Cecil Raleigh

Who was Cecil Raleigh?

Cecil Raleigh was an English actor and playwright.

He was the son of Dr. John Fothergill Rowlands, and took the stage name of Raleigh. He played for a time in musical comedy, but deserted acting for playwriting and, either alone or in collaboration, produced an immense number of melodramas, staged at first chiefly at the Comedy Theatre, London, and in later years at Drury Lane. Cheer, Boys, Cheer; Hearts are Trumps; The Best of Friends; and The Whip are typical examples. Several of his plays were later made into motion pictures. He also acted as dramatic critic to two or three London papers, and became secretary to the School of Dramatic Art in Gower Street, London.

He married Effie Adelaide Henderson, a British novelist who published as Effie Adelaide Rowlands, whom he later divorced. He later married Saba Raleigh, an actress, with whom he remained married until his death in 1914.