Gareth Hughes was born John William Hughes in Llanelli on the 23rd of
August, 1894. He left home in 1911 to pursue an acting career in
London, which was when he adopted his stage name. Gareth became a
successful Shakespearean actor and then moved to America, where he
became a silent film actor in the 1920s.
His
success as a silent film actor continued through the 1930s but retired
in 1939 due to ill health. Gareth was baptised in 1941 at
St Athanasius Roman Catholic Church in LA. At first deemed unsuitable
for Holy Orders, he made a second attempt in New York. In the meantime,
he was voice coach to Bette Davis when she appeared in a play by Emlyn
Williams (another Welsh actor, as well as dramatist and writer, who is
thought to have been queer, specifically bisexual.)
He became a lay minister in 1944, which he continued until ill health again forced him to return in 1958, when he also returned to Wales for 8 months. He then returned to California, to an industry retirement home, Motion Picture Country Home, where he was known as Brother David. He died at the home on the 1st of October, 1965.
Gareth Hughes’ fame has by now been almost forgotten, as well as his legacy as ‘Brother David’. He is thought to have been gay and
was one of many gay leading men of his period, and possibly had many
relationships with men before he devoted his life to religion.
‘Gareth Hughes - A Forgotten Legacy’ on Llanelli Community Heritage.
Silent Topics: Essays on Undocumented Areas of Silent Film by Anthony Slide
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