Was born in Australia of Scandinavian descent. His father worked at various times as a digger, a mounted police officer and a storekeeper, eventually becoming a well-to-do hotel-proprietor and publican in Melbourne and Sydney.
He was a noted late-19th century and early 20th-century Shakespearean
actor onstage.
Actor-manager and playwright who wrote the libretto for the musical "Chu Chin Chow" which ran for 2238 performances in London (1916-1921) and was filmed twice.
Lost tens of thousands of pounds betting on greyhounds.
On stage in London from 1893 with F. R. Benson Company.
Asche and his wife, the actress Lily Brayton, served as managers of the Adelphi Theatre in 1904 and His Majesty's Theatre from 1907.