AustLit

Lawyer, librettist, director, actor, singer, businessman.

OVERVIEW

Described in one obituary as an "outstanding libel, divorce and criminal" lawyer, real "fighter" and "keen legal tactician," W. J. Curtis also showed a flair for theatrical writing. During the early 1900s, he managed to balance his university studies and later legal career with a heavy involvement in amateur theatre, first as an actor/singer (notably with Philip Lytton's Players Club) and later as a librettist. His first libretto was the comic opera The Coquette (1905) a collaboration with W. Arundel Orchard. The pair later wrote The Emperor (opera, 1906) and Uller the Bowman (cantata, 1909) together. Curtis also wrote a one act play, The Amateur Burglar, which was produced in 1906. Meanwhile his legal career saw him rise from lawyer to barrister, District Court Judge and a King's Counsel (K.C.). He was also one of the founding members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (as secretary) and a director of Harry Rickards' Tivoli Theatres Ltd.

DETAILED BIOGRAPHY

1880-1900: Born in Sydney on 1 September 1880, the son of Peter Campbell Curtis and Mary Elizabeth Curtis (nee Dolman), William John Young Curtis was educated at St Aloysius College prior to undertaking a law degree at Sydney University. Freeman's Journal describes him in 1900 as a "brilliant young graduate" and "a law student who will be heard of in the future." Although the decision to pursue a career in law was made early on in his youth, Curtis nevertheless maintained a passion for literature and the theatre throughout his years at school and at university.

Curtis's initial interest in performing appears to have as both as an actor and a singer. The earliest his name has been identified in connection with the stage (to date) is in 1900, but it is likely that he had appeared before audiences well before this. The 1900 stage performances included a smoke concert put on by St Joseph's College, Sydney, in May (at which represented the St Aloysius Oldboys), and a Sydney University Law School Reunion in June. That same year Curtis was appointed secretary of the Old Boys' Union of St Kilda and St. Aloysius's Colleges. His duties included organising smoke concerts and other social activities. On 18 October 1900 he also appeared at Sydney's Royal Standard Theatre with the Sydney University Amateur Dramatic Society in a production of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. The Evening News notes that it had been several years since the Norwegian playwright's works had been performed in the city, and that the production had therefore generated much interest ('Amusements' 13 Oct. 1900, p.3). Curtis was cast in the role of the printer, Aslasken.

1901-1904: In 1902 Curtis undertook an M.A. degree through the University of Sydney's School of Philosophy (in Education), passing the examination in 1903 with his thesis, 'The State in Relation to Education.' He was eventually admitted to the Bar of New South Wales on 15 August 1904, with the formalities undertaken before the Full Court yesterday, and on the motion of Attorney-General, Mr. J. C. Gannon.

During this same period Curtis was also actively involved in numerous extracurricular pursuits, including concerts with the Catholic Young Men's Association (as a singer) and theatrical productions with the Waverley Musical Society and the newly formed Players' Club. As a basso he often performed with the Lyric Quartet. The group is known to have appeared as far away as Bathurst, New South Wales (1903).

It was with the Philip Lytton-led Players Club, that Curtis was best known during his early theatrical career, however. Cast by Lytton in the Club's 1902 debut production (Pinero's comedy The Weaker Sex), he reportedly drew much laughter for his portrayal as the 'nervously stammering Mr Bargus M.P.' Other Players' Club productions in which he appeared included J. C. Lee's The Marrying of Ma, N. Parker's The Man in the Street, Pinero's The Hobby Horse (1902); Ohnet's The Iron Master, E. G. Lankester's The Gov'nor, Pinero's The Magistrate and Dandy Dick (1903); Charles Hawtrey's The Private Secretary, and Tom, Dick and Harry (1904).

Curtis' growing stature within the Sydney theatrical community saw him regarded by some commentators as having some considerable ability as both an actor and author. Reviews of his performances indicate that he was especially suited to comedy roles. The Theatre Magazine notes in 1905, for example, that as Bronson Pere in Lytton's production of The Belle of New York, Curtis 'brought out all the dry humour of the past and "Praps" was given in a manner which was quite up to the standard of the professional stage' (1 April 1905, p.13). In addition to his acting roles Curtis undertook directorial duties on a number of occasions, the first identified to date being the Waverley Musical Society's 1903 production of The Gay Parisienne. He also took on acting roles in other Waverley productions, including The French Maid (1903),

1905-1909: The first work known to have come from Curtis's pen and to have been staged was The Coquette ; Or, A Suicidal Policy (1905), co-written with John Hunt to a score by W. Arundel Orchard. The comic opera received much pre-publicity in Sydney, due in no small measure to the high profiles and strong connections all three creatives had within the city's theatrical, musical and social worlds. Curtis' performance in the role of Jeremy Pymble was particularly well-favoured by the critics, both for his comic acting and his singing.

