Herbert Beerbohm Tree

thumb|Every man is a potential genius until he does something. Herbert Draper Beerbohm (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor-manager and wit, whose professional name was Herbert Beerbohm Tree. He was knighted in 1909. Quotes People are too apt to treat God as if he were a minor royalty. "The Importance of Humour in Tragedy: Presidential Address Delivered at the Birmingham Midland Institute, 1915", Nothing Matters, and Other Stories (1917) p. 207. Ladies, just a little more virginity, if you don't mind. Remembered by Alexander Woollcott in his Shouts and Murmurs (1922) p. 87. To actresses playing the ladies-in-waiting in a production of Henry VIII, "peering at them plaintively through his monocle". A man never knows what a fool he is until he hears himself imitated by one. Quoted by Max Beerbohm in Hebert Beerbohm Tree: Some Memories of Him and of His Art Collected by Max Beerbohm (1920). Beerbohm Tree (1956) Quotes of Tree from Beerbohm Tree (1956) by Hesketh Pearson My poor fellow, why not carry a watch? Page 110. "To a man who was staggering in the street under the weight of a grandfather clock". Every man is a potential genius until he does something. Page 110. Never say a humorous thing to a man who does not possess humour: he will always use it in evidence against you. Page 110. Sirs, I have tested your machine. It adds a new terror to life and makes death a long-felt want. Page 183 His reply to a gramophone company who had asked for a testimonial. It is difficult to live up to one's posters…When I pass my name in such large letters I blush, but at the same time instinctively raise my hat. Page 188. It depends on each and every one of me. Page 192. About Herbert Beerbohm Tree A charming fellow, and so clever: he models himself on me. Oscar Wilde, quoted in Hesketh Pearson Beerbohm Tree (1956) p. 2. As far as I could discover, the notion that a play could succeed without any further help from the actor than a simple impersonation of his part never occurred to Tree. George Bernard Shaw Selected Prose (1952) p. 521. External links Category:Actors from England Category:People from London Category:1852 births Category:1917 deaths