
 <roup of ComeUtans 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM L. KEESE 
 
 publication^ of l)e SDunlap ocietp. 
 
 f orb, I90i. 
 
This is one of an edition of two hundred and 
 sixty-five copies printed from type for the Dunlap 
 Society in the month of December, 1901. 
 

 HENRY PLACIDE. 
 
GROUP OF COMEDIANS 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM L. KEESE 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE DUNLAP SOCIETY 
 1901 
 
, 
 
 r 
 
 Copyright by 
 
 WILLIAM L KEESE 
 
 1901 
 
PREFACE 
 
 THE group of comedians treated of in these 
 pages are actors of a past generation, but they 
 still live in the memories of many playgoers. The 
 thought will no doubt occur to many that the great 
 Burton might well have been included, and so he 
 would have been had he not been celebrated in my 
 published volume of his life. 
 
 It does not seem needful to dwell here upon such 
 comedians as Henry Placide, William Rufus Blake, 
 John Brougham, George Holland, and Charles 
 Fisher. Their achievements are well known to 
 stage historians, and the rehearsal of them will 
 recall many an hour of past delight, while to those 
 of a younger generation it will be interesting to 
 read a chronicle of the triumphs of what their 
 elders call the "palmy days" of the drama. 
 
 WILLIAM L. KEESE. 
 BROOKLYN, October, 1901. 
 
 M170486 
 
HENRY PLACIDE 
 
1799-1870 
 
 A MONG comedians of the past whose artistic 
 jTTL achievements have conspicuous record in dra- 
 matic annals, there is none whose acting won more 
 unqualified approval from the critics and the pub- 
 lic than that of Henry Placide. 
 
 In general, every comedian has his limitations, 
 and it is too much to expect that equal excellence 
 will attend every impersonation. We know that 
 there are times when the comedian seems to have 
 ill chosen his part, or that the part is not suited 
 to his gifts ; we perceive that our favorite is a little 
 out of his element ; the conviction is brought home 
 to us that there is a lack of affinity here, or the 
 simulation is faulty, or perhaps it is that the acting 
 is perfunctory, owing to lack of interest at all 
 events, whatever the cause, we are disappointed, 
 and we are likely to recall certain other delineations 
 of the comedian in which no such shortcomings 
 could be detected. This is only another way of 
 hinting that though Bottom could discharge Pyra- 
 mus, he might not with equal felicity have dis- 
 charged Thisbe and the Lion. 
 
of Comefciattf 
 
 / It was the happy gift of Placide that he never 
 kindled disappointment and never failed to satisfy. 
 Whatever the character, you felt it was in safe 
 hands and could not be bettered. He was so em- 
 phatically an artist that all his embodiments bore 
 the impress of a master hand. Of course, he had 
 his famous parts and those of less renown, but as 
 he never slighted anything, his artistic sense was 
 manifested in the little as in the great. It was al- 
 ways his way, throughout his repertory, to present 
 a finished picture. The same propriety was visible 
 throughout his range of parts from the lowest to 
 the highest. That anything that was worth doing at 
 all was worth doing well seemed to be his feeling, 
 and his appearance in any cast was a guarantee of 
 thoughtful and painstaking effort. This fidelity 
 to nature gave him enviable distinction, for his 
 
 / versatility was extraordinary. He could present 
 the Fat Boy, in "Pickwick" ; Zekiel Homespun, in 
 the "Heir at Law"; Doctor Caius, in the "Merry 
 Wives"; Dogberry, in "Much Ado"; Doctor Olla- 
 pod, in the "Poor Gentleman" ; Sir Peter Teazle, in 
 the "School for Scandal" ; Silky, in the "Road to 
 Ruin" and as the eye and mind studied these con- 
 trasting pictures of life and manners, the marvel 
 was that one actor was portraying them all, and 
 doing it with such admirable discrimination that 
 one seemed quite as meritorious as the other. 
 
 V This adaptability was due to exceptional powers of 
 
 /observation and a studious consideration of the 
 
character to be assumed; his conceptions were 
 therefore the fruit of thoughtful appreciation, and \s 
 the character to be represented became a clear im- v 
 age in his mind. As to execution, nature had en- 
 dowed him generously. He was of medium height, 
 easy in movement, a face of marked distinction in 
 repose, but with great flexibility of feature, and 
 lighted by expressive dark eyes. His voice was 
 clear and melodious, and his lines were spoken 
 with just emphasis and perfect articulation. His 
 elocution, indeed, was exceptional and distin- 
 guished, and I believe that those who nowadays 
 recall the acting of Placide are quite as likely to 
 dwell on his crisp and distinct utterance as on his 
 delineations of character. Every stage historian 
 that I have read seems to have been so impressed, 
 and Ireland says, in referring to his versatility, that 
 only in voice was he to be recognized. Disguise 
 it as he would, he was sure to betray himself to a 
 familiar ear. But although a familiar ear might 
 detect the same voice in the persons of SYr Har court 
 Courtly and Grandfather Whitehead, all sense was 
 lost in the wonder and delight born of those fa- 
 mous assumptions. 
 
 Much has been said and written of this fine come- 
 dian and admirable man, and there is no dissenting 
 voice with regard to his professional renown and 
 his personal virtues. Held in popular esteem wher- 
 ever known, and long a favorite on the New York 
 stage, he easily and naturally stands first in my 
 
31 
 
 Group of Comedians. I hope my record of his 
 career may open a page of pleasant memory. 
 
 Henry Placide was born in Charleston, South 
 Carolina, September 8, 1799. He was the son of 
 Alexandre Placide, a Frenchman by birth, and his 
 second wife. The profession of the father was 
 that of gymnast and rope-dancer, in which line of 
 performance he was highly accomplished. In com- 
 pany with his first wife, he first appeared in Amer- 
 ica, at the John Street Theatre, New York City, 
 February 3, 1792. Losing his partner, he sought 
 other fields, and in the course of time he became. 
 manager of the Charleston Theatre, South Caro- 
 lina. It was while conducting this enterprise that 
 he married his second wife, Miss Wrighten, daugh- 
 ter of Mrs. Wrighten, the popular vocalist of 
 Drury Lane, known in America as Mrs. Pownall. 
 The sons and daughters of this union were des- 
 tined to perpetuate the name of Placide. They all 
 achieved distinction, and, though outshone by the 
 fame of the elder brother, their names have con- 
 spicuous and honorable record in theatrical history. 
 Those names (besides Henry) are Caroline, Eliza, 
 Jane, and Thomas. Caroline Placide became Mrs. 
 Waring, and subsequently Mrs. W. R. Blake, and 
 as Mrs. Waring was the mother of Mrs. J. W. 
 Wallack, Jr. As Mrs. Blake she was for many 
 years an established favorite with the public. Eliza 
 Placide came early on the stage (indeed, all the 
 Placides were precocious in that respect) and won 
 
^r ntp $Iacibe 
 
 popularity as a vocalist and actress of light parts, 
 but was not specially distinguished. She became 
 successively Mrs. Asbury and Mrs. Mann. Jane 
 Placide began her career as a dancer, progressed 
 to the acting of youthful characters, when, obeying 
 her ambition, she studied for the higher walks of 
 the drama, and eventually became a tragic actress 
 of renown, particularly in the South and West. 
 I believe she never married. Thomas Placide was 
 an acceptable low comedian, and played with suc- 
 cess at most of the theatres of his time, but he was 
 not to be compared with his brother Henry. The 
 brothers often acted together, notably as the two 
 Dromios, in the "Comedy of Errors." It is dis- 
 tressing to note that Thomas Placide, while suf- 
 fering from a cancerous affection, committed sui- 
 cide in the summer of 1877. 
 
 The Anthony Street Theatre, in New York City, 
 is recorded as the scene of Henry Placide's profes- 
 sional beginnings, where, in company with mem- 
 bers of his family, he acted some minor parts as 
 early as 1814. He was then fifteen years of age, 
 and the buds of promise were showing. Earlier 
 than that, however, he probably appeared in some 
 of his father's pantomimes and ballets; and there 
 is, indeed, record of such appearances at the Park 
 Theatre in 1807, and with the Charleston company 
 in Augusta, Georgia, in 1808, where, by the way, 
 his name was first printed in the play-bill, the date 
 being October 14. During the nine years follow- 
 
8 3d <&roup of omctrian0 
 
 ing his performances at the Anthony Street Thea- 
 tre in 1814, he followed the fortunes of the family, 
 playing as circumstances permitted, exercising his 
 musical and other talents of inheritance, adding 
 constantly to his histrionic information, while his 
 faculties were ripening for the career of fame on 
 which he was about to enter. 
 
 This entrance was effected on the evening of 
 September 2, 1823, at the Park Theatre, when he 
 was announced to appear in the characters of 
 Zekiel Homespun, in the "Heir at Law," and 
 Doctor Dablancceur, in the "Budget of Blun- 
 ders." 
 
 Though we do not attach the same importance 
 to the debut of a comedian as to that of a trage- 
 dian (probably owing to the fact that the latter 
 essays the highest task at once, and stands or falls 
 by it), I see no reason why this appearance of 
 Placide should not be deemed an important event 
 in theatrical history. It is true a comedian does 
 not leap into notoriety in one performance, as Gar- 
 rick and Edmund Kean did, but in the case of an 
 actor so eminent as Placide became it is permissible 
 to make emphatic note of a genius that at once 
 asserted itself, and was destined for twenty years 
 to remain almost without a peer in the range of 
 characters he conceived and interpreted. 
 
 I never saw his Zekiel Homespun, but doubt not 
 
 that in his young manhood he was spirited and 
 
 ^interesting in the part, and that his fine face, speak- 
 
HENRY PLACIDE. 
 
ing eye. and alert grace of action Conned a 
 vating personality. At all events, it teems that he 
 at once won the favor of the audience, and con- 
 tinued to grow in popularity until he rivaled the 
 best efforts of the famous HUson and Barnes, who 
 were above htm in position aixi reputation on the 
 Park stage, and finally had the field to himself, 
 having demonstrated his ability to equal and even 
 furpast their chute n impcnOMDOns. The 
 merit of his genius revealed a versatile 
 that was surprising. So keen was his perception/ 
 of human trahs, habits, foibles, and peculiarities/ 
 and so competent and painstaking was his detinev' 
 ation of them, that each character he embodied wasx 
 at once a portrait and a revelation. Such general./ 
 excellence is unusual, and recalls what was said 
 m the beginningthat Ptacide never slighted any- 
 thing. Writing of him at thU period. Ireland says : 
 * < <ii clowns of the broadest Yorkshire; dialect 
 to the most mincing Cockney cit. in the garrulous 
 
 t?*^***l**u*m** AM| *-- l.fl tir.il t.'n * 
 
 rrencnmaM ano ine niun-ureu rjig 
 
 ff lw At ffTlff hi f***.ff FttfefW* f^f ffftwt iVtfWW^tf^^ff I f^f\ j4j"Ml 
 
 man, in the clumsy hobbledehoy or the pathetk 
 childishness of extreme old age, he was equally 
 
 I W^h^^*^ m -*- ^ emmm^ f^^m ^^^^A^h^M^^^ ** *f^ ? m ^ ^^A-^^ m 
 
 at nome an<i cquajiy superior. nts covers a 
 wide range, but it does not say too much. And 
 Ireland is not alone, M I have seen I hlim and 
 Ftrren." said Edwin Forrest, in 1835, "yet I have 
 nothing to alter the opinion which I have long 
 that Henry Phdde is the 
 
 2 
 
43roup 
 
 the stage in his own diversified range." George 
 Vandenhoff, in writing of his first appearance at 
 the Park Theatre in "Hamlet," in 1842, says: 
 "Mr. Placide, the best Polonius and the best actor 
 in his varied line in the country, was the Polo- 
 nius." But I might quote many pages of just such 
 tributes. 
 
 With this recognition and appreciation of his 
 abilities, the comedian pursued his way and became 
 widely known throughout the Union, always the 
 same conscientious artist and never relaxing effort 
 to better what was already so admirable. 
 
 He was a particular favorite in the South and 
 West, and I find many references to him in N. M. 
 Ludlow's interesting volume, "Dramatic Life as I 
 Found It." This history of the rise and progress 
 of the drama in the region of the Mississippi valley 
 is well worth reading, on account of the noted 
 names that appear in Mr. Ludlow's records. At 
 one time or another the most distinguished artists, 
 native and foreign, played engagements at the thea- 
 tres under his management such names as the 
 elder Booth, Macready, Cooper, Forrest, Charles 
 Kean, the elder Wallack, Power, Blake, Barrett, 
 Brougham, and many others familiar to students 
 of the stage. Placide was a prime attraction, and 
 his engagement was looked forward to with eager 
 interest. Mr. Ludlow recalls his first appearance 
 in New Orleans, in 1843, when he acted Grand- 
 
father Whitehead. "Mr. Placide made a great im- 
 pression on his audience in his representation of 
 Grandfather Whitehead, and while he repeated it 
 the receipts were better than those of any other of 
 his nights, and in previous or later years such fine 
 and artistic acting would have filled the theatre 
 for many nights. It was a masterly specimen of 
 acting, and is fixed in my memory among the great 
 gems of histrionic art with which I have met in my 
 long acquaintance with the drama." Grandfather 
 Whitehead was a renowned performance. I re- 
 member well when I first saw it, and how deeply 
 it impressed me. It was a perfect picture of 
 thetic decrepitude, yet still with a suggestion olX 
 dignity, and the mist gathered in many eyes durry' 
 ing the affecting portrayal. 
 
