page_title: Walter Bentley (actor)
section_title: Later life and death
hierarchical_section_title: Walter Bentley (actor) / Later life and death
caption_attribution_description: English: Cabinet card image of Scottish actor Walter Bentley (1849-1927), in costume. Cropped version. TCS 1.2342, Harvard Theatre Collection, Harvard University
context_page_description: Walter Bentley was a Scottish actor who specialised in Shakespearean roles and productions. He became popular in his adopted country of Australia for performing and promoting the theatre. He helped found the Australian Actors' Association and established Walter Bentley's College of Elocution and Dramatic Art which later became the Sydney Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
context_section_description: Bentley lived in Sydney where he continued to promote the theatre through his drama school, with speaking engagements and by writing magazine articles. His health deteriorated, resulting in severe depression. He was confined to his bed during his final year and committed suicide on 19 September 1927 by a gunshot to the head. He was cremated at Rookwood Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and a daughter.
caption: Walter Bentley, Harvard Theatre Collection
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