Dictionary of National Biography, 1927 supplement/Waller, Lewis
WALLER, LEWIS (1860–1915), actor-manager, whose real name was William Waller Lewis, was born at Bilbao, Spain, 3 November 1860. He was the eldest son of William James Lewis, civil engineer, by his wife, Carlotta, second daughter of Thomas A. Vyse, of the Howard-Vyse family. He was educated at King's College School, London, and in Germany. Intended for a commercial career, he was employed for five years in his uncle's office in the City. As an amateur he acted for several years with dramatic societies, but subsequently he made up his mind to become a professional actor, and was fortunate enough to be engaged by John Lawrence Toole [q.v.] for Toole's Theatre, where he first appeared on 26 March 1883 in a revival of Uncle Dick's Darling. For the next twelve months he played in Toole's repertory, and then left in order to tour the provinces. He appeared at the Lyceum Theatre with Madame Modjeska on 30 March 1885 in Adrienne Lecouvreur, and then went on tour until the end of 1886. He made his first substantial success in London at the Strand Theatre on 7 February 1887 in Jack in the Box by G. R. Sims and Clement W. Scott. Subsequently he fulfilled engagements as leading juvenile with Kate Vaughan at the Opera Comique, with Mrs. Brown-Potter at the Gaiety Theatre, with (Sir) John Hare and William Hunter Kendal at the St. James's, with Rutland Barrington at the same theatre, and with Wilson Barrett at the Princess's.
On the opening of the Garrick Theatre by John Hare on 24 April 1889, Waller played as Hugh Murray in (Sir) A. W. Pinero's play The Profligate, and again in November of that year as Cavaradossi in an adaptation of La Tosca. After fulfilling engagements at various other theatres, he appeared in January 1893 in G. S. Ogilvie's Hypatia at the Haymarket Theatre under the management of (Sir) Herbert Beerbohm Tree, and later in the same year in a series of Ibsen's plays at the Opera Comique. In the autumn of 1893 Waller undertook theatrical management for the first time, in conjunction with H. H. Morell (Mackenzie), son of Sir Morell Mackenzie, the physician, when he went on tour in Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance.
At the Haymarket Theatre on 3 January 1895 Waller began his career as a London theatrical manager, producing, in conjunction with H. H. Morell, Oscar Wilde's comedy An Ideal Husband. In the same year he joined forces for a short time with (Sir) Charles Wyndham at the Criterion Theatre. At the Haymarket in May 1896 he gave a brilliant interpretation of the part of Hotspur in Henry IV, Part I. In April 1897 he was engaged by Tree for the opening of Her Majesty's Theatre; and between that date and September 1900 he appeared there in many parts, the most notable of which were Laertes in Hamlet, Philip Faulconbridge in King John, and Brutus in Julius Caesar. On the conclusion of his engagement with Tree, Waller resumed management on his own account. In conjunction with William Mollison he entered into the management of the Lyceum Theatre, where he revived Henry Hamilton's adaptation of The Three Musketeers on 3 November 1900. During a vacation from Her Majesty's Theatre in 1898 Waller had made a notable appearance in this play in the part of D'Artagnan. In December 1900 he achieved what was possibly his finest impersonation, namely that of the King in Henry V.
At the Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool, 6 October 1902, Waller appeared for the first time in the title-rôle of Monsieur Beaucaire by E. G. Sutherland and Booth Tarkington. On 25 October he produced the play at the Comedy Theatre; it was performed 430 times in succession, and he revived it on many subsequent occasions. On 3 November 1903 Waller opened in this play at the Imperial Theatre, which he continued to manage until May 1906. He then removed to the Lyric Theatre, where he remained, with varying success, until July 1910. He made several notable productions during his period of management, especially Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner, Brigadier Gerard, Robin Hood, A White Man, and The Fires of Fate. He also revived Othello and Romeo and Juliet, but these ventures were unsuccessful. In September 1911 Waller visited the United States for the first time, and in October achieved success in a production in New York of The Garden of Allah. In May 1913 he went to Australia, where he remained for twelve months, and on his return to England reappeared on the London stage. In June 1915 he appeared at Wyndham's Theatre as John Leighton in Gamblers All by May Martindale, and while appearing in this play at Nottingham in the following October caught a chill and died there of double pneumonia on 1 November. He was buried in Kensal Green cemetery.
Waller was an actor of great individuality. His pleasing voice and fine presence fascinated popular audiences. No actor of his time could compare with him in such parts as D'Artagnan, Hotspur, or Henry V. But his acting appealed less to the intellect than to the eye and ear. His energy was remarkable, and during his thirty-two years' career he played nearly two hundred parts on the London stage without missing a performance. He was a great favourite with King Edward VII.
Waller married in 1883 Florence (died 1912), eldest daughter of Horatio Brandon, solicitor. First as Florence West, and subsequently under her married name, she was for many years a popular actress. Waller was survived by a son and a daughter, both of whom appeared on the stage.
A painting of Waller as ‘Beaucaire’, by the Hon. John Collier, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1903.
[The Times, Daily Telegraph, Standard, 4 November 1915; Clement W. Scott, The Drama of Yesterday and To-Day, 1899; Who's Who in the Theatre; private information; personal knowledge.]