Biography
Robert Alexander Atkins Jr. CBE (10 August 1886 – 9 February 1972) was an English actor, producer and director. Born in Dulwich, London, he trained at Beerbohm Tree's Academy of Dramatic Art and began his stage career in 1906, appearing frequently in Shakespearean roles.
He joined the Old Vic company in 1915 and served as Director of Productions for Lilian Baylis from 1921 to 1926. Atkins co-founded the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre with Sydney Carroll and later directed the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. He produced and directed several Shakespeare adaptations for British television in the 1940s and 1950s.
Atkins appeared in films over five decades, including Peg of Old Drury (1935) as Dr Samuel Johnson, A Matter of Life and Death (1946) as the Vicar, and Black Magic (1949) as King Louis XV. He was married twice, first to actress Mary Sumner and later to film editor Ethel Davey.
