Shayle Gardner
Actor
From a turbulent beginning in Auckland, self-styled adventurer and traveller Shayle Gardner was regularly employed on the British stage, and managed NZ troops’ entertainment during World War I. He also played his part in UK silent film history, starring in Comin’ thro' the Rye and The Three Passions. Gardner also had a short, tantalising stay in Hollywood; but in the end he came to rest in the place of his birth.
Image credit: Alexander Turnbull Library, Eph-A-DRAMA-1922-01 (Detail)
(Gardner), the New Zealand actor, gives, one of the most complete, dominating and human performances ever put on the screen. 1929 review of film The Three Passions, England's Daily Mail newspaper