Sir Aubrey: A Biography of C. Aubrey Smith - England Cricketer, West End Actor, Hollywood Film Star

About this book

This is a biography of the Sussex and England cricketer who later became famous as a Hollywood actor. First published in 1982, this edition contains much new material, together with a foreword by Honor Cobb, daughter of C Aubrey Smith - now having passed her own century. She states 'I am delighted to provide a foreword for my father's biography. His two key interests in life were cricket and the theatre and he started to combine both by bringing a team of actors down from London before the First World War about twice a year to play against his West Drayton village team; 'And who's your father bringing down this time?' the villagers would ask...He continued to play cricket throughout his theatrical career. I am sure he thought of a cricket match as a type of open-air theatre with its entrances and exits'. It would be a distortion to claim that Aubrey's high profile amidst the milieu of cricket playing celebrities secured his place on the ladder of fame. But there is a grain of truth residing. The exploits of his youth where he led teams to the outback and veldt and then stayed to seek a fortune were pioneering and entrepreneurial. His standing on stage and station on screen was the result of much endeavour and to certain extent, good fortune, arriving at those moments in history when the gates were ajar. For his achievements in these fields alone Aubrey Smith would be remembered. But it was when he brought the components of his life together under a Californian sun and replayed his youth at an age when many of his peers were settling into their wheelchairs, that he found a unique place on posterity's table. His life, in many ways, was akin to a Boy's Own adventure...