 My playgoing days may be said to have begun 
 when the great Burton established himself in 
 Chambers Street. This was in the summer of 
 1848. At that time Placide had touched the top 
 round of fame, and was in his ripe prime. His 
 Sir Peter Teazle, Sir Anthony Absolute, Sir Har- 
 court Courtly, and Lord Ogleby were acknow- 
 ledged to be unexcelled on this side the water, and 
 there were many kindred delineations that revived 
 the best traditions of Farren, Munden, and Emery. 
 His performances were varied by other examples 
 in his repertory, such as Doctor Ollapod, Colonel 
 Hardy, Sir William Daventry, and others, and his 
 
12 311 4$roup of Comefcian 
 
 famous specialties of Jean Jacques Frisac, Mons. 
 Dufard, Haversac, and Grandfather Whitehead, 
 with an occasional operatic venture, for he was an 
 admirable buffo vocalist, and in earlier years was a 
 frequent performer in that line. His familiarity 
 with the French language made him an expert in 
 those Gallic parts mentioned above, and which 
 now seem to have vanished from the stage. But 
 there must be some recollection still of Frisac or 
 Dr. Caius that will bear witness to his inimitable 
 manner, and to his facile blending of the grave 
 and gay. And, thinking of Frisac, I am tempted 
 to relate a pleasantry of Placide's. The occasion 
 was a supper at Burton's home in Hudson Street, 
 Placide being one of the guests. The drama of 
 "Paris and London," in which Frisac appears, was 
 then playing at the Chambers Street Theatre. 
 Among the wines on the table was a cordial called 
 "Rose," to which he was quite partial. In the 
 course of the repast the bottle passed from his 
 vicinity. Wishing to replenish his glass, he looked 
 about him for his favorite. He did not perceive 
 it, and Burton, noticing his roving glance, s/aid, 
 "What will you have, Harry?" At that moment 
 Placide descried the cordial, and, rising and reach- 
 ing over, he seized the bottle and, holding it up tri- 
 umphantly, sang the lines of Frisac: 
 
 "Ah, Rose, have I found you ? My folly forgive, 
 Or despair will become my grave-digger." 
 
Those who remember Placide in the part can fancy 
 the happy effect of his impromptu assumption of 
 the impressible Frenchman. 
 
 In those days I used to think Placide was equal 
 to anything, but I believe I shall have to make 
 one exception. I never saw him play Captain 
 Cuttle; but with Burton's incomparable portrayal 
 in mind, somehow I cannot imagine any one else 
 playing it but Burton. Possibly, had there been 
 no Burton, Placide would have scored another vic- 
 tory. But really there has been but one Captain 
 Cuttle that stands potentially clear in memory. It 
 was on July 24, 1848, that "Dombey and Son" was 
 produced at Burton's, and about four months later 
 "Edith; or, Dealings with the Firm of Dombey-- 
 and Son" was given at the Park. It may be of 
 interest to note the respective casts. 
 
 BURTON'S (Brougham's version) 
 
 Dombey MR. VARREY. 
 
 Carker " MARSHALL. 
 
 Major Bagstock " BROUGHAM. 
 
 Toots " RAYMOND. 
 
 Walter Gay " DUNN. 
 
 Sol Gills " THAYER. 
 
 Captain Cuttle " BURTON. 
 
 Jack Bunsby " BROUGHAM. 
 
 Edith MRS. A. KNIGHT. 
 
 Mrs. Skewton " HUGHES. 
 
 Florence Miss J. HILL. 
 
 Susan Nipper MRS. BROUGHAM. 
 
31 45r0in> of Comtbiang 
 
 PARK (Walcot's version) 
 
 Captain Cuttle MR. PLACIDE. 
 
 Dombey ' J. GILBERT. 
 
 Carker " C. W. CLARKE. 
 
 Major Bagstock " G. BARRETT. 
 
 Toots " WALCOT. 
 
 Walter Gay " MOORHOUSE. 
 
 Mr. Chick " HENRY HUNT. 
 
 Jack Bunsby " JAMES SCOTT. 
 
 Rob the Grinder " W. B. CHAPMAN. 
 
 Edith MRS. SHAW. 
 
 Mrs. Skewton " J. GILBERT. 
 
 Florence " WALCOT. 
 
 Mrs. Chick " WINSTANLEY. 
 
 Miss Tox " DYOTT. 
 
 Susan Nipper Miss TAYLOR. 
 
 Mrs. Pipchin " GORDON. 
 
 Mrs. Brown MRS. KNIGHT. 
 
 Mrs. McStinger MR. H. HUNT ! 
 
 The Park cast was a surprising distribution, but, 
 says Ireland, "admirable as was the acting of Pla- 
 cide and Walcot, neither of them could stand for a 
 moment against the superlative merit of Burton 
 and Raymond." 
 
 v /^ Placide was not broadly funny, like Burton or 
 x Holland, but he was the owner of a rich vein of ec- 
 y - centric humor which appeared in effective develop- 
 ment in such characters as Ollapod, Frisac, Mons. 
 Dufard, and the Clowns of Shakspere. In Bur- 
 ton's revival of "Twelfth Night" he contributed, 
 as the Clown, greatly to the success and enjoyment 
 
of the comedy. His admirable elocution gave point 
 and vivacity to everything he said, for, indeed, his^. 
 humor was expressed quite as much in felicity of V- 
 utterance as in manner and action. His sense of ^ 
 the comic was disclosed without buffoonery. In v. 
 the scene of the orgy he divided the honors with 
 Burton and Barrett as Belch and Aguecheek, but 
 his humorous cooperation in that ludicrous situa- 
 tion was still governed by his artistic discretion. 
 
 This discretion was a ruling faculty with him, 
 and he had appraised it at its true value. He had 
 begun with it, and he never lost sight of it. A con- 
 sideration of it leads me to the belief that here may 
 be found the reason why his acting offered no 
 points to the imitator; for it is an interesting fact 
 that among the many imitations on record of fa- 
 mous actors by mimetic experts, no attempt was 
 ever made to imitate Placide. I say his acting of- 
 fered no points to the imitator. I mean that he had 
 no mannerisms that would tempt exaggeration nos/,~ 
 peculiarities that could be called Placidean and al- v 
 ways in evidence. He so identified himself with the 
 part assumed that the portrayal was simply a piece /, 
 of natural acting. His own personality was lost J, 
 in the character, so that in fact there was no Pla-' , 
 cide to imitate except, indeed, in the matter of >'/ 
 voice. 
 
 I suppose Placide's fame will rest on his assump- 
 tions of Sir Peter Teazle, Sir Har court Courtly, Sir 
 Anthony Absolute, Sir William Fondlove, and the 
 
l6 % <*5r ou jr of Comcbiang 
 
 like, because they were ripe and finished studies in 
 his repertory and belong to what may be called 
 test-parts ; but it is difficult, when we consider his 
 length of service and his wide and varied range, to 
 pronounce upon the question with certainty. Ire- 
 land says that his list of characters on the Park 
 stage outnumbered five hundred, and that he was 
 the original representative there of more than two 
 hundred. This is a surprising record, and tells an 
 impressive story of thought and application. How 
 few outside of the profession realize the patient 
 thinking and constant toil that have gone to the 
 making of a character which in the ease and felicity 
 of the execution seems to be no study at all ! 
 
 Placide's Doctor Ollapod, Colonel Hardy, Dog- 
 \\berry, Polonius, Farmer Ashfield, Fathom, and 
 others were greatly admired, and there were many 
 other parts he made famous, most of them prob- 
 ably unknown to the present generation of play- 
 goers. His Grandfather Whitehead, Frisac, Mons. 
 Dufard, the Gravedigger in "Hamlet," and the 
 rest, he had undeniably made his own, and no 
 other name is associated with them. 
 
 In the gallery of high comedy* he comes into 
 comparison with Blake and Gilbert, and a more 
 famous trio and one more evenly matched it would 
 be hard to find. If Placide's Sir Harcourt Courtly 
 was inimitable, Blake's Old Dornton was unap- 
 proachable, and Gilbert's Sir Peter Teazle has 
 never been surpassed. These three comedians were 
 
equally great, and their traditions are very much 
 akin. 
 
 "London Assurance" was first produced in Amer- 
 ica at the Park Theatre on October n, 1841, Pla- 
 cide appearing as Sir Harcourt. The impression 
 he made has never been effaced by the performance 
 of any successor. The comedy proved the most 
 popular play of the season. It was cast as follows : 
 
 Sir Harcourt Courtly MR. PLACIDE. 
 
 Charles Courtly " WHEATLEY. 
 
 Dazzle " BROWNE. 
 
 Max Harkaway " FISHER. 
 
 Dolly Spanker " WILLIAMS. 
 
 Mark Meddle " LATHAM. 
 
 Cool " ANDREWS. 
 
 Lady Gay Spanker Miss CUSHMAN. 
 
 Grace Harkaway " CLARENDON. 
 
 Pert . MRS. VERNON. 
 
 Placide's last appearance as one of the stock 
 company at the Park, where he had been enrolled 
 for over twenty years, occurred on November 2, 
 1843, when he played Captain Tarradiddle, in 
 "What Will the World Say," and Grandfather 
 Whitehead. Thereafter he confined himself to 
 limited engagements' as a star there and elsewhere, 
 and after Burton opened in Chambers Street, in 
 1848, he was seen at that renowned temple of the 
 drama nearly every season in a round of his cele- 
 brated parts, the same careful artist as ever and giv- 
 3 
 
18 31 <*Broup of Comebtang 
 
 ing delight to thousands. It was there I first saw 
 him as Colonel Hardy, in "Paul Pry." I hear him 
 now, at 'the close of the comedy, when things had 
 drifted to a happy anchorage hear him saying, in 
 reply to the soothing remark, "Why, Colonel, 
 you 've everything your own way," "Yes, I know 
 
 I have everything my own way; but, it, I 
 
 have n't my own way of having it !" 
 
 In choleric old men Placide was easily a master. 
 All the touches that go toward the creation of a 
 grim, irascible, thwarted, bluff old gentleman he 
 commanded at will. But, indeed, he was master of 
 all the arts that are required in the building of a 
 ^character. He was perfectly familiar with all the 
 J details of theatrical device, and had left unstudied 
 J no trait or peculiarity that would identify him with 
 j the part assumed. But in saying this I am only 
 repeating myself, and I feel there is no need to par- 
 ticularize. His versatility and the universal praise 
 bestowed upon his performances tell the story bet- 
 ter than I can hope to tell it. 
 
 The Winter Garden, New York City, was the 
 scene of Placide's last appearances, in the spring 
 of 1865. He opened in an original piece called 
 "Corporal Cartouche," acting the titular character. 
 He closed his engagement with the "Old Guard" 
 and "Secret Service," playing Haversac and Mi- 
 chael Perrin, parts famous in his hands. This was 
 the comedian's final farewell, and the audience 
 must have been profoundly affected at parting 
 
with an actor who had so long enjoyed the public 
 respect and approval, and whose name was asso- 
 ciated with so many memorable triumphs. 
 
 For many years after his retirement from the 
 Park Theatre, Mr. Placide lived at Babylon, Long 
 Island, where he was highly esteemed and always 
 an object of affectionate interest. He died there, 
 after a protracted illness, on January 23, 1870, in 
 the seventy-first year of his age. This is the record 
 of Ireland. Another record gives the year of his 
 death as 1869, and his age as seventy. For a few 
 years previous to his death he suffered the affliction 
 of partial blindness. 
 
 He married, in 1845, tne daughter of James 
 McBeth, an actor of moderate ability. Miss Mc- 
 Beth was a minor actress and much Placide's 
 junior. He left her handsomely provided for, and 
 a number of relatives were also generously remem- 
 bered. The widow survived him over a quarter of 
 a century, dying at Babylon, Long Island, in the 
 same house where her husband had lived and died. 
 They had no children. 
 
 Contemporary criticism is of one accord as to the 
 qualities and abilities of this great comedian. As 
 has been said, I have encountered no dissenting 
 voice, but the chorus of assent has sounded full 
 and clear. I do not remember any actor who re- 
 ceived so much unmixed encomium. And I think 
 this praise was bestowed in recognition of the con- 
 stancy and self-respect of his life ; the artistic spirit 
 
20 
 
 <*Broiqj of Comebiang 
 
 and exquisite felicity with which he conceived and 
 executed his long line of stage portraits, and the 
 conscientious regard in which he held his profes- 
 sion and his fame. 
 
 J Space will not permit me to set down the many 
 I parts he acted, or to go into detail respecting their 
 N ^ merits. Enough has been said to indicate the wide 
 ^ range of his repertory, and I have tried to say what 
 I thought of his artistic method and of the ability 
 he displayed in giving form to his conceptions. 
 Those now living who remember him will not need 
 an analysis of his powers to add to their recollec- 
 tions. But to the new generation of playgoers and 
 actors it may be well worth while to commend to 
 thoughtful reflection an example so inspiring to the 
 best accomplishment, so marked by the exercise of 
 every faculty, so unwearied in worthy endeavor, 
 and so illumined by high purpose as may be found 
 in the career of Henry Placide. 
 
WILLIAM RUFUS BLAKE 
 
WILLIAM RUFUS BLAKE. 
 
