Cyril Butcher

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Cyril Butcher

Cyril George Butcher (31 July 1909 – 23 February 1987) was an English actor and director and longtime companion of Beverley Nichols.

Biography[]

Cyril George Butcher was born on 31 July 1909, in Suffolk, England.

In 1930 the magazine Film Weekly sponsored a pair of film acting scholarships. The two winners (Cyril Butcher and ) went on to appear in the now lost Alfred Hitchcock short An Elastic Affair and placed under contract by British International Pictures.[1]

In the early 1930s he met novelist and playwright Beverley Nichols and they remained lifelong partners from then. Their friends were Hugh Walpole and Lord Berners, among others.[2] In 1939 Butcher was living with Nichols and a valet at 1 Ellerdale Close, Hampstead, London.[3]

In 1934 he published In Extremis, Worst Moments in the Lives of the Famous with a foreword by Beverley Nichols.[4] In 1939, together with Albert Arlen, he directed the play Counterfeit! at the Duke of York's, London.[5]

In 1953 Butcher adapted Evensong by Beverley Nichols for the television,[6] while in 1956 he directed the television adaptation of Macadam and Eve from the play of .[7] Butcher was the producer of the 1957 television drama Granite Peak.[8]

Between 1959 and 1963 he directed for television: Ideal Home Exhibition (1963), The English Captain (1960), The Last Hours (1959), Old People; Part 1 (1959) and Election Results 1959 (1959).[9]

On the death of Nichols in 1984 Butcher was the main beneficiary in his will, amounting to £131,750 (£426,580 in 2019 sterling).[10]

Cyril Butcher died on 23 February 1987 at Sudbrooke Cottage, the house he shared with Nichols, at Ham Common, Richmond, Surrey.

References[]

  1. ^ Kerzoncuf, Alain; Barr, Charles (2015). Hitchcock Lost and Found: The Forgotten Films. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813160832. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Beverley Nichols papers". Special Collections University of Delaware Library. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  3. ^ 1939 Register . The valet was Arthur Gaskin Born 27 Oct 1904
  4. ^ "In Extremis - 18 Nov 1934, Sun • Page 7". The Observer: 7. 1934. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Counterfeit! - 20 Aug 1939, Sun • Page 9". The Observer: 9. 1939. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Documentaries - 21 Oct 1953, Wed • Page 3". The Guardian: 3. 1953. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  7. ^ "First Flashes of a New Spirit - 30 Jun 1956, Sat • Page 3". The Guardian: 3. 1956. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Australian Authoress's Play - 27 Apr 1957, Sat • Page 5". The Guardian: 5. 1957. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Cyril Butcher". British Film Institute. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Beverley Nichols' will - 22 Jan 1984, Sun • Page 5". The Observer: 5. 1984. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
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