Reginald Denham
Birth date10 January 1894
Birth placeLondon, England
Death date4 February 1983 (aged 89)
Death placeTenafly, New Jersey, U.S.
OccupationWriter
Theatre actor
Film director
Producer
SpouseMoyna Macgill (m. 1919; ended 1924)
Lilian Oldland
Mary Orr (m. 1947)
RelativesTamara Ustinov (granddaughter)

Reginald Denham (10 January 1894 – 4 February 1983) was an English writer, theatre and film director, actor and film producer.

Biography

Reginald H. F. Denham was born in London, England,[1] in 1894.

He spent a good part of his career directing Broadway theatre, with a career spanning from the melodrama Rope's End (1929) by Patrick Hamilton, to the courtroom drama Hostile Witness (1966). In 1930 he produced the First World War drama Suspense in the West End.[citation needed] He began working in the United States in 1943.[2]

Denham's marriage to Irish actress Moyna Macgill ended in divorce in 1924. On November 15, 1924, he married English actress Lilian Oldland.[3] They were divorced, and he married American actress and writer Mary Orr[1] (from 1947 until his death). While they were married, Denham and Orr were writing partners. His daughter with Macgill, Isolde Denham, married actor Peter Ustinov when they were both 19.[citation needed]

Denham's autobiography, Stars In My Hair, was published by Crown Publishers in 1958.[2]

He died following a stroke in Tenafly, New Jersey.[1]

Credits

Writer

Dark Hammock (1957) TV episode (play, with Mary Orr)
Ladies in Retirement (1954) TV episode (play, with Mary Orr)
Help Wanted (1956) TV episode (adaptation, with Mary Orr)
A Dash of Bitters (1954) TV episode (teleplay, with Mary Orr)
Suspect (1952) TV episode (play, with Mary Orr)
  • Mr. & Mrs. North (1952) TV series (unknown episodes)
  • Suspense (4 episodes, 1949–1950)
The Suicide Club (1950) TV episode
Help Wanted (1949) TV episode (with Mary Orr)
Murder Through the Looking Glass (1949) TV episode (teleplay)
Dead Ernest (1949) TV episode

Director

a.k.a. Queen of Crime (USA)
a.k.a. The Vanishing Train (USA: TV title)
a.k.a. Lieutenant Daring R.N.
a.k.a. Death at a Broadcast (USA)
a.k.a. Death of a Broadcast

Producer

Actor

References

  1. ^ "Reginald Denham, 89; playwright€ actor, longtime theatrical director". The Boston Globe. February 8, 1993. p. 61. Retrieved August 23, 2025. – via Newspapers.com
  2. ^ Martin, Boyd (December 9, 1958). "Denham's Biography Out". The Courier-Journal. p. Section 2, page 3. Retrieved August 23, 2025. – via Newspapers.com
  3. ^ "Stage Wedding: Moyna MacGill's former husband marries again". The Weekly Dispatch. November 16, 1924. p. 9. Retrieved August 23, 2025. – via Newspapers.com
  4. ^ "Ohioana-authors.org". www.ohioana-authors.org