William &ufus 9Slafee 
 
 1805-1863 
 
 THIS comedian, whose fame was second to 
 none on the American stage as a representa- 
 tive of old men, was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 
 in 1805, in which place he is said to have made his 
 debut, acting in a strolling company. His first 
 appearance in America, as recorded by H. P. 
 Phelps in his "Players of a Century," was at the 
 New Constitution Theatre, in North Pearl Street, 
 Albany (formerly the Thespian Hotel), the date 
 being December 29, 1823. The play was "The 
 Stranger." He acted during the winter of 1823 in 
 Albany, playing a round of light comedy parts, 
 with an occasional venture in tragedy; but I find 
 very few particulars in theatrical history of this 
 stage of his career, and regret that I cannot set 
 down his various characters and the casts of the 
 plays in which he acted. He was a captivating 
 fellow, and stories are told of him in which he 
 appears to have been vulnerable to female blan- 
 dishment ; but I don't know how true they are, and 
 they throw no light on his professional advance- 
 ment, unless to suggest that an acceptable lover off 
 23 
 
the boards was quite likely to be an acceptable 
 one on. 
 
 Blake's first appearance in New York was made 
 at the Chatham Garden Theatre, July 12, 1824, 
 when he played Frederick in Colman's "Poor Gen- 
 tleman," and the three-part character in "The 
 Three Singles." He was then, as just said, a hand- 
 some fellow, of graceful bearing and vivacious dis- 
 position, and eminently fitted in person and ability 
 for the young heroes of comedy and melodrama, a 
 line in which he acted with marked success so long 
 as his figure permitted; for nature had decreed 
 that Blake's great fame was not to rest upon his 
 portrayal of the dashing lover or buskined hero, by 
 paving in reserve for him a rotundity of form 
 ^phich, though it might bring joy to an alderman, 
 |vas hardly the ideal physique for the light come- 
 dian. The time came at last when, as Ireland re- 
 marks, "his increasing corpulence warned him that 
 his appearance was ill suited to the dashing cox- 
 comb, silly fop, or sighing lover; and, giving his 
 t attention to the peculiarities of age, he succeeded 
 ;'.in achieving a repute as the representative of old 
 /men, both serious and comic, second to none known 
 ,to the American stage." 
 
 This criticism seems to me entirely just. I can 
 recall no actor of the past, not even John Gilbert, 
 who was superior to Blake in certain lines of old 
 men certainly in the role of tender pathos like 
 Old Dornton, and in the portrayal of a sweetly 
 
IBiHiam ftufug 2>Iafte 2 s 
 
 noble nature framed in venerable simplicity, as in 
 Jesse Rural, he was unexcelled; and it is simply 
 truth to say that with him departed from the stage 
 that unique, all-affecting, wondrous embodiment 
 Geoffrey Dale, in "The Last Man." 
 
 It was February 21, 1848, that Blake first ap- 
 peared in New York as Jesse Rural. This was at 
 the Broadway Theatre, and the comedian had just 
 been announced as stage manager. It was also his 
 first appearance for six years in the city. The cast 
 of "Old Heads and Young Hearts" was as follows : 
 
 Earl Pompion ..................... MR. D. ANDERSON. 
 
 Lord Charles Roebuck ............. " DAWSON. 
 
 Colonel Rocket .................... " VACHE. 
 
 Tom Coke ........................ " FLEMING. 
 
 Littleton Coke ..................... " LESTER. 
 
 Jesse Rural ........................ " BLAKE. 
 
 Bob ............................... " HADAWAY. 
 
 Lady Alice ........................ Miss F. WALLACK. 
 
 Countess Pompion ................. MRS. WINSTANLEY. 
 
 Kate Rocket ....................... " SERGEANT. 
 
 The comedy was repeated a number of nights, 
 and for his benefit Blake added Geoffrey Dale. 
 "The Last Man" was first produced in New York at 
 the Olympic Theatre, a playhouse which owed its 
 origin in part to Blake, and of which he was the 
 first stage manager. The original cast of the 
 drama is given in Laurence Hutton's "Plays and 
 Players," under date of October 9, 1837, and I 
 copy it from his page. 
 4 
 
26 51 tfBtroup of 4tomebian 
 
 THE LAST MAN " 
 October p, 
 
 Geoffrey Dale ................ MR. WILLIAM R. BLAKE. 
 
 (The Miser} 
 Henry Wentworth ........... " COREY. 
 
 (A City Blade} 
 Major Battergate ............. " W. JONES. 
 
 (Of The Brothers' Club} 
 Lawyer Weaver .............. " WESTON. 
 
 (From London} 
 Jacob Codling ................ " NICKINSON. 
 
 (The Miser's Man} 
 Henry Dare .................. " THOMAN. 
 
 David Dare .................. " J. H. KIRBY. 
 
 (Ruffians. Alice Gurton's Nephews} 
 Lucy Dale ................... MRS. CONWAY. 
 
 (The Miser's Niece} 
 Alice Gurton ................ " W. JONES. 
 
 (Old Maid of Eltham} 
 Barbara Gay ................. " BLAKE. 
 
 (Pretty Maid of Kent} 
 
 "London Assurance" followed "Old Heads and 
 Young Hearts," with the following striking distri- 
 bution : 
 
 Sir Harcourt Courtly .......... MR. BLAKE. 
 
 Charles Courtly ............... " G. VANDENHOFF. 
 
 Dazzle ........................ " LESTER. 
 
 Spanker ...................... " DAWSON. 
 
 Lady Gay .................... Miss FANW Y WALLACK. 
 
 Grace Harkaway .............. " ROSE TELBIN. 
 
The Mr. Lester mentioned in the foregoing casts 
 was the future Lester Wallack, who made his first 
 appearance in America at the Broadway Theatre, 
 September 27, 1847, playing Sir Charles Cold- 
 stream, in "Used Up." 
 
 Although Blake's Sir Harcourt had been greatly 
 admired in other cities, in New York it ranked 
 below Henry Placide's. With respect to Jesse 
 Rural and Geoffrey Dale, however, there was no 
 dissenting voice. Nor has the supremacy of those 
 performances been disturbed by any successor. 
 During his engagement at the Broadway, Blake 
 acted Grandfather Whitehead for the first time in 
 New York, a part in which he again came into 
 competition with Placide. 
 
 At the Chatham Garden Theatre, September 23, 
 1824, Blake began his first regular engagement in 
 New York, opening as Harry Thunder, in "Wild 
 Oats." The time came when he was the Ephraim 
 Smooth of the comedy. In the course of the en- 
 gagement many plays were given, among them 
 Sheridan's "Pizarro" and Poole's "Married and 
 Single," Blake acting respectively Alonzo. and 
 Melford, and continuing with the company for an- 
 other season. 
 
 His next engagement was at the Lafayette Thea- 
 tre, in Laurens Street, opening July 6, 1826, with 
 Young Marlow, in "She Stoops to Conquer," and 
 Felix, in "The Hunter of the Alps." The cast of 
 the comedy was as follows ; 
 
28 31 Grotty 
 
 Sir C. Marlow MR. JONES. 
 
 Young Marlow " BLAKE. 
 
 Hardcastle " FISHER. 
 
 Hastings " BERNARD. 
 
 Tony Lumpkin " HYATT. 
 
 Mrs. Hardcastle MRS. FISHER. 
 
 Miss Hardcastle Miss TILDEN. 
 
 Miss Neville MRS. JONES. 
 
 During this engagement Mr. Blake married Mrs. 
 Waring, the widow of Leigh Waring and formerly 
 Caroline Placide, the date being August 26. For 
 his benefit, on September 8 the farce of "Turn Out" 
 was produced, in which the lady made her bow to 
 the public as Mrs. Blake in the character of Marian 
 Ramsay, and the occasion was made specially in- 
 teresting by her husband's appearance as Dr. 
 Truckle in the same play, his first essay in an 
 elderly role. 
 
 It may be mentioned in passing that Mrs. Blake 
 was a charming and capable actress, and won re- 
 nown in a range of varied parts wherein the artis- 
 tic faculty and ready versatility displayed were a 
 constant reminder of the family name she bore. 
 She was long a favorite in New York and else- 
 where, and worthily supported the professional 
 efforts of her husband. 
 
 For several years Blake played engagements at 
 
 V various theatres, acting his range of light comedy 
 
 /and eccentric characters, showing always ability 
 
 ' and comprehension, but with little suggestion of 
 
 V 
 
IBifliam 
 
 the great fame to come. The turning-point had 
 not yet been reached. His name appears on the 
 bills of the Lafayette, Bowery, Chatham Garden, 
 Franklin, and Park theatres, and there were occa- 
 sional starring tours. Sometimes he was engaged 
 to play a special part, and was not always a decided 
 success. At the Park Theatre, in the spring of 
 1838, a humorous dramatization of "Pickwick" 
 was produced, and Blake was engaged to play Sam 
 Weller. The cast is of interest, owing to the fact 
 that both Blake and Placide appeared in it. The 
 drama was performed under the title of "Sam 
 Weller ; or, the Pickwickians." 
 
 Pickwick .......................... MR. CHIPPINDALE. 
 
 Augustus Snodgrass ............... " WHEATLEY. 
 
 Tracy Tupman .................... ISHERWOOD. 
 
 Nathaniel Winkle .................. " FISHER. 
 
 Mr. War die ....................... " CLARKE. 
 
 Alfred Jingle ...................... " RICHINGS. 
 
 Old Weller ........................ " BLAKELY. 
 
 Sam Weller ....................... " W. R. BLAKE. 
 
 Fat Boy ........................... " PLACIDE. 
 
 Miss Rachel Wardle ................ MRS. WHEATLEY. 
 
 Isabella Wardle ................... " RICHARDSON. 
 
 Emily Wardle ..................... Miss CUSHMAN. 
 
 Mrs. Leo Hunter ................... MRS. CHIPPINDALE. 
 
 Mrs. Bardell ....................... " DURIE. 
 
 Ireland, in commenting upon this performance, 
 says Blake "failed to impart the requisite expres- 
 sion to the otherwise irresistible jokes of that ever- 
 
30 31 <*Brou# of Comefciattf 
 
 faithful but extraordinary valet, and consequently 
 gave but little satisfaction in the part." He 
 thought he would have played the Fat Boy much 
 better, though not more effectively, than Placide, 
 who was inimitable. With my recollection of 
 Blake in after life, I can fancy him an admirable 
 Pickwick or Tupman, but not in the least a Sam 
 Wetter. Even Burton failed to carry a realization 
 of Sam to the minds of his audience when he 
 played the part in Chambers Street. Thinking of 
 Dickens, what a Turveydrop Blake would have 
 made! He was once billed for the character 
 at Wallack's in Brougham's version of "Bleak 
 House," but I believe never played it ; why, I know 
 not. 
 
 It was on September 13, 1837, that the Olympic 
 Theatre was opened to the public. The proprie- 
 tors were Messrs. Willard and Blake, the latter 
 caring for the stage management. A poetical ad- 
 dress, written by Mr. E. Burke Fisher for the occa- 
 sion, was delivered by Blake, and received with 
 enthusiasm. The last verse was as follows : 
 
 "Friends of the Drama! pointing skyward now, 
 We ask a wreath to deck the Drama's brow ; 
 Let them no ivy with Joy's laurels twine, 
 No dregs of Sorrow mingle with Mirth's wine 
 We bid you here to laugh, and not to weep ; 
 To wake your mirth, and hush your cares to sleep; 
 This will we do, and trust your smiles to win ; 
 We will pay out, so long as you pay in!" 
 
Jffliam fcufug SWafee 31 
 
 The bill of the evening comprised the farce of 
 "Perfection," "The Lady and the Devil," and "The 
 Married Rake," Mr. and Mrs. Blake appearing in 
 the second piece. For a few months the Olympic's 
 patrons were entertained by divers laughable pieces, 
 when the comedian severed his connection with the 
 theatre, and not long afterwards sailed for Europe. 
 But he left behind him the memory of his cele- 
 brated performance of Geoffrey Dale, already 
 chronicled. His farewell benefit took place at the 
 Franklin Theatre, October 24, 1838, when he ap- 
 peared in that character and in "The Three Singles." 
 
 Of Blake's performances across the water I can 
 find no record. I am not sure that his visit was 
 strictly a professional one, but it is certain that he 
 played a short engagement at the Haymarket in 
 London. This was in 1839, when he had not fully 
 established himself as the representative of the fa- 
 mous old men of the drama. Ten years later, had 
 he played in England, his Old Dornton would have 
 revived recollections of the celebrated Munden, 
 and his Jesse Rural, Sir Peter Teazle, and Sir An- 
 thony Absolute would have won admiration from 
 a London audience. I know not how long he re- 
 mained abroad, but six years elapsed before he ap- 
 peared again in New York. This was at the 
 Broadway, in 1848, when he acted Jesse Rural, as 
 already cited. During the few years after his re- 
 turn from Europe he probably played in other 
 cities and managed theatres, and perhaps was en- 
 
32 91 <&rou of Comebiang 
 
 gaged in study and preparation for the change in 
 ls professional line. For now it was clear that the 
 of Frederick and Young Marlow was over, and 
 reign of Sir Robert Bramble and Old Hard- 
 ^,/tastle had begun. For fifteen years the stage was 
 u to enjoy the boon of a gallery of portraits unex- 
 in artistic and sympathetic portrayal, and 
 has given splendor and importance to dra- 
 annals. 
 
