Bancroft, Marie (Lady)

1839

1921

Marie Effie Wilton, the daughter of provincial players and already a well-established actress in London was co-manager of the Prince of Wales's Theatre, when she met Squire Bancroft. They married in 1867 and embarked on distinguished co-managerial careers that made the Prince of Wales’s Theatre one of the most successful of its time and brought them into eminence as innovative producers. They made significant increases in the performers’ compensation and used more realistic and practical scenery, a practice started by Mme Vestris. The Bancrofts published their memoirs "On and Off Stage" in 1888. He died on 19 April 1926 at the age of 84. Lady Bancroft, who also wrote several plays and a novel, died on 22 May 1921 at the age of 82. Their son George Pleydell Bancroft (1868-1956) also acted on the London stage and wrote novels; he was also a member of the Garrick Club. (OCT, WWWT)