Life's illusion : the life and times of Frederick Rendell Burnette

Brough, Allanna2025

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Summary

Frederick Rendell Burnette’s life was built on a lie which escalated into a lifetime of lies, fakery and deceit. He was born Samuel John Rendell in 1860, the son of a Dorset blacksmith. When he was a young teenager, he ran away from home to join a travelling minstrel show where he learned the art of leger de main. After perfecting his craft, he performed around the country under the stage name, Professor Burnette, and passed himself off as an Australian Wizard. This included engagements at Fell’s Waxworks in Glasgow, performing alongside human and animal freaks of nature. After many years of disappointments, and never quite managing to make his name in showbusiness, he headed for the bright lights of London where he opened several wax work and freak shops. Burnette continued with his travelling show, abandoning his wife and children in London to such hardship that they ended up in the workhouse. After a bitter court case which was reported in London newspapers, and another court appearance on a charge of fortune telling, Burnette’s reputation was in tatters. Leaving the scandal and gossip of London behind, he made his way to Scotland with his mistress and eventually settled in Glasgow where he opened a freak show and waxwork exhibition shop in Argyll Street. However, Burnette was driven by ambition and went into partnership with Frederick Stewart, a successful exhibition proprietor. Together they established the West of Scotland Electric Theatres Ltd company and opened a roller-skating rink as a money-making venture. This money was used to finance the opening of the Charing Cross Electric Theatre, the very first purpose-built cinema in Glasgow. Burnette became an early pioneer of Scottish cinema, going on to open numerous picture houses in Glasgow. It was within the world of cinema that he found the fame and respect that had eluded him. Ever the showman, his cinemas were often outlandish in their décor and design, known as either palaces or theatres, offering an original experience to audiences. He was finally respected and accepted within the entertainment world. A business syndicate from Campbeltown successfully head-hunted him to become their managing director of a new picture house. Burnette opened his own cinema in Rothesay, where he and his mistress lived for many years. This book uncovers his many exploits, deceptions, scandals and mistakes, as well as his unique and important contribution to early Scottish cinema history.