How would you describe Jimmie Langton?

Write an essay: «How would you describe Jimmie Langton? Dwell upon his looks and typical behavior. What were the circumstances of Jimmie and Julia’s acquaintance?»

Jimmie Langton is an interesting character. He seems to be a fat man, not young. He’s in his forties, ruddy and bald-headed. Jimmie looks like one of Rubens' prosperous burghers. He has a true passion for the theatre.

He is a superfluous, eccentric, lofty, vain and still a charming guy. The book tells us that he was keen on acting, but he couldn’t play in the theatre by himself because of his physique. He was too much. Being too flamboyant, he tended to broaden his every gesture and overdraw every intonation.

I absolutely loved how he interacted with his actors. Maugham wrote: “His ear was perfect, and though he could not produce the right intonation himself he would never let a false one pass in anyone else.” His actors worked for him a lot starting with rehearsals in the morning and finishing with participating in the evenings’ performances. They laughed at him but at the same time they adored him. They tried to do everything just to please him and comply with all his outrageous demands. I guess Jimmie Langton was held in esteem because of his attitude to work. If he was satisfied with the play he would skip about the stage on one leg but if he was angry he could throw the script down and stamp on it.

Jimmie Langton discovered Julia when she was on tour in a melodrama that had been quite successful in London. He had good time on holiday there, spending it on going every night to the theatre in one town after another. He gave her some compliments and as he was well enough known in the theatrical world she agreed to lunch with him. He told her that she was a genius and offered her a three years’ contract. Julia accepted his offer.