He started work in the publishing office of his father, William Joseph Arliss Andrews, but left at age 18 to go on the stage.

Arliss began his theatre career in the British provinces in 1887 and by 1900 was playing London's West End in supporting roles.

Producer George Tyler commissioned Louis Napoleon Parker in 1911 to write a play specifically tailored for Arliss, and the actor toured in Disraeli for five years, eventually becoming closely identified with the 19th-century British prime minister.

Writing in Vanity Fair in 1919, he outlined his plan for a nonprofit called the Theatre Annex, which would allow new plays to be tested under special conditions.

Today, only The Devil, Disraeli, $20 a Week, and The Green Goddess (1923), based on the hit stage play in which he had starred, are known to have survived.

Arliss made 10 sound films exclusively for Warner Bros. under a contract that gave the star an unusual amount of creative control for the time.

Until the end of Davis's life, she credited Arliss for personally insisting upon her as his leading lady and giving her a chance to show her abilities.

Maude T. Howell, his stage manager, became an assistant producer and was one of the few female film executives in Hollywood at that time.

[3] Florence (or "Flo", as George called her) starred both on stage and in films, both silent and sound, with her husband and almost always played his character's spouse.

Arliss is best remembered primarily for his witty series of historical biopics, such as Alexander Hamilton (1931), Voltaire (1933), The House of Rothschild (1934), The Iron Duke (1934), and Cardinal Richelieu (1935).

[5] He and Flo returned to America later that year to visit old friends, including famed astronomer Edwin Hubble in California.

[12] The 1931 short film Impressions of Disraeli was made in England for the Tory Party and was introduced by Stanley Baldwin.