Cecil Raleigh (born Cecil Rowlands in England on January 27, 1856) was
an English dramatist and actor whose plays, primarily melodramas, were
quite popular at both ends of the turn of the last century. The son of
a physician, he took up acting with the stage name of Raleigh and
specialized in musical comedy. He quit acting to write plays, both
alone and in collaboration with other well-known dramatists, including
Henry Hamilton,
Augustus Harris and
Seymour Hicks.
Raleigh was married to and divorced Effie Adelaide Rowlands, a
novelist, and then married actress Saba Raleigh. He died on November
10, 1914 in London. Many of his plays, such as his famous 1909
melodrama
The Whip (1928) (co-written with Hamilton) were made into
movies during the silent era.