The following year Curtis's comedy The Amateur Burglar was produced by the Sydney Muffs for two nights at Sydney's Criterion Theatre beginning 1 August. This was in fact a dramatised adaptation of W. W. Jacobs' short story The Boatswain's Mate (1905).

Later in 1906 Curtis' second collaboration with Arundel Orchard, The Emperor brought the pair much critical praise, and a more than respectable one-month season, when they produced the work themselves at Sydney's Palace Theatre (on a meagre budget of some four to five hundred pounds).

Curtis's talent as a librettist was at least recognised by some critics, an aspect often missing from reviews of the work of other local authors, both professional and amateur. A review of his narrative construction for The Emperor suggested, for example that Orchard's 'captivating music' was scored to a 'well defined… genuinely witty [and] amusingly effective plot.' The same critic went on further to record that 'Mr Curtis has written some excellent lyrics, and his dialogue is bright and pungent, and in the second act the lines on "life," previous to the quintet, have a sound philosophical ring, that shows that the author is a keen observer of human nature' (Theatre Magazine 1 December 1906, p.12).

In 1908 Curtis and Orchard collaborated on another work, the cantata Uller, the Bowman. It was given its premiere performance at a concert by the Sydney Liedertafel at the Sydney Town Hall on 8 September 1909 under Orchard's conductorship. Three years later the score was published in London by Laudy and Co (a German edition was also published). In response to that publication Ulla the Bowman was revived several times in 1913, with two performances in Sydney, and one (possibly two) in Brisbane. Each concert was performed by the respective city's Liedertafel Society. 1908 also saw Curtis become involved with the formation of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as its Honorable Secretary ('Musical Matters." Evening News 23 May (1908), p.7)

1910-1939: The only other known work by Curtis is the opera, Dorian Gray, based on Oscar Wilde's novel. The musical score, again by Arundel Orchard, to Curtis's blank verse libretto, was announced as having being completed in 1916. It was not until 1919, however, that the public got to hear any of the work, and then only the second act. This was presented as a concert version at the Conservatorium of Music, Sydney on 11 September. No staged version of the full work appears to have been undertaken. Interestingly, Orchard doesn't mention the work in his autobiography.

While Curtis was obliged to lessen his active involvement in stage performance and libretto-writing from the early 1910s in response to his increasingly busy legal career, he nevertheless remained closely aligned to the theatre as a director and shareholder in the Hugh D. McIntosh-led Tivoli circuit (known legally as Harry Rickards' Tivoli Theatres Ltd). This association was to end in some controversy and much unwanted publicity, however, following the Tivoli company's financial collapse and eventual liquidation. While McIntosh bore the brunt of newspaper coverage, the role of Curtis and several other directors, as well aspects of their financial status, were frequently mentioned. They were also were questioned by the liquidator and in court regarding their knowledge of several serious financial matters. In 1932 McIntosh and Curtis, along with another director, Edmund Covell, were each charged with fraud. The liquidator's accusation was that the three men had tried to hide a cheque for £13,750. All three were eventually acquitted.

Curtis moved to Springwood in the Blue Mountains in 1939, commuting to the city on a regular basis for work. He died of a heart attack eight months later on 23 May 1940. Survived by a son and two daughters, his estate was valued at £2,700. In reflecting on his life and career the Sydney Morning Herald records:

For many years, Mr. Curtis had had a very large practice at common law. He appeared as counsel in many notable causes, principally libel and defamation actions. His outstanding ability as an advocate before a jury, in presenting the salient facts of his case, and in exposing the weaknesses of the other side, was generally recognised.... He was called to the Bar in 1904, and was appointed a K.C. in 1925. Many years ago, he was appointed an Acting District Court Judge ... Mr. Curtis devoted much of his leisure time to music, and in his earlier years to amateur theatricals. Recognising Mr. Curtis's ability as an actor in his younger days, Mr. J. C. Williamson tried strongly to induce him to take up the stage as a career. One of his last appearances in amateur theatricals was in a leading role in Floradora when it was staged by the Mosman Musical Society. He was [also] closely associated with the formation of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra ('Mr Curtis, K.C.' 25 May 1940, p.20).