{{Short description|British actor and producer (1869–1940)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}} {{Use British English|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Randle Ayrton | image = Randle_Ayrton.jpg | caption = Randle Ayrton, 1938 | birth_name = Randle Ayrton | birth_date = {{birth date|1869|8|9|df=y}} | birth_place = Chester, England | death_date = {{death date and age|1940|5|28|1869|8|9|df=y}} | death_place = Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England | occupation = Actor, producer and director | years_active = 1890 – 1937 }}
'''Frederick Randle Ayrton''' (9 August 1869 – 28 May 1940) was a British actor of stage and screen, and was also a producer and director.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Randle_Ayrton|title=Randle Ayrton - the Alfred Hitchcock Wiki}}</ref>
== Early life == Ayrton was born in Chester to William Frances Ayrton, a wealthy wine-merchant who was a partner and co-founder of the firm of Ayrton & Groome,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/64491/francis-frith-bishop-lloyd%27s-house-chester-english-about-1885/|title=Bishop Lloyd's House, Chester (The J. Paul Getty Museum Collection)}}</ref> and his second wife Pauline (Fleischmann). Two of Randle's full brothers also gained prominence. The eldest, William Ayrton (1861-1916), was an artist based in Suffolk.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://suffolkartists.co.uk/index.cgi?choice=painter&pid=38|title=Suffolk Artists - AYRTON, William}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=William Ayrton Sold at Auction Prices |url=https://www.invaluable.com/artist/ayrton-william-lsc3ds3l1g/sold-at-auction-prices/ |website=Invaluable}}</ref> The youngest, Maxwell Ayrton (1874-1960), was a leading architect.
The Ayrton family originated in Yorkshire. Randle's forebear Edward Ayrton was mayor of Ripon in 1760, and laid the foundations for the family's subsequent prominence.
Ayrton was educated at The King's School, Chester<ref>{{cite web|title=Inspirational Alumni Members|url=http://www.kingschester.co.uk/extras/KingsAlumni/inspirationalAlumni.html|publisher=The King's School Chester|accessdate=2 December 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111215071558/http://www.kingschester.co.uk/extras/KingsAlumni/inspirationalAlumni.html|archivedate=15 December 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and Geneva University.
==Career== Ayrton made his stage debut in 1890, at the Old Avenue Theatre in London and was successful on stage in London and in America into the late 1930s.In 1918 he appeared in the comedy ''The Freedom of the Seas'' at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.
In 1913, he began his film career with the old London Film Company. He made a successful transition from silents to talkies, working for a number of film studios during his screen career. Randle Ayrton was also the producer, and director, of several films.
==Selected filmography== * ''Profit and the Loss'' (1917) * ''My Sweetheart'' (1918) * ''The Hanging Judge'' (1918) * ''The Wonderful Year'' (1921) * ''No. 5 John Street'' (1921) * ''Chu-Chin-Chow'' (1923) * ''Southern Love'' (1924) * ''The Little People'' (1926) * ''Nell Gwyn'' (1926) * ''One of the Best'' (1927) * ''His House in Order'' (1928) * ''High Seas'' (1929) * ''The Feather'' (1929) * ''The Hate Ship'' (1929) * ''A Romance of Seville'' (1929) * ''The Manxman'' (1929) * ''Glorious Youth'' (1929) * ''The Great Game'' (1930) * ''Two Worlds'' (1930) * ''Dreyfus'' (1931) * ''Jew Suss'' (1934) * ''Me and Marlborough'' (1935) * ''Debt of Honour'' (1936) * ''Talk of the Devil'' (1936)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0044024}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayrton, Randle}} Category:1940 deaths Category:1869 births Category:Male actors from Chester Category:People educated at The King's School, Chester Category:English male film actors Category:English male silent film actors Category:19th-century English male actors Category:English male stage actors Category:20th-century English male actors