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when a man was murdered on the street outside their hotel. The article suggests the corpse lay there for some time while "... his glazed eyes seemed to stare right up into Sybil's bedroom". Sybil was unable to sleep, so she asked
Russell to sit up with her. She made a pot of tea while they talked,
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and the character of Doctor Syn was born. As the night went on, "They piled horror on horror's head and after each new horror was invented they took another squint at the corpse to encourage them." Around this time he completed his first novel of romantic adventure on
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programme from 1985 is an apocryphal biography of
Thorndike that indicates it was during the period of touring with Ben Greet's theatre company, that Russell and his sister Sybil came up with the idea of Doctor Syn. The story goes, both were with the company in
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Thorndike and his wife had five children: Daniel (1920-2016), an actor; Dickon (1921-2016); Jill (1924-2013); Georgia (born 1927), who married the theatre administrator
463:(1955). Although Thorndike appeared on the stage over four decades (including playing his own Dr. Syn character and entertaining audiences as Smee in ten revivals of
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doubled the roles of Mr
Darling and Captain Hook), he felt a deeper fulfilment in writing, which would include the later work
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Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight
Marquee Press. p. 252.
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Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight
Marquee Press. p. 252.
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In 1914 he enlisted. His brother Frank, who once performed on stage, was killed in action. Russell was severely wounded at
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and two years later accompanied fellow members of the company on a North
American tour, which included
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in three different versions of the text on the same day. He also toured in South Africa and
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309:(6 February 1885 – 7 November 1972) was a British actor and novelist, best known for the
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but equally versatile, Russell
Thorndike's first love was writing and, after serving in
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He died in 1972, aged 87, and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul,
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357:(1937). Thorndike married Rosemary Dowson, a daughter of the well-known actress
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and discharged. He rejoined Ben Greet's theatre company and his sister at the
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He was born in
Rochester, Kent, where his father had recently become a
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The Book of Syn: Russell
Thorndike, Dr. Syn and the Romney Marsh
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At his suggestion, both he and Sybil (who once aspired to be a
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In film, Thorndike's appearances were infrequent. He played
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People educated at St George's School, Windsor Castle
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313:novels. Less well-known than his sister
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884:Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh
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528:, made famous by his Dr Syn novels.
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1075:Works by or about Russell Thorndike
343:St George's School, Windsor Castle
195:St George's School, Windsor Castle
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1000:"Find a Grave: Russell Thorndike"
925:Courageous Exploits of Doctor Syn
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917:Further Adventures of Doctor Syn
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582:Short, directed by George Wynn
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36:needs additional citations for
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591:Tense Moments from Great Plays
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445:(1923) as Old Ebenezer, and
400:in 1916, where he played in
321:, he devoted himself to it.
1128:Actors from Rochester, Kent
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980:In the Steps of Shakespeare
933:Amazing Quest of Doctor Syn
901:Doctor Syn on the High Seas
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337:. He was a student at the
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16:British actor and novelist
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339:King's School, Rochester
307:Arthur Russell Thorndike
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948:Children Of The Garter
658:The Fair Maid of Perth
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355:Children of the Garter
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1055:(pub. Edgerton, 2013)
953:The House Of Jeffreys
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941:Shadow of Doctor Syn
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375:Ben Greet's Academy
60:"Russell Thorndike"
909:Doctor Syn Returns
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709:A Shot in the Dark
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1003:. Retrieved
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43:Please help
38:verification
35:
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1123:1972 deaths
1118:1885 births
1005:21 December
863:Richard III
836:Uncredited
799:High Priest
532:Filmography
496:Spartanburg
460:Richard III
457:(1948) and
402:Shakespeare
361:, in 1918.
319:World War I
288:World War I
263:Mary Casson
1112:Categories
987:References
714:Dr. Stuart
697:Paul Perot
410:Richard II
325:Background
268:Ann Casson
215:Doctor Syn
151:1885-02-06
101:March 2009
71:newspapers
607:The Bells
526:Dymchurch
503:entitled
466:Peter Pan
427:Peer Gynt
414:King Lear
406:King John
394:Gallipoli
347:chorister
335:cathedral
249:Relatives
187:Education
165:, England
159:Rochester
1097:LibriVox
726:The Roof
260:(nephew)
255:(sister)
1077:at the
811:Henry V
765:Fenwick
663:Dwining
611:Mathias
563:Macbeth
558:Macbeth
485:Writing
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436:Macbeth
398:Old Vic
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85:scholar
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851:Priest
846:Hamlet
614:Short
566:Short
548:Notes
542:Title
454:Hamlet
412:, and
383:Hamlet
365:Acting
345:and a
222:Spouse
217:novels
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545:Role
539:Year
331:canon
315:Sybil
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78:books
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1021:ISBN
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