 ^/ Nature had generously endowed Blake for the 
 ^.creation of his masterpieces. He possessed all the 
 ^qualifications requisite for his adopted line, and 
 ^displayed the happiest skill in developing his char- 
 peters. His conceptions were the fruit of obser- 
 ^vation and reflection, and he brought to his intel- 
 Jfcctual limning a keen perception of the informing 
 .traits of his subject. He appreciated the differ- 
 ,/ences and peculiarities that are observable in hu- 
 /man nature, and no detail escaped him that would 
 s/secure verisimilitude for his portrait. Some years 
 ago, in a brief notice of the comedian, I used these 
 words : "The characteristics of Blake's power were 
 a broad heartiness, suggestive sentiment, and elo- 
 quent idealization. These traits informed respec- 
 tively the parts he essayed, and gave to each in turn 
 rare flow of spirit, richness of color, and poetic 
 fervor. For the verbal expression of these salient 
 t/elements, he possessed a tuneful voice, which rose 
 \/or fell as the sway of feeling dictated, and his de- 
 was singularly felicitous in tone and empha- 
 
SDifliatn fiufri 2&Iafte 33 
 
 
 
 
 t^is." I could not say anything better now, but I 
 can add that he was gifted with a delightful hu- 
 mor, which, subtly and delicately expressed, lent , 
 sweetness and charm to many of his impersona- 
 tions. And I think his rotundity of figure, far 
 from acting to his disadvantage, often aided 
 effect of his portrayals by suggesting dignity 
 consequence. 
 
 The first time I saw Blake was in "The Road to 
 Ruin," and the impression he made has never been 
 effaced. I was young, it is true, and sentimental, 
 and easily moved; but my heart tells me that the 
 effect would be the same could I see the actor in 
 the play to-morrow. I have read since of the ex- 
 traordinary sensation produced by the great Mun- 
 den in the part of Old Dornton, but I have an abid- 
 ing faith that the acting of the famous Englishman 
 would have been no revelation to Blake ; and I can- 
 not, indeed, conceive of any added touch that 
 would not have impaired, rather than heightened, 
 the latter's superb delineation. But Blake's por- 
 trayal of the outraged, doting, fond, tender father 
 is, like his Jesse Rural, as fresh in many memories 
 as it is in mine. I shall never forget its pathos 
 and its truth. 
 
 During Blake's engagement at the Broadway in 
 1848, John Brougham's comedy of "Romance and 
 Reality" was produced for the first time on April 
 17. It was highly approved, and had a successful 
 run. The cast was as follows ; 
 5 
 
34 31 Srou of Comebiang 
 
 Asper Manly MR. BLAKE. 
 
 Oliver Manly " VACHE. 
 
 Jack Swift " BROUGHAM. 
 
 Frank Meredith " FLEMING. 
 
 Lavender Kyd DAWSON. 
 
 Tom Badger " HADAWAY. 
 
 Rosabel Miss FANNY WALLACK. 
 
 Barbara Manly MRS. WIN STANLEY. 
 
 Blossom " WATTS. 
 
 For his benefit, a month later, Mrs. Mowatt's 
 comedy of "Fashion" was first given in New York, 
 with the following cast : 
 
 Mr. Tiffany MR. FREDERICKS. 
 
 Colonel Howard " KINGSLEY. 
 
 Count de Jolimaitre LESTER. 
 
 Adam Trueman BLAKE. 
 
 Snobson " HADAWAY. 
 
 Mrs. Tiffany MRS. WINSTANLEY. 
 
 Seraphina " SERGEANT. 
 
 Gertrude Miss F. WALLACK. 
 
 Prudence MRS. WATTS. 
 
 Millinette Miss TELBIN. 
 
 In the next season at the Broadway he was still 
 on the bills, and played a round of parts in con- 
 junction with Henry Placide Placide as Sir Peter 
 Teazle, Doctor Ollapod, and Farmer Ashfield, with 
 Blake as Crabtree, Sir Robert Bramble, and Sir 
 Abel Handy. The public must have been hand- 
 somely regaled by the performances of two such 
 artists. Blake also figured in the bill for the benefit 
 
S&lafec as 
 
 of the American Dramatic Fund Association, given 
 at the Astor Place Opera House on February 8, 
 1849, appearing as Solus, in "Every One Has His 
 Fault," an afterpiece, says Ireland, never better 
 cast in America. Here is the cast : 
 
 Lord Norland .................. MR. J. GILBERT. 
 
 Solus .......................... " BLAKE. 
 
 Sir R. Ramble ................. " WALCOT. 
 
 Harmony ....................... BASS. 
 
 Porter ......................... " W. B. CHAPMAN. 
 
 Miss Spinster .................. MRS. VERNON. 
 
 Mrs. Placid .................... Miss TELBIN. 
 
 Miss Wooburn ---- " ............. " WEMYSS. 
 
 Blake was still stage manager at the Broadway 
 in the fall and winter of 1849-50, and appeared as 
 Lord Priory, in "Wives as They Were," Sir Peter 
 Teazle, Dogberry, Sir Harcourt Courtly, and 
 others, among them Mark Mayberry, in a new com- 
 edy called "Extremes," a satirical play produced 
 for the first time. Its author was a Mr. Sperry of 
 Baltimore. Since it was highly successful and en- 
 joyed a gratifying run, it may be useful to give the 
 cast: 
 
 Ebenezer Oldrich ............... MR. WHITING. 
 
 Mark Mayberry ................ " BLAKE. 
 
 Edward Brian ................. " G. JORDAN. 
 
 Augustus Smiley ............... WHEATLEY. 
 
 Middleman Higgins ............ " W. A. CHAPMAN. 
 
 Allgrieve ....................... " W. B. CHAPMAN. 
 
 Patrick . " SHAW. 
 
Gash Gaskins MR. SKERRETT. 
 
 Mrs. Crosby Miss A. FISHER. 
 
 Mrs. Oldrich MRS. HIELD. 
 
 Virginia Miss HORN. 
 
 Nelly MRS. SKERRETT. 
 
 Purposing to visit New Orleans, Blake withdrew 
 from the stage management of the Broadway in 
 the spring of 1850. His retirement was the occa- 
 sion of a grand complimentary benefit, given on 
 March 20, and the bill embraced many distin- 
 guished names, among them Placide, Blake, Bur- 
 ton, Brougham, Lester, Jordan and Hamblin, and 
 Mrs. Blake, Mrs. Abbott and Mrs. Skerrett. 
 
 At this period Burton's Theatre in Chambers 
 Street was the great popular resort, and Blake, on 
 his return from the South, joined the forces of 
 that renowned house. He opened in the "School 
 for Scandal," with the following strong associ- 
 ation : 
 
 Sir Peter Teazle MR. BLAKE. 
 
 Sir Oliver Surface " BURTON. 
 
 Joseph Surface " BLAND. 
 
 Charles Surface " LESTER. 
 
 Crabtree " T. B. JOHNSTON. 
 
 Sir Benjamin Backbite " G. JORDAN. 
 
 Moses " SKERRETT. 
 
 Lady Teazle MRS. RUSSELL 
 
 (Afterwards Mrs. Hoey). 
 
 Burton's company at that time was particularly 
 strong, and a succession of the standard comedies 
 
JMiiam 6ufu 2Mafee 37 
 
 followed Blake's engagement, presented with a 
 strength of distribution never excelled in this coun- 
 try, and in which Blake's great powers shone re- 
 splendent. Among them was "The Road to Ruin," 
 with the following surprising cast : 
 
 Goldfinch MR. BURTON. 
 
 Old Dornton " BLAKE. 
 
 Harry Dornton " LESTER. 
 
 Milford " G. JORDAN. 
 
 Silky " T. B. JOHNSTON. 
 
 Sulky " BLAND. 
 
 Smith " H. HOWARD. 
 
 Sophia Miss HILL. 
 
 Widow Warren MRS. HUGHES. 
 
 Jenny " SKERRETT. 
 
 It was during this engagement that Dr. North- 
 all's version of "David Copperfield" was produced 
 with a success that almost rivaled that of "Dom- 
 bey and Son." In these days of the dramatization 
 of novels and histories the cast of "Copperfield" 
 may be interesting : 
 
 Micawber MR. BURTON. 
 
 Copperfield " G. JORDAN. 
 
 Steerforth " LESTER. 
 
 Wickfield " HENRY. 
 
 Uriah Heep " T. B. JOHNSTON. 
 
 Traddles " LEVERE. 
 
 Peggotty " BLAKE. 
 
 Ham " BLAND. 
 
 Agnes Miss ALDERMAN. 
 
3 s 31 43roup of Comedian? 
 
 Mrs. Steerforth MRS. HOLMAN. 
 
 Betsey Trotwood " HUGHES. 
 
 Rosa Dartle " RUSSELL. 
 
 Mrs. Micawber " SKERRETT. 
 
 Mrs. Gummidge " HENRY. 
 
 Emily Miss HILL. 
 
 Martha " WESTON. 
 
 Blake's Peggotty was a touching piece of acting, 
 and Burton's Micawber was simply inimitable. 
 
 Blake played with Burton for another season, 
 played later at Niblo's, and then joined the elder 
 Wallack at the theatre formerly known as Brough- 
 am's Lyceum, where, with the brilliant company 
 gathered there, he was seen in all his familiar and 
 famous parts and many new ones among them 
 Baron Bluff enbach, in Brougham's comedy of "My 
 Cousin German"; Lemon Sowerby, in "Sons and 
 Systems" ; Bouret, in Lester's comedy of "Two to 
 One ; or, the King's Visit" ; De Gournay, in a new 
 drama from the French, known as "Like and Un- 
 like ; or, the Sisters" ; and Plaskwith, in a drama- 
 tization of Bulwer's "Night and Morning." He 
 remained with Wallack until the fall of 1855, when 
 he again directed the stage of the Broadway Thea- 
 tre, returning later to Wallack's, where, for Lester's 
 benefit, he gave his admirable performance of Dr. 
 Primrose, in "The Vicar of Wakefield," and 
 Roundhead, in "How to Grow Rich." During this 
 engagement Agnes Robertson made her great suc- 
 cess as Jessie Brown, in Boucicault's drama of 
 
JteiHtam fcufttg 25Iafte 39 
 
 the "Relief of Lucknow," Blake playing David 
 Blunt. 
 
 It is not needful to lengthen this record of the 
 comedian's performances. At a later date he sup- 
 ported Charlotte Cushman at Niblo's, and played . 
 engagements at Burton's New Theatre and at LauraX 
 Keene's Theatre, on which last stage he acted Nick^ 
 Bottom, in an elaborate revival of "Midsummer, 
 Night's Dream"; and he crowned his career with 
 a long association with Wallack when that experi- 
 enced manager moved to Broadway and Thirteenth 
 Street. There, with powers unabated, he confirmed 
 his supremacy in his chosen line of representation. 
 
 It was at Laura Keene's Theatre, in 1863, that 
 Blake was seen as Jesse Rural for the last time; 
 and at the same theatre, April 16, 1863, he made 
 his last appearance in New York, playing, for his 
 benefit, Sir Anthony Absolute and Geoffrey Dale. 
 
 Sixteen days after this performance he was taken 
 suddenly ill at Boston, and died on April 22, 1863, 
 having acted Sir Peter Teazle the night before. 
 The news of his death came with startling sudden- 
 ness to his friends and admirers in New York, and 
 sincere sorrow mingled with the realization of the 
 loss the stage had sustained. It was felt that a 
 great actor had passed away, and that never more 
 would be viewed those wondrous delineations that 
 had so filled the mind and compelled admiration. 
 The funeral services were held at the Wainwright 
 Memorial Church in Hammond Street, where a 
 
40 
 
 multitude gathered to pay the last tribute of feeling 
 and respect. He was buried in Greenwood Ceme- 
 tery on April 26, 1863. 
 
 WILLIAM RUFUS BLAKE has passed into stage his- 
 tory as one of the great comedians. In certain of 
 his impersonations he was without a peer, and in 
 others, not so indisputably his own, he was not 
 often surpassed. Mr. Hutton thinks that he was 
 probably the best Sir Peter Teazle we ever had in 
 America. There are those who believe that John 
 Gilbert was a better Sir Peter. Blake's Sir Har- 
 court Courtly was not so well liked as the Sir Har- 
 court of Henry Placide; perhaps Placide fell be- 
 low the traditions of Farren. But it is idle to 
 compare such artists as these. Each was great in 
 his own great way. Placide, Blake and Gilbert will 
 always stand together, a mighty trio, and as often 
 as the plays are produced which contain their fa- 
 mous characters, their names will be recalled and 
 the traditions of their triumphs recited. 
 
 IT is forty years since I sat under the spell of 
 Blake, yet even as I write these lines the form and 
 face come back I see the eloquent play of fea-v 7 
 ture, the expressive gesture ; I hear the voice, so y 
 melodious and full of feeling ; I smile at each ver-^/ 
 bal felicity, and bask in the glow of humor ; the v 
 whole man is before me in all his power and charm, 
 and the spell is again cast by the boon of memory. 
 
JOHN BROUGHAM 
 
JOHN BROUGHAM, 
 
1810-1880 
 
 r I A HIS comedian, so well remembered as actor 
 i and man, was born in Dublin, May 9, 1810. 
 He came of excellent parentage, and in early boy- 
 hood gave signs of artistic feeling and a fondness 
 for theatrical representation. He studied at home 
 and at college, but the study was meagre; yet in 
 some way knowledge was gained perhaps by "ab- 
 sorption," as he explained the matter. He drifted 
 into private theatricals, and is said to have been 
 afflicted with stage fright, a statement which, re- 
 calling his easy nonchalance in after life, we read 
 with a smile of incredulity. Certainly he got 
 bravely over it. He tried surgery, and for family 
 reasons gave it up; then applied for a cadetship, 
 from which he was dissuaded; and finally (1830) 
 got a footing in the Queen's Theatre in London, 
 where his theatrical career may be said to have 
 begun. Later he became one of Madame Vestris's 
 company at the Olympic, and continued with her 
 when she and Charles Mathews managed Covent 
 Garden. He used his vacations in touring the 
 43 
 
44 21 4$t0ti9 
 
 provinces, for the sake of practice, on which trips 
 he played everything. 
 
