Crofton , Cecil Frederick , d 1935 , actor, previously Frederick Martin

Cecil Frederick Crofton (whose real name was Frederick Martin) was a versatile actor who appeared in a large variety of parts in the chief London theatres and the provinces, along with parts in pantomimes during the 1880s and 1890s. After considerable experience on the amateur stage, he made his first professional apearance in 1882 in Wilson Barrett's Lights o'London company at the Old Princess' Theatre. After further performances at the Royalty and the Avenue (now the Playhouse) he went on to tour the country as Charles II in Nell Gwynne, shortly after followed by appearances in The Countess and the Dancer and Camille at the Olympic in 1886. In 1889, he took the part of George Ralston in Jim the Penman at the Shaftesbury Theatre, which was also to go on tour in 1893. He took the part of Spooner in the revival of Formosa in 1891, and followed with parts in The Prince and the Pauper at the Vaudeville and Brighton at the Criterion. He played Montague Helston in Watching and Waiting, which he produced at the Vaudeville, and he was also Antony Crabb in The Custom House at the same theatre. In 1894, he went on tour in The Late Lamented, and, after appearances in The Middlemen as Epiphany Danks and in The Professor's Love Story as Dr Yellowlees, it could be said that his career effectively came to a close. Crofton died in November 1935.