Charles Collette

Charles Henry Collette (29 July 1842 – 10 February 1924) was an English stage actor, composer and writer noted for his work in comedy in a long career onstage. He appeared, beginning in the late 1860s, in many Bancroft productions and was engaged by other managers, including J. L. Toole, John Hollingshead, Mary Anderson, Lydia Thompson and Herbert Beerbohm Tree, as well as performing in his own companies. He toured for some years as the title character in F. C. Burnand's The Colonel and played many military men.

Collette continued acting in London and in the British provinces until 1907, a career of nearly four decades, but he is probably best remembered today for the presence of his musical play Cryptoconchoidsyphonostomata on the bill with the historic 1875 premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury.

Early life and acting career

Collette was born in London, the son of Charles Hastings Collette, a solicitor, and his wife, Frances Mary, née Sharpe, and the grandson of General Collette of the Madras Cavalry. As a young man, he held a commission in the Dragoon Guards. He left the army in 1868, and, having enjoyed amateur theatricals while serving in India, he was attracted by a stage career. A mutual friend put him in touch with Marie Bancroft, who cast him as Charles Hampton, a light romantic role, in a comedy, Tame Cats at the Prince of Wales's Theatre. He made an immediate impression. The magazine Fun published an article with the title "Tame Cats; Or, The Triumph of Collette"; this, however, was not so much a tribute to the actor as a rebuke to his over-enthusiastic friends in the audience.