 He now began to employ his pen, and wrote a 
 burlesque for Burton, who was then acting at the 
 Pavilion Theatre. This was his first attempt at 
 composition. It was poor enough, he says, but 
 somehow made a success. He wrote many other 
 things "numberless forgotten nothings." He 
 tells us he wrote "London Assurance" in conjunc- 
 tion with Dion Boucicault, "who claimed the entire 
 authorship, according to his usual ungenerousness. 
 Had to bring an action against D. B., whose legal 
 adviser suggested payment of half the purchase 
 money, rather than conduct so damaging a case." 
 In 1840 he managed the Lyceum Theatre, which 
 ended in failure, as did most of his managerial 
 enterprises. 
 
 Brougham came with his wife to New York in 
 1842, and appeared at the Park Theatre on Octo- 
 ber 4 of that year. One account says that he 
 opened as Dazzle in "London Assurance," but he 
 says himself that the play was "Love's Sacrifice," 
 in which Mrs. Brougham played Margaret Elmore 
 and he the light comedy part. The accounts agree, 
 however, that he appeared as O'Callaghan in "His 
 Last Legs," and made a decided hit. The engage- 
 ment brought Mr. and Mrs. Brougham forward in 
 a variety of parts, and justified Ireland's remark 
 that their advent was "another addition of great 
 importance to the New York stage." Brougham 
 
Sfogn 2&rougf)am 45 
 
 speedily won gratifying popularity by the versatil- */ 
 ity of his performances, and especially by his Irish* 
 delineations, which were thought by many to be/ 
 equal to the best efforts of Power. i 
 
 The following is the cast of "Love's Sacrifice" 
 as first produced in America : 
 
 Matthew Elmore MR. BARRY. 
 
 Paul Lafont " ABBOTT. 
 
 Eugene Delorme " C. W. CLARKE. 
 
 St. Lo " BROUGHAM. 
 
 Friar Dominic " BELLAMY. 
 
 Jean Ruse " FISHER. 
 
 Du Viray " S. PEARSON. 
 
 Morluc " FREELAND. 
 
 Margaret Elmore MRS. BROUGHAM. 
 
 Flerminie de Vermont Miss BULOID. 
 
 Manon MRS. WHEATLEY. 
 
 Jenny " VERNON. 
 
 A second engagement was entered into with the 
 Broughams, and in the course of it was produced 
 a new comedy by Boucicault entitled "Alma Mater ; 
 or, Life in Oxford." As this play is not widely 
 known, I give the cast, which was deemed power- 
 ful at the time : 
 
 Count Pave MR. BROUGHAM. 
 
 Sir Samuel Sarcasm " PLACIDE. 
 
 Gradus " ABBOTT. 
 
 Pliant " FISHER. 
 
 Major O' Gorman " A. ANDREWS. 
 
 Flick . " W. H. WILLIAMS. 
 
46 gi 5roup of Cometrtang 
 
 Dactyl MR. BELLAMY. 
 
 Wildfire " C. W. CLARKE. 
 
 Somerset Venture " LOVELL. 
 
 Pro Proctor " POVEY. 
 
 Widow Venture MRS. WHEATLEY. 
 
 Lilly Venture " BROUGHAM. 
 
 j' Surely a more attractive personality than that 
 ^presented by Brougham at this time can hardly be 
 
 v ' imagined. Young, handsome, and vivacious, there 
 
 v <was a charm in his manner and a contagion in his 
 
 " ; flow of spirits that filled his audience with delight- 
 ful expectancy. His geniality of disposition soon 
 
 established terms of kindly consideration, and it 
 was seen that here was a nature at once buoyant 
 
 and lovable. The popularity he then won con- 
 
 Hinued throughout his long career. 
 
 It was quite natural that Brougham should suc- 
 ceed in the Irish drama. He had a native relish 
 for Irish character, and was familiar with its many 
 phases, and his mother-wit and captivating readi- 
 ness aided him greatly in his portrayals. Had he 
 given special attention to this field, I see no reason 
 why he should not have rivaled Power ; but he was 
 
 sitoo versatile to be confined to one line of parts. 
 As a matter of fact, he played anything that had 
 
 4he promise of artistic success in it, and soon ac- 
 
 4[uired an extensive repertory. 
 
 An extended starring tour followed the engage- 
 ment at the Park, during which Brougham added 
 to his fame and to his purse. He played in the 
 
5foljn 
 
 West and Southwest, and there are favorable no- 
 tices of his performances given in N. M. Ludlow's 
 "Dramatic Life as I Found It," a valuable history 
 of the rise of the drama in the Mississippi valley. 
 He was not so successful, however, in holding on 
 to his profits as he might have been, and when he 
 returned to New York he was a poorer, if a wiser 
 man. He secured fresh engagements, and pro-/ 
 duced at the Broadway Theatre, with gratifyingV. 
 success, his comedy of "Romance and Reality. V 
 Shortly after he joined Burton in Chambers Street v / 
 as his stage manager, and wrote for that house a / 
 number of plays, among them his version of "Dom-y^" 
 bey and Son," in which Burton made such a hit as i 
 Captain Cuttle. The drama was first produced 
 July 24, 1848, with the following cast : 
 
 Dombey MR. VARREY. 
 
 MARSHALL. 
 
 BROUGHAM. 
 
 RAYMOND. 
 
 DUNN. 
 
 THAYER. 
 
 Captain Cuttle " BURTON. 
 
 Jack Bunsby " BROUGHAM. 
 
 Edith MRS. A. KNIGHT. 
 
 Mrs. Skewton " HUGHES. 
 
 Florence Miss J. HILL. 
 
 Susan Nipper MRS. BROUGHAM. 
 
 Notwithstanding the immediate success of Bur- 
 ton, Brougham, Raymond, and Mrs. Hughes, the 
 
 Carker 
 
 Major Bagstock 
 
 Toots 
 
 Walter Gay .... 
 Sol Gills ' 
 
48 
 
 piece was withdrawn for improvements. It was 
 reproduced a fortnight later, and ran through the 
 entire season. As a matter of curiosity, I give the 
 revised cast: 
 
 Dombey .' ......................... MR. NICKERSON. 
 
 Carker ............................ " G. JORDAN. 
 
 Major Bagstock ................... " BROUGHAM. 
 
 Toots ............................. " RAYMOND. 
 
 Sol Gills .......................... " MARSHALL. 
 
 Walter Gay ....................... " GRACE. 
 
 Captain Cuttle .................... " BURTON. 
 
 Jack Bunsby ...................... " BROUGHAM. 
 
 Brogley ........................... " HAMILTON. 
 
 The Native ....................... " C. T. PARSLOE. 
 
 Rob the Grinder .................. " REA. 
 
 Florence .......................... Miss NICKINSON. 
 
 Edith ............................. MRS. A. KNIGHT. 
 
 Mrs. Skewton ..................... " VERNON. 
 
 Susan Nipper ..................... " BROUGHAM. 
 
 Flowers ........................... Miss WILLIAMS. 
 
 The Dombey, the Carker, and the Florence were 
 great improvements. I cannot guess why Mrs. 
 Vernon was substituted for Mrs. Hughes ; the lat- 
 ter was deemed admirable. For the rest, they were 
 satisfactory. But the great Edith and the great 
 Susan Nipper were yet to come in the persons of 
 Mrs. Russell (afterwards Mrs. Hoey) and Miss 
 Caroline Chapman. That capital comedian T. B. 
 Johnston succeeded Raymond as Toots, but Ray- 
 mond, I believe, never was equaled. As to Brough- 
 am's Bunsby and Bagstock, he invested the oracu- 
 
Sloljtt 25rousfiam 49 
 
 lar utterances of the tar and the roughness and 
 toughness and devilish slyness of the Major with 
 a humor and spirit all his own. 
 
 In this same year, on November 13, Charles 
 Walcot's drama of "Edith; or, Dealings with the 
 Firm of Dombey and Son" was produced at the 
 Park, then managed by Mr. Hamblin. The play 
 was elaborately staged, and presented with a cast 
 so extraordinary that I give it for the sake of pre- 
 serving the record : 
 
 Captain Cuttle MR. PLACIDE. 
 
 Mr. Dombey " J. GILBERT. 
 
 Mr. Carker " C. W. CLARKE. 
 
 Major Bagstock " G. BARRETT. 
 
 Mr. Toots " WALCOT. 
 
 Walter Gay MOORHOUSE. 
 
 Mr. Chick " HENRY HUNT. 
 
 Jack Bunsby " JAMES SCOTT. 
 
 Rob the Grinder " W. B. CHAPMAN. 
 
 Edith MRS. SHAW. 
 
 Mrs. Skewton " J. GILBERT. 
 
 Florence " WALCOT. 
 
 Mrs. Chick " WINSTANLEY. 
 
 Miss Tox " DYOTT. 
 
 Susan Nipper Miss TAYLOR. 
 
 Mrs. Pipchin " GORDON. 
 
 Mrs. Brown MRS. KNIGHT. 
 
 Mrs. McStinger MR. H. HUNT ! ! 
 
 Notwithstanding this array of talent, its run was 
 but brief. The public interest felt in Brougham's'/ 
 story as acted at Burton's was not lessened. Even , 
 7 
 
5 3d 45roup of ComcDtana 
 
 Placide and Walcot were not to be compared with 
 
 Burton and Raymond. Mr. Gilbert was fine in 
 
 Dombey, and Mary Taylor as Susan Nipper was 
 
 surpassed only by Miss Chapman. It was said that 
 
 Mrs. Shaw, as Edith, in acting and in appearance, 
 
 should alone have carried the drama to victory. 
 
 , . But, on the whole, the Chambers Street production 
 
 I was the popular success. 
 
 Brougham remained two seasons with Burton, 
 during which time he was frequently on the bills 
 ,in old and new characters, and many of his own 
 ^pieces were performed, among them another chap- 
 ter from "Dombey and Son" entitled "The Capture 
 * of Captain Cuttle," and a drama from Thackeray's 
 "Vanity Fair," cast as follows : 
 
 Sir Pitt Crawley MR. T. JOHNSTON. 
 
 Mr. Pitt Crawley 
 
 Rawdon Crawley 
 
 Joe Sedley 
 
 Lord Steyn , 
 
 Mr. Sedley 
 
 Major Dobbin . . . 
 Major O'Dowd . . 
 
 MORTIMER. 
 
 BROUGHAM. 
 
 BURTON. 
 
 MEARS. 
 
 HAMILTON. 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 REA. 
 
 Miss Crawley MRS. VERNON. 
 
 Mrs. O'Dowd " BROUGHAM. 
 
 Amelia Sedley " A. KNIGHT. 
 
 Rebecca Sharp Miss CHAPMAN. 
 
 Burton was prevented by an accident from ap- 
 pearing, which was a great disappointment. Miss 
 Chapman carried off the honors of the play. On 
 
5 1 
 
 December 3, 1849, Morris Harriet's comedy of "The 
 Serious Family" was produced for the first time , 
 in America. As Captain Maguire was one ol/ 
 Brougham's most admired performances, I give/ 
 the original cast : 
 
 Aminidab Sleek MR. BURTON. 
 
 Charles Torrens " C. W. CLARKE. 
 
 Captain Maguire " BROUGHAM. 
 
 Frank Vincent " LEACH. 
 
 Lady Sowerby Creamly MRS. HUGHES. 
 
 Mrs. Charles Torrens " J. RUSSELL. 
 
 Mrs. Delmaine Miss C. CHAPMAN. 
 
 Emma Torrens " HILL. 
 
 Somebody has said of Brougham in this partv 
 that it fitted him like his skin. All his engaging, 
 qualities were exhibited in the portrayal, and his v 
 dash and elegance, coupled with an audacious hu- v ,- 
 mor and unflagging spirit, delighted his audience 
 beyond measure. The colloquies between Sleek 
 and Maguire were an entertainment in themselves. 
 It may not be amiss here to refer to Brougham's 
 extemporaneous fluency, which he tells us was de- / 
 veloped during the run of this piece. He was al- 
 ways called out for a speech at the end, and always 
 answered the call and delivered himself felicitously. 
 On one occasion Burton came on and interrupted 
 the speech, and a war of words followed. After 
 that the audience demanded the interruption every 
 evening. 
 
It was really a great treat to see Burton and 
 Brougham together. The two actors were so 
 ready, so full of wit, so alive to each other's points 
 and byplay, that any fanciful interpolation in the 
 text or humorous impromptu by the one was in- 
 : stantly responded to by the other, and the house 
 was often thrown into convulsions of merriment 
 by these purely unpremeditated sallies. This was 
 notably the case in the afterpiece of "An Unwar- 
 rantable Intrusion" committed by Mr. Brougham 
 upon Mr. Burton when in the tag the comedians 
 suddenly assumed their own persons, and, address- 
 ing each other by their proper names, engaged in 
 a droll colloquy respecting the dilemma of having 
 nothing to say to conclude the piece ; and each sug- 
 gesting in turn something that ought to or might 
 be said to an audience under such peculiar and dis- 
 tressing circumstances, the audience meanwhile in 
 a state of hilarious excitement, drinking in every 
 sparkling jest and repartee, and wishing the flow 
 of humor would last forever. 
 
