taken of Dad's first job after graduating from the acting course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London. This was a 'fit-up' tour with Elizabeth Blake's Company in Autumn 1925, when Dad was 18. The Company would tour the country, playing in small towns and villages, usually with a repertory of a number of plays, sometimes putting a new play on every week, involving a great deal of hard work and fast learning!
Dad's Press-Clippings
Dad started a scrapbook of press-clippings right at the start of his career, and all these years later, they're deteriorating, so I've started to scan a few in for this page:
The photos below, from Cine Bruxelles, 1950, taken when Dad was filming Trio at Pinewood, must have been before he broke his leg in a motorbike accident, which put an end to his motorcycling activities!
Mum recalled that at the time of the fire (below), she and Dad were driving up the lane towards our house, following a fire-engine, and Mum was just saying "Oh dear, I wonder whose house is on fire, poor things," when the fire-engine turned up our drive!
