From 1887 onward Mr. Bellew played alternately in England and America, with extensive tours in Australia, India and other British Colonial possessions. After a short run at the Gayety, London, in Civil War, in 1887, Henry E. Abbey engaged him as leading man for Mrs. James Brown Potter, with whom he played in nearly all parts of the globe where English is understood. This tour is recalled as one of the unique events of the stage, for although other actors have traveled far and wide they have hardly met with such brilliant success.
After the production of his own Hero and Leander, at the Shaftsbury, London, in 1892, and his appearance in The Lights of Home at the Adelphi, he and Mrs. Potter played together again until 1898 in such dramas as Charlotte Corday and Fracillon. After The Jest, at the Criterion in 1898; Robespierre, at the Lyceum in 1899; and the Ghetto, at the Comedy; he spent another year in the Australian gold fields. He returned to the stage in America, however, in 1902, playing A Gentleman of France, Lady of Lyons, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, School for Scandal, Raffles, Sacrament of Judas, Chevalier and the Two Orphans, She Stoops to Conquer, Brigadier Gerard, The Marriage of Reason, The Thief, One Performance; with Mrs. George Gould, in the Plaza Hotel in Mrs. Van Vechten's Divorce Dance; the Builder of Bridges, The Scanday, Revival of Raffles, and the Mollusc.
In addition to his success as a romantic actor Mr. Bellew was a successful dramatist, being the author of the English version of Charlotte Corday, Hero and Leander, Yvonne, Iolande, Francillon, and others.
Mr. Bellew held a master's sailing certificate, having graduated from the New York Nautical School. He was a fellow member of the Royal Microscopal Society, the Royal Geographical Society, The Royal London Yacht Club, and a Life Member of the Actors Fund of America.