 \j Brougham undertook the management of Niblo's 
 ,j Garden after leaving Burton, and produced there 
 several of his plays. His next venture was 
 Brougham's Lyceum, which he opened in Decem- 
 ber, 1850. He actively employed his powers here 
 as actor and author, producing among other things 
 a dramatization of Dickens's "David Copperfield," 
 in which he was admirable as Micawber. He also 
 adapted "The Actress of Padua" for Charlotte 
 
3[oi)n SSrougljam S3 
 
 Cushman. The business was prospering when 
 some question arose respecting the safety of the 
 building, and in the end he became the victim of 
 sharp dealing, was forced to give up the thea- 
 tre with a heavy debt to bear, which it cost him 
 years of labor to discharge. He then went to the 
 Bowery, and produced "King John" on a scale of 
 splendor never before attempted in New York, but 
 it resulted in financial failure. To recoup himself, 
 he energetically set to work and wrote and put on 
 the stage drama after drama of a sensational cast, 
 such as "The Pirates of the Mississippi," "The 
 Gunmaker of Moscow," "Tom and Jerry in New 
 York," and others, all meritorious pieces, but the 
 pecuniary success was not great. Relinquishing 
 the reins of management, he joined the company of 
 the elder Wallack, who had installed himself in the 
 late Brougham's Lyceum at Broadway and Broome 
 Street. This was a wise move, for his associa- 
 tions were agreeable in every way; he was well 
 paid, and his talents fully appreciated. His name 
 was conspicuous on the bills, and he appeared in 
 most of his favorite parts, to the delight of the 
 Wallack audiences. Many of his best plays were 
 produced during this engagement "The Game of, 
 Love," "The Game of Life," "Bleak House," "A 
 Decided Case," "The Ruling Passion," "Playing 
 with Fire," and his surprising burlesque "Poca- 
 hontas." 
 
 This extravaganza, first acted at Wallack's, took 
 
54 3d 43roup of 4Tomcbtan0 
 
 the town by storm, and its bons-mots, local hits, 
 and trenchant witticisms were on the lips of every- 
 body. In structure, idea, and treatment of theme 
 it was a triumph of wholesome mirth, and a strik- 
 ing exhibition of the author's witty invention. To 
 this day old playgoers revel in their recollec- 
 tions of Brougham and Walcot in their respective 
 parts. Even now, the present writer seems to hear 
 once again the tuneful voice of Brougham in his 
 capital smoking-song set to the air of " Widow 
 Machree" : 
 
 "Oh, wid a dhudieen I can blow away care, 
 
 Oh hone, wid a dhudieen! 
 
 Black thoughts and blue devils all melt into air, 
 Oh hone ! wid a dhudieen ! 
 
 If you 're short any day, 
 
 Or a note have to pay, 
 
 And you don't know the way, 
 
 To come out of it clean ; 
 
 From your head and your heart 
 
 You can make it depart, 
 Oh hone ! wid a dhudieen !" 
 
 The printed text of "Pocahontas" is rather a lit- 
 erary curiosity. The word-plays are innumerable, 
 and every point is so indicated that the page is 
 fairly peppered with italics. And there are some 
 very excellent puns. For instance, Smith's life is 
 in danger, and he asks permission to say a few last 
 words, to which request Powhatan replies : 
 
ss 
 
 "We 're tied to time, and time and tide won't wait, 
 You must die early so you can't dilate!" 
 
 Combinations as happy are of frequent occurrence 
 throughout the play. 
 
 After several seasons with Wallack, he was seen 
 at Burton's New Theatre, where he remained until 
 he sailed for Europe in 1860. While with Burton 
 he produced several plays, among them his bur- 
 lesque of "Columbus," a companion picture to "Po- 
 cahontas," and the amusing piece "This House to 
 be Sold." He remained five years abroad, acting at 
 various theatres and adapting and constructing 
 plays for artists in his profession. Returning to 
 America in 1865, he opened in a three months' en- 
 gagement at the Winter Garden Theatre, acting a 
 round of his well-known and favorite parts. Later 
 he appeared at the Olympic and Wallack's, and 
 produced at the last-named theatre his own drama 
 of "The Lottery of Life," which had a gratifying 
 run of nine weeks. In 1869 he opened Brougham's 
 Theatre, which was his last essay at management, 
 for through the owner's treatment of him he was 
 obliged to close it after a season of ten weeks. 
 During that time, however, he gave to the public 
 his capital burlesque of "Much Ado About a Mer- 
 chant of Venice," one of the best of his efforts in 
 that line of composition. 
 
 He acted the burlesque Shylock on the last night 
 at this theatre, and made a touching and witty 
 
31 <*Sroup 
 
 farewell speech at the close. A banquet in his 
 honor was given at the Astor House on the night 
 following the closing of his theatre, at which Mr. 
 Charles Stetson presided, and many leading mem- 
 bers of the profession spoke in his praise, and at 
 which was laid the foundation of a benefit for him, 
 which occurred on May 9 following. There were 
 two performances given, one at Niblo's Theatre in 
 the afternoon, and one in the evening at the theatre 
 since known as Haverly's. The afternoon per- 
 formance was "The School for Scandal," and very 
 strikingly cast : 
 
 Sir Peter Teazle ............ MR. JOHN GILBERT. 
 
 Sir Oliver Surface .......... " JOHN BROUGHAM. 
 
 Joseph Surface ............. " NEIL WARNER. 
 
 Charles Surface ............ " EDWIN ADAMS. 
 
 Crabtree ................... " A. W. YOUNG. 
 
 Sir Benjamin Backbite ...... " OWEN MARLOWE. 
 
 Rowley .................... " T. J. HIND. 
 
 Moses ..................... " HARRY BECKET. 
 
 Trip ....................... " J. C. WILLIAMSON. 
 
 Snake ..................... " FRANK RAE. 
 
 Careless ................... " J. W. COLLIER. 
 
 Sir Harry Bumper .......... " R. GREEN. 
 
 Lady Teazle ............... MRS. D. P. BOWERS. 
 
 Maria ...................... Miss PAULINE MARKHAM. 
 
 Lady Sneerwell ............ MRS. JOHN SEFTON. 
 
 Mrs. Candour .............. Miss FANNY MORANT. 
 
 During his later years he played at Wallack's 
 and Daly's, and made a few professional tours, but 
 ill health began to tell upon him, and he grew 
 
57 
 
 weary of his professional labors. Happily, a series 
 of performances for his benefit secured him an an- 
 nuity which eased the burden of his declining days. 
 His last appearance on the stage was at Booth's 
 Theatre, October 25, 1879, when he acted Felix 
 O'Reilley in Boucicault's play of "Rescued." He 
 died June 7, 1880. 
 
 Brougham was twice married. His first wife 
 was Miss Emma Williams, a woman of great 
 beauty, whom he married in 1838. She died in 
 1865. His second wife was Miss Annette Nelson, 
 whom he married in 1847. She died in 1870. 
 They were both actresses. 
 
 JOHN BROUGHAM was admired as a comedian and 
 loved as a man. His traits of character were such 
 as to win and hold many friends. He was gentle,v 
 considerate and generous. He was buoyant in 
 nature, genial in disposition, and possessed those 
 qualities of mind and heart that create and endear 
 companionship. Many affectionate friends have 
 left on record their estimate of his intellectual 
 powers, his manliness and his worth. His mem- v 
 ory is fragrant with noble and loving deeds. 
 
 As a comedian, for nearly forty years he was in \ 
 the public eye, and contributed to the amusement v 
 and instruction of thousands. He was a most in- 
 dustrious man, as his long list of writings suffi- 
 ciently attests. Over seventy-five plays of one kind 
 or another were the product of his intellectual en- 
 8 
 
, er gy> and many of his dramas hold the stage to- 
 y.day. His versatility was remarkable, as well in 
 - v / his compositions as in his acting. As a writer of 
 burlesque, he was unmatched in his generation, 
 and no successor has thus far appeared. When I 
 first saw him at Burton's Theatre in the early fif- 
 ties he had entered on his career of popularity, and 
 was acting Bagstock and Bunsby in his own "Dom- 
 bey and Son," and Captain Maguire in "The Se- 
 rious Family." He won my admiration and affec- 
 tion from the start, and Brougham has remained a 
 favorite figure in my recollections of the stage. 
 Not long after his death, in a slight sketch I said 
 
 r him: "His inexhaustible flow of spirits, in his 
 t days, pervaded all his acting and invested the 
 st unattractive part with an alluring charm, as 
 ny a prosaic spot in nature becomes enchanted 
 land by the music of falling waters. Add to this 
 exuberant vitality a rich endowment of mother- 
 wit, a bright intelligence, keen sympathy and ap- 
 preciation, and rare personal magnetism, and you 
 have before you 'glorious John,' whose hearty voice 
 /it was always a pleasure to hear, and whose face, 
 I/beaming with humor, was always welcomed with 
 , / delight." I could not better these words now. 
 
 On the day of his funeral the following verses 
 were published in the New York "Commercial Ad- 
 vertiser." They were written by Henry Morford, a 
 poet and journalist of New York, and are so feeling 
 and sincere a tribute that I give place to them here. 
 
59 
 
 GOOD JOHN BROUGHAM 
 
 By HENRY MORFORD 
 
 Calmly and peacefully went away 
 
 One of earth's good fellows, two days ago ; 
 A man who was moulded of finest clay 
 
 While so many are red-brick mud or dough! 
 A man with a red-blood-throbbing heart, 
 
 Who felt for his brothers in joy or pain, 
 And who knew no nobler office for art, 
 
 Than calming a pulse or soothing a brain. 
 
 Good! good John Brougham! Let the record stand, 
 
 Though many a stain from his earthly kin 
 May have marred his life or soiled his hand 
 
 Though he knew the strength of human sin! 
 What was it the Master said? "To her 
 
 Be much forgiven, for her loving much!" 
 Who knows but for him that thought will stir, 
 
 And the same warm heart win the healing touch? 
 
 No man cried "Help !" and he passed by, 
 
 No man plead "Give !" without response, 
 Ay, even when, judged with impartial eye, 
 
 His own were often the keener wants. 
 No land, or people, beyond his ken 
 
 Lay pleading for that which his hand withheld : 
 He was facile princeps of great-souled men; 
 
 Ah, when has a sadder death been knelled? 
 
 Within his coffin such scanty space! 
 What characters crowd, to share his rest! 
 
 We have looked our last on many a face 
 That the poet-actor's being expressed ! 
 
6o 31 4&roup of Comctrtang 
 
 Shall we name them ? No ! on the mimic stage 
 They will move no more, since he is gone; 
 
 And the pathos and mirth of many a page 
 With the same sad touch must be withdrawn. 
 
 And yet, why mourn him? His life has been 
 
 Full lived, to beyond the seventy years. 
 It is time to change the worn earthly scene 
 
 To another, and brighter, in other spheres. 
 So we lay him down, in the peace of heaven, 
 
 With a fervent prayer for the soul new born- 
 Yet a prayer no warmer than he has given 
 
 To all mankind, from his natal morn. 
 
GEORGE HOLLAND 
 
GEORGE HOLLAND. 
 
George 
 
 1791-1870 
 
 GEORGE HOLLAND, well remembered as a 
 comedian of peculiar and irrepressible droll- 
 ery, was born in England, December 6, 1791. Few 
 actors in our annals have enjoyed so long a career 
 of popularity as was permitted to this worthy man. 
 His first appearance on our stage was in 1827, and 
 he said farewell in 1870. Previous to coming here 
 he had had some experience in England. For sev- 
 eral years he had tried to get a business opening 
 in sundry towns, but failed in various ventures; 
 and having some acquaintance with members of 
 the theatrical profession who admired his comic 
 abilities, he was induced to enter upon an actor's 
 career, and made his first essay at Elliston's Thea- 
 tre in Birmingham, and subsequently under De 
 Camp in Newcastle. This theatre opened with 
 "The School for Scandal" on December 28, 1818, 
 and Holland was cast for Moses. He was then 
 twenty-seven years old. The whole cast seems in- 
 teresting enough to preserve here : 
 63 
 
6 4 31 45rou of Comebiang 
 
 Sir Peter Teazle MR. GRANT. 
 
 Oliver Surface " JEFFERSON. 
 
 Crabtree " GEORGE BUTLER. 
 
 Joseph Surface ' " TYRONE POWER. 
 
 Charles Surface " DE CAMP. 
 
 Careless " HUNTLEY. 
 
 Moses " GEORGE HOLLAND. 
 
 Trip " CHARLES HILL. 
 
 Lady Teazle Miss BARRY. 
 
 Lady Sneerwell " FORBES. 
 
 Maria " POVEY. 
 
 Mrs. Candour MRS. HENRY. 
 
 Many of these names will sound familiar to read- 
 ers of stage history. It may be mentioned that 
 Holland and Power became fast friends, and a 
 score of years afterwards at New Orleans, when 
 Holland was treasurer of the St. Charles Theatre 
 and Power the star of the season, they discussed a 
 London engagement for Holland, which never was 
 carried out, owing to poor Power's death. 
 
