A.E. Matthews

The venerable British stage and film actor A.E. Matthews was born Alfred Edward Matthews on November 22, 1869 in Bridlington, Yorkshire, England. The actor nicknamed "Matty" established himself on the British and American stage and in British films, taking up the craft after working as a clerk in a London bookstore. He said that after he learned that the great actor Sir Henry Irving (the first thespian to be knighted) had worked at the store, and used the very same desk he did, he decided to dedicate his life to the theater.