Early years Wyndham was born in
Liverpool on 23 March 1837, the second son of Major Richard Culverwell (c. 1820–1860) and his wife, Jane Lloyd. He had one brother, who did not survive childhood, and three sisters. Biographies published in Wyndham's lifetime state that Culverwell was a doctor, but in the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2011) Michael Read writes: Wyndham went to boarding-schools in England, Scotland, Germany and France. In Scotland he acquired the taste for amateur theatricals, and in Paris he frequented the
Comédie-Française and the
Théâtre du Palais-Royal. The former was known for its classical style and the latter had a long tradition of
farce; both were a formative influence on his acting. At the time, it was the practice of some London theatre managers to engage amateurs to appear in prominent roles in otherwise professional companies, and
The Examiner took Wyndham for such an amateur. He remained in the Royalty's company for six months, and after his inauspicious debut he began to attract excellent reviews. In the farce
Grandfather Whitehead he won praise from the theatrical newspaper
The Era, which found him "a very promising Light Comedian" and his playing "as easy, natural and perfect as it need be". In a later review during the season
The Era said: Still undecided between a theatrical and medical career, but too adventurous in spirit to relish the idea of becoming a family doctor, Wyndham travelled to the US later in 1862, determined to become a medical officer in the
Union army in the
American Civil War. The military authorities hesitated to sign him up, but he successfully persisted and served until the war was nearly over. During breaks from his military service he made two unsuccessful appearances on the stage in New York, first in a company led by
John Wilkes Booth (later the assassin of
Abraham Lincoln), and then in
Mrs John Wood's troupe.
Professional advance, 1865–1873 In 1865 Wyndham returned to England. When Wyndham took the production to Liverpool the same paper described him as "one of the most accomplished actors we have seen for a long time". His success in this and other provincial productions enabled him to gain a
West End engagement the following year. Wyndham joined the company of the Royalty in May 1866 under the management of
Patty Oliver. He played Sir Arthur Lascelles in
Maddison Morton's well-known play,
All That Glitters Is Not Gold, given as a supporting piece to a new
extravaganza. Of his later roles during the season, the most prominent was as the smuggler, Hatchett, in
F. C. Burnand's new and immensely popular burlesque on
Douglas Jerrold's nautical comedy,
Black-Eyed Susan, with Oliver and
Nelly Bromley. , Wyndham,
Dyas, John Clayton and
Hodson; and sitting:
Toole,
Brough and
Irving|alt=Stage photograph showing group of 3 women and five men in everyday Victorian clothes In 1867 Wyndham joined the company at the
St James's Theatre, where he acted with
Henry Irving for the first time. In September and October of the same year he appeared at the
Prince's Theatre, Manchester, in
Kate Terry's farewell season, in which his roles included Mercutio in
Romeo and Juliet, Claudio in
Much Ado About Nothing, the clown Modus in
James Sheridan Knowles's
The Hunchback, and Laertes in
Hamlet. Before returning to the West End, he went to his home town, Liverpool, to create the role of Roberto in
W.S.Gilbert's extravaganza
La Vivandière.
The Liverpool Mercury said, "In acting, singing and dancing he fairly carried the audience with him". Returning to London, Wyndham was then engaged for the
Queen's Theatre, Long Acre, and there in October and November 1867 – as the gallant Dujardin in
The Double Marriage and the seducer Hawksley in
Still Waters Run Deep – he once again partnered Ellen Terry. In 1868 Wyndham made his first venture into management, when he took the
Princess's Theatre, presenting a season of three plays, but the undertaking was not successful. He returned to the US and appeared at
Wallack's Theatre in 1869, playing Charles Surface in
The School for Scandal, a role he made particularly his own. A rare failure was Gilbert's farce ''
Foggerty's Fairy'' (1881), in which Wyndham appeared with his former employer, Mrs John Wood; it opened on 15 December and closed on 6 January.
Costume drama, 1882–1899 , in
She Stoops to Conquer, 1890|alt=young white woman, sitting, older white man standing, both in 18th-century costume In 1882 Wyndham again visited the United States, where he remained for eighteen months. His Criterion company was the first English troupe to reach America's west coast. In 1897 Wyndham separated from his wife. His partner for the rest of his life was the actress
Mary Moore, widow of James Albery; she had become Wyndham's leading lady, in 1885, and his business partner in 1896. Wyndham opened his new theatre with a revival of
David Garrick, donating the first night's takings of £4,000 to charity. and it was the play that did not attract audiences. In 1903 he opened another theatre, the New (later called the Albery, and since 2006 the
Noël Coward Theatre), in
St Martin's Lane, backing onto Wyndham's. In the same year, he and his company appeared before
Edward VII and his court at
Windsor Castle, in
David Garrick; in a second command performance at Windsor, in 1907, Wyndham played John Mildmay in Taylor's
Still Waters Run Deep, in which he had first played (in another role) at the Queen's forty years earlier. ==Notes, references and sources==