 Holland made his first bow on the American 
 stage at the Bowery Theatre, September 12, 1827, 
 appearing as Jerry in the burletta "A Day After 
 the Fair/' a piece with which his name became 
 4 identified, and in which he assumed half a dozen 
 different characters with great skill and success. 
 \/He was a master of grimace, and indulged himself 
 v freely in its exhibition. He was also an amusing 
 v comic singer, and had a trick of ventriloquism 
 1 which lent diverting variety to his songs and imi- 
 tations. It was clear that here was a fun-maker. 
 
6 5 
 
 His next character was Thomas in the play of "The 
 Secret," a part in which he is said never to have 
 been equaled ; and thereafter he was seen in a round 
 of characteristic parts, playing for his own benefit 
 the Gravedigger and Ophelia, in the famous trav- 
 esty of "Hamlet." A later season saw him at the 
 Sans Souci Theatre, and at the close of the engage-\/ 
 ment he introduced, for his benefit, his celebrated, 
 entertainment called the "Whims of a Comedian," 
 personating nine characters. 
 
 After a few seasons, Holland went south on a 
 professional tour, and I find that early in 1829 he 
 was billed for a special engagement at the theatre 
 in Camp Street, New Orleans, to play in two pieces 
 in conjunction with Mrs. Knight. The plays were 
 "Guy Mannering" and the farce of "Turn Out," 
 Holland appearing as Dominie Sampson and Greg- 
 ory, and Mrs. Knight as Julia Mannering and 
 Marian Ramsay. Both sang songs in the farce. 
 The comedian, by the way, almost invariably inV 
 troduced a song into his farces. His next engage-v 
 ment was in Louisville, where he opened in "A Day 
 After the Fair," and for two weeks played a round 
 of his peculiar pieces. It was at Louisville that 
 he made the acquaintance of N. M. Ludlow, the 
 author of "Dramatic Life as I Found It," and the 
 relation grew into a warm friendship. Indeed, 
 after his engagement, which was extended, Hol- 
 land and his wife made their home for some time 
 with Ludlow and family. 
 9 
 
31 Broup of Comebiang 
 
 Ludlow has much to say of Holland's entertain- 
 ing qualities, his comic resources, and his capital 
 good humor. They made pleasure excursions to- 
 gether, and Holland was always the soul of the 
 party. It is the opinion of Ludlow that had Hol- 
 land begun in the right way and studied in the 
 right school he would have achieved great distinc- 
 tion as a low comedian. Ludlow meant, I think, 
 \ythat Holland often lost sight of the artist in being 
 ^the funny man, and for the sake of being funny 
 ,,/ would be needlessly comic. Your low comedian 
 will be extravagant at times, and the judicious will 
 .grieve in consequence, and perhaps Holland sinned 
 in that particular ; but in the same breath with his 
 opinion Ludlow says : "As an actor he was very 
 animated and rapid, keeping his audience in con- 
 . stant good humor the entire time of his being on 
 \ the stage." Much will be forgiven the comedian 
 TJwho does that. 
 
 Holland became a great favorite in the South 
 during his stay, and his name is found on the bills 
 of the period. He was in the cast of "The School 
 for Scandal" at the St. Charles during Ellen Tree's 
 engagement, and in that of "Much Ado About 
 Nothing" during Mr. Caldwell's farewell perform- 
 ances. He also officiated as treasurer of the St. 
 Charles, occasionally appearing on the stage. It 
 was at New Orleans that he and Ludlow again 
 met, and their earlier friendship was revived. The 
 St. Charles Theatre was destroyed by fire in 1843, 
 
and Holland returned to New York, and in the 
 same year became a member of Mitchell's Olympic 
 Theatre. 
 
 For six years Holland tickled the Olympic au- 
 diences with his 
 
 "Quips and cranks and wanton wiles, 
 Nods and becks and wreathed smiles," 
 
 appearing in all those light and mirthful pieces 
 with which Mitchell was wont to regale his patrons 
 such pieces as "Who 's the Composer?" "Lend 
 Me Five Shillings," "Devil in Paris," "Mr. and 
 Mrs. Caudle," "Corporal's Wedding," "Savage and 
 the Maiden," "A Wife for an Hour," "Out on the 
 Sly," "Seeing Holland," "Robinson Crusoe the 
 Second," "Beulah Spa," "Light Troop of St. 
 James," "Kissing Goes by Favor," "The Jacobite," 
 "How to Settle Accounts" with Holland as Cafa- 
 rini, Golightly, Crequet, Mrs. Caudle (Mitchell 
 played Mr. Caudle}, Corporal Cobb, Folair, Joskyn 
 Gaiter, Pimlico Pippins, John Downey, Mar ma- 
 duke Snodgrass, Hector Templeton, Smallbones, 
 Grillon, John Duck, Whittington Widgetts. 
 
 These laughable plays are rarely seen nowadays, 
 with the exception of "Lend Me Five Shillings," 
 which has a place in Mr. Jefferson's repertory ; but 
 we may be very certain that Holland made the 
 most of them. The farce was popular then, and-, 
 four pieces were often on the bill of an evening. 
 
68 51 
 
 It was at this time that Mary Taylor was winning 
 all hearts with her delightful personality, and in 
 the summer of 1844, when the company migrated 
 to Niblo's, Mitchell produced "The Child of the 
 Regiment," with Miss Taylor as Marie, one of her 
 first original characters, and in which she achieved 
 a great triumph, her youth and vocalization mak- 
 ing a real sensation. Holland also appeared in the 
 cast, playing Lobwitz. It may be mentioned that 
 Holland, during this period, was occasionally seen 
 on other boards than the Olympic stage, and in 
 1848 he was the dramatic director of Castle Gar- 
 den. His popularity constantly grew, so that when 
 'he again went south in 1849 ms fame as a mirth- 
 * compelling comedian had preceded him, and his en- 
 gagement at the New Orleans Varieties Theatre 
 'was a succession of triumphs. 
 
 / * On his return to New York he acted at Burton's 
 Theatre for a short season, and then enlisted under 
 J the elder Wallack's banner, which waved from the 
 ' theatre in Broadway near Broome Street, formerly 
 i Brougham's Lyceum, and he continued after the 
 removal to Broadway and Thirteenth Street, and 
 with a single exception when he joined Wood's 
 .Minstrels during a season of panic remained con- 
 nected with the company down to the close of the 
 season of 1867-68. Wallack had a strong friend- 
 ship for Holland, and welcomed him to his ranks 
 in his third season, the comedian appearing as 
 Chubb in "The Game of Love," and thereafter was 
 
 
George Jpoflanb 6 9 
 
 frequently on the bills in his characteristic parts. 
 When Lester Wallack assumed control after his 
 father's death, and appeared after a long absence 
 from the stage as Young Mar low in "She Stoops 
 to Conquer," Holland played Tony Lumpkin with 
 such uncommon spirit that Mr. John Gilbert, the 
 stage manager, remarked that dramatic biography 
 furnished no similar instance of a performer play- 
 ing the character at the advanced age of seventy- 
 five. 
 
 Holland brought to Wallack's a wide and varie4 
 experience. He had played in every city of con^., 
 sequence in the Union, was well known and es- 
 teemed in the profession, had achieved popularity 
 wherever he appeared, and was admitted to be outy/ 
 of the reach of rivalry in his peculiar line. That / 
 peculiar line soon became known at Wallack's, and 
 many an old playgoer can still remember Holland's *y 
 diverting drollery. Sometimes he played a part 
 with such surprisingly comic effect that it seemed Y 
 like a new creation, as in the case of Buriberry 
 Kobb, in Lester Wallack's "Rosedale," where in 
 the quadrille he convulsed the house by his ludi- 
 crous effort to dance the figures in accordance with ^J 
 the little manual he carried. I can see his stolen 
 glances and his marvelous movements now ! 
 
 During the season of 1869-70 Holland was with- 
 out any engagement. He was seventy-eight years 
 old, and time was telling on him. In fact, he had 
 grown so feeble that he rarely appeared, yet he 
 
31 4Sroup 
 
 was so endeared to the public that his mere pres- 
 ence evoked the old applause. He roused himself, 
 however, to meet an engagement which had been 
 kindly tendered him by Mr. Augustin Daly, and at 
 the Fifth Avenue Theatre he appeared in a number 
 of parts, his last character being the Reporter, in 
 Miss Logan's comedy of "Surf." His last appear- 
 ance on the stage was at his own benefit, given by 
 Mr. Daly at his theatre, May 15, 1870. The ac- 
 count of this event I copy from the Memoir writ- 
 ten by Mr. T. H. Morrell. 
 
 HOLLAND'S LAST APPEARANCE 
 
 The last appearance and benefit of Mr. Holland took 
 place at the Fifth Avenue Theatre on the night of the 
 1 5th of May, 1870. The performance of the evening was 
 "Frou-Frou," and it had been arranged with the manager 
 that in consequence of the feebleness of Mr. Holland's 
 health he should only appear before the audience for a 
 few moments between the first and second acts. When 
 the time had arrived and the curtain was raised, Mr. 
 Holland appeared, led forward by Mr. Daly and Mr. 
 Harkins, in the midst of most enthusiastic plaudits. The 
 old veteran then took his seat in an arm-chair, and the 
 whole company gathered round him on the stage, form- 
 ing a very striking tableau. Mr. Daly then stepped for- 
 ward to the footlights and delivered for him the fol- 
 lowing address, in a graceful and effective manner: 
 
 "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: It was Mr. Holland's inten- 
 tion to say a few words in his own behalf this evening, 
 but at the last moment the rare old comedian, who has 
 represented so many characters in his time, finds it im- 
 
George StoHanb 7 1 
 
 possible to represent himself, and he has asked me to 
 read to you these words which he had hoped to deliver 
 for himself: 
 
 "'LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: [Please now to consider, 
 said the speaker, that the veteran is speaking to you, 
 through his young manager, proud also to be his friend.] 
 Of the various characters in which I have for the last 
 forty years appeared, the present is the most arduous 
 since I feel how utterly inadequate any words of mine 
 are to express my feelings of pride and gratitude. I have 
 not often in my long career been troubled with what is 
 called "stage-fright," but I see so many kind faces turned 
 toward me, I feel that my own worth is so small and 
 your favor is so great, and my heart is so full of emotion, 
 that the words which are needed for expression fail me. 
 I am, for the time being, no longer a low comedian, but a 
 heavy, blubbering father. Instead of quips and cranks, 
 I feel myself better fitted for weeping at the thought 
 that the proud privilege of appearing in the character of 
 a recipient of your favor may not be accorded much 
 oftener. There is no stage delusion in my words when 
 I say that I thank you with my whole heart for past and 
 present kindness, nor when I assure you that while 
 memory lasts the recollection of this night's honor will 
 endure. Again and again, I thank you.' " 
 
 At the conclusion of the address Mr. Harkins, on be- 
 half of several friends, presented the old actor with a 
 basket of flowers, the leaves surrounding it formed of 
 greenbacks. Mr. Holland was again called out, and, in 
 response to the hearty greetings, simply and feelingly 
 said, "God bless you." 
 
 Mr. Daly was all kindness to the old comedian. 
 Although it was evident that Mr. Holland would 
 never again appear before the footlights, he was 
 
7 2 51 <tSroup of Comebiang 
 
 retained at the same salary. But a darker curtain 
 than any within the walls of a theatre was descend- 
 ing. Some abatement of his bodily afflictions was 
 granted him at last, and on the 2oth of December, 
 1870, he died in his sleep. He was seventy-nine 
 years and fourteen days old. A host of friends 
 and members of the profession attended his funeral 
 three days afterwards at the Church of the Trans- 
 figuration the "Little Church Around the Cor- 
 ner." 1 
 
 Mr. Holland was twice married. His first wife, 
 who came with him to America, died in 1834, and 
 in 1839 or I ^4 ne married a daughter of Mrs. De 
 Luce, formerly of the Park Theatre. Shortly after 
 his death a movement was set on foot among the 
 profession, originating in New York, to give the 
 widow and children benefits in as many theatres as 
 could be obtained for the purpose. I think over 
 $10,000 was realized from the enterprise. It was 
 a great testimonial. 
 
 George Holland was one of the funniest men 
 known to our stage. He was not an artist in the 
 
 1 Joseph Jefferson, the celebrated comedian, on behalf 
 of the family of Mr. Holland, made application to the 
 Rev. Mr. Sabine to officiate at his funeral, but, learning 
 that he had been an actor, he declined to do so. He recom- 
 mended Mr. Jefferson to go to the "little church around 
 the corner," where such things were done who accord- 
 ingly left him, exclaiming, "All honor to the little church 
 around the corner!" The name has become historic. It 
 is an old story, but I record it for the sake of history. 
 
George IjJoHanb 73 
 
 way of bringing out points of character ; his aim ^ 
 was to ransack the part for points of fun. He was v 
 the very spirit of farce, and an adept in the em-^ 
 ployment of every comic device that would amuse^ 
 his audience. He seemed to care as much for fa'r-v^" 
 cical display as for wit or sentiment or character^- 
 drawing. He has left no theatrical comedy por-^ 
 traits of finished excellence that stand out as 
 plars like those of Placide and Blake. Indeed, 
 often set at naught all the rules, principles, 
 purposes of legitimate acting. He was a born fun-\X 
 maker, and made laughter for a generation. He^/- 
 will also be remembered for his gentleness and his 
 humanity, his domestic virtues and his unsullied 
 life, and his patience and fortitude through calam- 
 ity and suffering. 
 
