William Devlin (actor)
William Devlin (5 December 1911 – 25 January 1987) was a Scottish actor who appeared widely in films and television in a screen career that lasted from 1937 until 1967. The son of an architect, he was born in Aberdeen in 1911. An older brother was Lord Devlin. Education Devlin was educated at Stonyhurst College, where he was Head of the School, and at Merton College, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1930. Career His first stage appearance was with Nancy Price in the play Nurse Cavell by C. S. Forester and C. E. Bechhofer Roberts. In this play he had the role of the spy who betrayed Edith Cavell. A noted Shakespearean actor, Devlin first played King Lear aged 22. He was one of the youngest actors to undertake a major portrayal of what was considered the most difficult of Shakespearean roles; critic James Agate wrote of Devlin's performance at the Westminster Theatre, "His understanding of the text and his sense of beauty are everywhere apparent". Devlin won further acclaim with his performance as Peer Gynt and in historical roles. In 1936, he played French politician Georges Clemenceau in The Tiger, the first play to be televised by the BBC.