Frederick Volpe was born in Liverpool on the 31st of July 1865, the son of Raffaele Volpe. Educated at the Liverpool High School for Boys now LIPA, he made his stage debut in 1887 at Rhyl, North Wales. He first came to public prominence in 1894 when he appeared in 'The Gentleman Whip' at Terry's Theatre in the Strand, London under the management of Weedon Grossmith who was also the lessee of London's Vaudeville Theatre from 1894 to 1896. He remained a member of Grossmith's team for more than two years, appearing in 'The New Boy', 'The Ladies' Idol', 'Poor Mr. Potion' and 'The Romance of the Shopwalker'. For the rest of the century he played in light undemanding comedies and other ephemeral productions in the West End.
In 1900 he visited America with E.S. Willard's company. When Wilson Barrett took his company to the United States in 1886, E S Willard who had been one of his actors, remained in England, intent on developing his own company. In 1890 Willard himself went to America and his play was presented at Palmer's Theatre on Broadway, where his acting was rapturously received and reviewed. The success of 'The Middleman' was such that he continued to perform in the United States for four years and regularly returned to perform in the United States where, throughout the decade, he was a huge success on both sides of the Atlantic.
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| Here playing the Canon in 'Bed and Breakfast' with Muriel Aked, Jane Baxter and Richard Cooper |
Between the turn of the century and the First World War, Frederick's roles included Pecksniff in 'Tom Pinch', based on Martin Chuzzlewit (1903), Lord Amersteth in a play based on the 'Raffles' stories (1906), Paul Bultitude in a stage version of 'Vice Versa' and Alexis in 'The Girl in the Taxi (1913). Among his post-war roles were Chancellor Teppich in 'The Prisoner of Zenda' (1923), Mr Cattermole in 'The Private Secretary' (1923), Sir Joshua Grimshaw in 'The Truth Game' in a starry cast including Lily Elsie, Ivor Novello, Lilian Braithwaite, Viola Tree and Glen Byam Shaw (1928), Canon Boase in 'Bed and breakfast (1930) and 'Middle Watch (1931).
Frederick was married to the actress Alice Beet, whom he outlived by two months. He died at his home in Kew, Surrey aged 66 on the 6th of March 1932 and was announced in The Times, on the 8th of March 1932, 'Death of Mr Frederick Volpe',
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2023/06/a-history-of-liverpool-thespians-walter.html
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