 He toured for some years as the title character in F. C. Burnand's "The Colonel" and played many military men.Collette continued acting in London and in the British provinces until 1907, a career of nearly four decades, but he is probably best remembered today for the presence of his musical play "Cryptoconchoidsyphonostomata" on the bill with the historic 1875 premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Trial by Jury".Collette was born in London, the son of Charles Hastings Collette, a solicitor, and his wife, Frances Mary, "née" Sharpe, and the grandson of General Collette of the Madras Cavalry.