Tree, Sir Herbert Beerbohm, 1853–1917, English actor-manager, whose original name was Herbert Draper Beerbohm. He was a half brother of Max Beerbohm Beerbohm, Sir Max (bēr`bōm), 1872–1956, English essayist, caricaturist, and parodist.
..... Click the link for more information. . His first success (1884) was as the curate in The Private Secretary, and he thereafter became prominent as a romantic actor. In 1883 he married the distinguished actress

Helen Maud Holt, 1863–1937, who became his leading lady. She was a well-educated and very versatile actress, especially adept at comedy. Tree achieved his greatest distinction as a manager with his staging of Shakespeare at the Haymarket theater (1887–97) and at Her Majesty's Theatre, which he built and opened in 1897. In the manner of his day, he stressed visual elements with elaborate, imaginative, and detailed effects. He was knighted in 1909.

Bibliography

See his Thoughts and Afterthoughts (1913) and Nothing Matters (1917); biography by H. Pearson (1956, repr. 1971).

Tree, Sir Herbert (Draper) Beerbohm

(born Dec. 17, 1853, London, Eng.—died July 2, 1917, London) British actor-manager. A romantic actor with a gift for character roles and comedy, he made his London debut in 1878 and won favourable notice in The Private Secretary (1884). As manager of the Haymarket Theatre (1887–97), he directed and acted in lavish Shakespearean productions, which he continued as actor-manager of Her Majesty's Theatre (1897–1915). He produced notable stage versions of Charles Dickens's works. In 1904 he founded the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.