in 1910. His nephews, his sister Sylvia Llewelyn Davies's sons, were the inspiration for Peter Pan and other boy characters of Barrie's fiction. The character of Wendy Darling in Peter Pan shares one of her middle names with du Maurier's daughter Angela, who in later years portrayed Wendy onstage herself. Theatre With Frank Curzon, he co-managed Wyndham's Theatre from 1910 to 1925, and then worked for the St James's Theatre. Knighted during 1922 at the maximum of his popularity, he continued to perform throughout his life. During later years he acted cinema roles such as Lord Camber's Ladies (1932), a German doctor in I Was a Spy (1933), the emperor's valet in Catherine the Great (1934) and, soon before his final illness, Wessensee in the Michael Balcon version of Jew Süss (1934). Du Maurier cigarettes Du Maurier was a regular cigarette smoker, and the du Maurier brand was named after him as a paid endorsement deal (he did not smoke them himself), to which he agreed to help pay taxes owed. Charity work He served as President of the Actors' Orphanage Fund (now the Actors' Charitable Trust) from 1914 to his death, when he was succeeded by Noël Coward. Freemason He joined the Freemasons' Green Room Lodge No. 2957 on 4 November 1904, an actors' lodge which included Leedham Bantock, Fred Terry and George Grossmith Jr. among its members. Death He died on 11 April 1934 of colon cancer, at Cannon Hall, Cannon Place, Hampstead, his home since 1916. A blue plaque has been placed at the house in his memory. His middle daughter Daphne refused to attend his funeral but wrote a biography of him – Gerald: A Portrait – which was published soon after his death. Filmography Selected stage credits Bulldog Drummond with H.C. McNeile (1921) The Dancers by Viola Tree (1923) Behold, We Live by John Van Druten (1932) References and sources References Sources Sir Gerald du Maurier, Actor, Manager and Producer, Obituary, The Times, 12 April 1934 James Harding, "Du Maurier, Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson (1873–1934)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 10 Sept 2007 External links The Admirable Crichton – 1902 production, The Play Pictorial No. XI (1903). Gerald du Maurier at University of Exeter Special Collections 1873 births 1934 deaths English male film actors English male silent film actors English male stage actors English theatre directors Actor-managers English Freemasons