Ernest Gianello Milton, who was born in 1890 in San Francisco, played most of the major roles in Shakespeare’s plays with a number of Shakespearean companies such as the Old Vic (1918) and the Royal Shakespeare Company (1962). Early in his career he played Romeo and Bassanio, but it was in 1918 when he joined the Old Vic that he concentrated primarily on parts in Shakespeare. His last role was in 1960 when he played the Ghost and the First Player in Hamlet. These roles were only a part of the many characters he portrayed in a long, busy career on the stage in popular contemporary plays.

In 1938, he performed as Henry IV and Julius Caesar for pioneering BBC adaptations of the two plays. Just a year before, he had played Richard III in his first BBC adaptation. Milton’s credits include sixteen films and television parts between 1920 and 1964. He was married to prolific writer and editor Naomi Royde-Smith from 1926 until her death in 1964.