(1894-1965)
Maurice Dale Colbourne as Brutus in Julius Caesar.
Maurice Dale Colbourne, from whom Roger Middleton obtained his stage name, was a versatile Shakespearian actor with an extensive career on the stage and, later, the screen, as well as having written one play, one book on George Bernard Shaw and two texts on economic theory.
His surviving film credits include The Swan (1924), Arms and the Man (1932), King of the Khyber Rifles (1953), I'm Alright Jack (1962) and his final film, Walk in the Shadow (1962; US title Life For Ruth, 1966). None, interestingly, were major roles.
Both he and his namesake shared the same birthday (September 24); Middleton apparently chose his name, from the obituaries in The Stage, after being told that his own was not "theatrical enough." The fact that the career of one Colbourne began immediately after that of the other one ended has caused a number of film books to assume them to be one and the same person.
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