George Benson

Biography

George was born in Wales of a Northern family with several generations of architects to which his own son, Christopher has joined. There's also a long family link to Shakespearean actor/manager Sir Frank Benson. After seeing Shakespearean productions in Western Super Mar, his boyhood home and determined to be an actor he was taken to see Sir Frank. George was trained at RADA after which he gained much early stage experience in Charlot Revues, and acted with the Cambridge Festival Theatre in Cambridge ,and The Gate Theatre in London and toured to the Middle East and Australia where he would return in a Shakespeare group headed by Katherine Hepburn, Just before WWII he achieved his ambition of joining a top theatre company at the Old Vic being directed by Tyrone Guthrie in such as She Stoops to Conquer, On the outbreak of war he joined the Royal Artillery then on demob played in Bettergate at Londons Garrick Theatre then The Winslow Boy which toured America. On his return he appeared in Hamlet at the Old Vic in 49/50. He studied theatrical history and was a member of an organisation to preserve important old buildings and was made Chairman of the organisation of Theatre Research