until 1887. He then returned to England to rehearse the new opera, Ruddigore. He gave two matinee performances as Robin Oakapple at the Savoy Theatre and then traveled to New York again to play Robin there with substantially the same troupe that had played in The Mikado in New York in 1885–86. From 1887 to 1890 (with a break in late 1889 to early 1890, when he contracted typhoid fever), he toured playing Bunthorne, Ko-Ko, Sir Joseph, and later the Major General and Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard. Thorne originated the tragic ending for that character, which was later adopted by most portrayers of the role. He said that Point was his favourite of the roles. From 1890 to 1896, Thorne was the principal comedian with a D'Oyly Carte touring company, playing John Wellington Wells in The Sorcerer, Sir Joseph, the Major General, Bunthorne, the Lord Chancellor, King Gama in Princess Ida, Ko-Ko, Jack Point, and the Duke of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers. He also played Bumbo in The Nautch Girl (1892). From 1896 to 1897, he was on the first D'Oyly Carte tour of South Africa, playing his usual roles, as well as Scaphio in Utopia Limited and Rudolph in The Grand Duke. He then toured in Britain in 1898 to 1899. Thorne says, in his memoir Jots (1897), that he had occasions to play the Judge in Trial by Jury, which would mean that he played the leading comic role in all 13 extant Gilbert and Sullivan operas, but he doesn't say when or where. Thorne died in Edlesborough, Bedfordshire at the age of 66. He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London. Playwright and author Thorne wrote several pantomimes, some burlesques, two comic operas, and adaptations of several of Charles Dickens's novels for the stage. He also wrote a volume of reminiscences, entitled Jots (1897). Film Thorne appeared in Tit Willow (1907) British (B&W), a short film directed by John Morland. It was distributed by Walturdaw Company in standard 35mm spherical 1.37:1 format, using the Cinematophone Sound-on-disc sound system (synchronized phonograph recording; Phonoscène). Notes References Introduction by Martyn Green. Jones, Brian (2005). Lytton, Gilbert and Sullivan's Jester. London: Trafford Publishing. External links 1895 review of Thorne's Lord Chancellor Short film of "Tit Willow" 1856 births 1922 deaths People from Chertsey Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery English opera singers 19th-century English singers