Frederic Lewis Tuffley, better known by his stage name, Eric Lewis, was an English comedian, actor and singer. In a career spanning five decades, he starred in numerous comedies and in a few musical comedy hits, but he is probably best remembered today as the understudy to George Grossmith in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas of the 1880s who left the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company just in time to give Henry Lytton his big break.
Eric Lewis c. 1890
Lewis as Mollentrave, 1905
Lewis as Canton in The Clandestine Marriage, a role he played at charity matinées
Sir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the starring comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1909 to 1934. He also starred in musical comedies. His career with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company spanned 50 years, and he is the only performer ever knighted for achievements in Gilbert and Sullivan roles.
Lytton in 1919
Lytton as Sir Ruthven (Robin Oakapple) in Ruddigore, 1920 revival
Lytton, r, with Walter Passmore in The Earl and the Girl (1903)
The Lord Chancellor