 10 
 
CHARLES FISHER 
 
CHARLES FISHER. 
 
I REMEMBER well the first appearance ofi/ 
 Charles Fisher in America. It was at Burton's - ; 
 Theatre in Chambers Street, and the date was/ 
 August 30, 1852. The play was the "School of 
 Reform," Mr. Fisher acting Ferment. On the 
 same evening, by the way, and in the same play, 
 Lysander Steele Thompson made his American de- 
 but, appearing as Bob Tyke. This actor's specialty \x 
 was the Yorkshireman of the stage, a line in which^ 
 he stood alone and unapproachable. Actors there . 
 have been who played the same parts, and with a 
 sufficient mastery of the dialect to pass muster ; but, 
 compared with Thompson's, their assumptions were^- 
 like artificial flowers in a painted vase beside a 
 clump of spring violets in the dew of morning. 
 The semblance was there, but the delicious fra- 
 grance of nature's breath it was not theirs to give. 
 The native freshness and out-of-door breezy spirit . 
 were Thompson's own and born with him. His \/ 
 engagement was followed by all the known plays 
 in which there was a Zekiel Homespun or a Robin 
 
 77 
 

 Roughhead. I have seen many tragedians and 
 artists in melodrama, many "old men" and light 
 comedians, many funny men and eccentric actors, 
 I have seen one Yorkshireman only Lysander 
 ^"Thompson. 
 
 There was much interest manifested in this debut 
 of Mr. Fisher, for it was well known that Burton 
 had imported him to succeed Lester (Lester Wai- 
 lack) in light comedy, the latter being about to 
 withdraw to join his father's forces at Wallack's 
 Lyceum; but the most indulgent hope could not 
 expect that the new arrival would cause the audi- 
 ence to forget for a moment the delightful impres- 
 sions made by the most accomplished light come- 
 dian then living. And so it proved. Whatever 
 may have been Fisher's promise in certain direc- 
 tions, his youthful heroes of the stage were not 
 destined to efface the recollections of Mr. Lester; 
 ^,-but it was not long before the fiddle of Triplet and 
 \^lhQ cross-garterings of Malvolio emancipated him 
 v/ x "from the bondage of light comedy, revealed his 
 true powers, and made the public grateful to Bur- 
 L ton for introducing to New York one of the most 
 artistic comedians of the day. 
 
 The second revival of "Twelfth Night" gave 
 Fisher an opportunity. He was cast as Mal- 
 volio. Blake had previously played it, and, al- 
 though rather portly for the part, that great actor 
 had given a highly finished performance. But 
 Fisher was born in yellow stockings and cross-gar- 
 
Cfjarlc^ f itifytt 79 
 
 tered, and I believe there will be no question ^x 
 among those who remember the impersonation as v x 
 to the subtlety of conception, the felicity of por^ 
 trayal, and fidelity to detail that so eminently disv 
 tinguished it. From first to last it was a master- 
 piece. His manner when he interrupts the orgies 
 of Sir Toby, the Clown, and Aguecheek, and dur- 
 ing their maudlin mockery, was full of rare sug- 
 gestiveness; the great scene in the garden, where 
 he falls into the trap set by Maria, was one of the 
 finest pieces of acting known to our stage. The 
 audience were as intent during its progress as if 
 their own lives and fortunes hung upon that enig- 
 matic letter. When it comes home to him at last 
 that he indeed is the favored of Olivia, and he 
 gives full rein to his fancy respecting his future 
 exaltation how he must bear himself, the lofty 
 air he will assume, the consideration he will ex- 
 tort he was inimitable. Already he is clothed in 
 yellow stockings and cross-gartered, and he smiles, 
 as he struts, the smile his deceiver declares so be- 
 comes him. In the ensuing scene before Olivia, 
 where the stockings and smiles play so important 
 a part, he was equally fine; and if Fisher had 
 played nothing else, his Malvolio would remain an 
 interpretation of the highest class and a glory of 
 dramatic art. The press with one accord united 
 in its praise, and Mr. Richard Grant White, whose 
 ability to judge of Shaksperian delineations was 
 well known, confessed, in the columns of the 
 
8o 31 4Brou of Comcbiang 
 
 "Courier and Inquirer/' that he did not know 
 where Mr. Fisher learned to play Malvolio so 
 well. 
 
 \ And now Fisher's powers were revealed and his 
 line in a measure ascertained. Yet he continued 
 to play, during his three seasons at Burton's, many 
 parts that were not suited to his gifts, but always 
 playing with earnestness and comprehension, and 
 always giving satisfaction by his zeal and intelli- 
 j] gence. He had a refinement of manner, too, which 
 ^.made acceptable many a light comedy part for 
 which he was otherwise unfitted. The instinct of 
 a gentleman was apparent in all that he did, and 
 much was pardoned to that captivating spirit. 
 With that spirit he played Ernest Vane in the first 
 production of "Masks and Faces," before Triplet 
 fell to him by right of artistic conquest. Then 
 occasionally he blossomed out and astonished ev- 
 erybody with some unlocked for revelation of his 
 powers and accomplishments, as in the part of Sir 
 Valentine May in Douglas Jerrold's comedy of 
 "St. Cupid," in which character he delighted his 
 audience with a Terpsichorean interlude, a passage 
 at arms, and a surprising performance on the vio- 
 lin. The playbill is a little curious, and I repro- 
 duce it from Mr. Laurence Mutton's account of 
 the occasion, given in his interesting sketch of Mr. 
 Fisher, published in the volume known as "Famous 
 Actors of To-Day." 
 
Cljarfcg jfi$)et 8l 
 
 THIS MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 14, 1853. 
 First time in America the new comedy in three acts 
 
 By DOUGLAS JERROLD of 
 " ST. CUPID; OR, DOROTHY'S FORTUNE." 
 
 Sir William Zero HENRY RUSSELL. 
 
 ( Under Secretary of State) 
 Sir Valentine May CHARLES FISHER. 
 
 (His nephew and secretary) 
 
 In which character he will dance the Minuet de la Cour 
 and Gavotte with Mrs. Skerrett, execute several Airs on 
 the Violin, and go thro' an Assault d'Armes with Mr. 
 Holman. 
 
 Dr. Budd TOM JOHNSTON. 
 
 (A country schoolmaster) 
 Ensign BelleHeur GEORGE HOLMAN. 
 
 (A Jacobite) 
 Checker WILLIAM H. NORTON. 
 
 (A spy employed by Zero) 
 Hawke MOSES W. FISK. 
 
 (An official) 
 Trundle MR. GOURLAY. 
 
 (Zero's servant) 
 
 Dorothy Budd MRS. SKERRETT. 
 
 Juno, her domestic Miss JANE HILL. 
 
 (A country girl) 
 Queen Bee MR. BURTON. 
 
 (A Gipsy woman) 
 II 
 
82 
 
 I quote from Mr. Hutton's lively description of 
 the performance : 
 
 Mr. Burton's rendering of a Queen Bee was, as may be 
 imagined, exceedingly rich; but the great honors were 
 carried away by Fisher as St. Cupid, in white tights, a 
 tunic, gauze wings, a flowing wig, and a simper. His 
 appearance was the signal of great applause from the pit 
 and the gods, increased by his pirouetting with Mrs. 
 Skerrett and his "set to" with Holman, and made per- 
 fectly tumultuous when, taking the violin from the leader 
 of the orchestra, John Cooke, he executed the several 
 airs set down for him in the bill. His fiddling, not the 
 least of his accomplishments, was a great and a very 
 pleasant surprise to the audience, and no Ole Bull or 
 Paganini was ever more enthusiastically received or en- 
 cored; six or eight times he returned the instrument to 
 the amused conductor, only to have it handed back to 
 him at the mandates of the dictators in front, until "St. 
 Cupid" seemed likely to become nothing more than a 
 violin concert, with Mr. Fisher as sole performer. 
 
 This accomplishment was afterwards seen to great 
 advantage in Triplet. 
 
 As I have said, when "Masks and Faces" was 
 first produced at Burton's, Fisher acted Ernest 
 Vane. The cast was as follows : 
 
 Sir Charles Pomander . . MR. GEORGE JORDAN. 
 Mr. Ernest Vane ....... " CHARLES FISHER. 
 
 Colley Cibber .......... " GEORGE H. BARRETT. 
 
 James Quin ............ " G. H. ANDREWS. 
 
 James Triplet .......... " W. E. BURTON. 
 
 Lysimachus Triplet ---- MASTER CHAS. T. PARSLOE, JR. 
 
Mr. Soaper MR. WILLIAM H. NORTON. 
 
 Mr. Snarl " TOM JOHNSTON. 
 
 Mrs. Vane MRS. BUCKLAND. 
 
 Peg Woffington Miss CHARLOTTE MITCHELL. 
 
 Kitty Clive MRS. GEORGE HOLMAN. 
 
 Mrs. Triplet " HOUGH. 
 
 It need hardly be said that Burton made a good 
 deal of Triplet. It was a sympathetic and appre- 
 ciative performance, and of course the comic possi- 
 bilities of the character were entertainingly devel- 
 oped. It might seem to thoughtful observers that^. 
 Burton unduly forced the comic element, and so v 
 robbed the characterization of its pathetic interest ;v 
 and it is true that Fisher expressed the blended 
 humor and pathos of the part with an artistic deli-v 
 cacy that was not natural to Burton. Noting Fish- 
 er's excellence in the part, Burton soon surrendered 
 it, and Triplet took its place in Mr. Fisher's gallery 
 with M ah olio and Sir Valentine May. 
 
 I have mentioned that Fisher's acquaintance with 
 the violin was displayed to great advantage in 
 Triplet. Mr. Hutton, in the sketch already re- 
 ferred to, dwells upon the happy and touching 
 manner in which the violin appeared as a human- 
 izing influence in his portrayal. As a companion 
 picture I recall the capital scene where Woffington, 
 having played Lady Bountiful to the forlorn fam- 
 ily, completes her conquest by calling for the fiddle 
 and dancing "Cover the Buckle" to Fisher's in- 
 spiring execution, 
 
8 4 3U <*Broup of Comebiang 
 
 ^ During Fisher's engagement with Burton he 
 was cast in a variety of parts, and made many 
 
 '' friends by the evident sincerity of his perform- 
 ances. This sincerity was a marked trait of his 
 acting, and had a value of its own. It was ap- 
 parent that here was an actor who was conscien- 
 tiously striving to do his very best. As time wore 
 on, other traits and graces came into view, all of 
 which denoted artistic progress and suggested 
 much versatile capacity. 
 
 The parts played by Mr. Fisher at Burton's 
 would make a long list. I have mentioned Ernest 
 Vane and Triplet, and also Malvolio and Valentine 
 May. In Burton's revivals of "The Tempest," 
 "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and "The Merry 
 Wives" he was cast respectively as Prospero, The- 
 seus, and Page many years afterwards, when one 
 of Augustin Daly's company, he essayed Sir John 
 Falstaff in "The Wives." He had then ripened 
 
 * f $ \\ 
 
 -> u into an experienced and resourceful comedian. As 
 Prospero, in "The Tempest," he was most ac- 
 ceptable in dignity and authority, and as Theseus, 
 in "Midsummer Night's Dream," he gave to the 
 \i part a royal demeanor with a touch of sentiment. 
 < His delivery of the poetry was full of feeling, and 
 J remember the glowing enthusiasm with which 
 v he spoke the eloquent lines descriptive of his fa- 
 mous hounds : 
 
 "My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind, 
 So flew'd, so sanded; and their heads are hung 
 
8 s 
 
 With ears that sweep away the morning dew ; 
 
 Crook-kneed, and dew-lapped like Thessalian bulls; 
 
 Slow in pursuit, but match'd in mouth like bells, 
 
 Each under each. A cry more tunable 
 
 Was never holloa'd to, nor cheered with horn, 
 
 In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly : 
 
 Judge when you hear." 
 
 He was also seen in many of the old and standard 
 comedies Captain Absolute, in "The Rivals" ; 
 Joseph Surface, in "The School for Scandal" ; Dick 
 Dowlas, in "The Heir at Law"; Charles Torrens 
 and Captain Maguire, in "The Serious Family" ; 
 and many others. Among original parts might 
 be mentioned Black Jack, in "Janet Pride," and 
 Richard Haughty, in "The Fox Hunt"; he also 
 played Dymond, in "Heart of Gold," and Jacob 
 Kindly, in the "Upper Ten and Lower Twenty." 
 After leaving Burton in 1855 rie played at the 
 Broadway, supporting the various stars that ap- 
 peared there, acquitting himself most creditably/, 
 in a round of varied parts, showing notable talent V 
 and constantly adding to his sum of knowledge and,, 
 experience. 
 
 He joined Burton's forces again in 1856, at his 
 new theatre, playing old parts and new ones, 
 among the last Jesse Rural, in "Old Heads and 
 Young Hearts." In following years he played at 
 Niblo's and at Laura Keene's theatre, and then, in 
 1861, came to Wallack's, where he remained for 
 ten years. 
 IIA 
 
86 31 4Broup of <ffomctiiang 
 
 These ten years were fruitful in opportunities 
 J for advancement and artistic achievement, and Mr. 
 Fisher made the most of them. On that famous 
 stage he was associated with such artists as Lester 
 Wallack, John Gilbert, William Rufus Blake, Mrs. 
 Hoey and Mrs. Vernon, and it soon became evi- 
 dent that he was worthy to be ranked with those 
 high-class performers. The audiences speedily 
 recognized the sincerity and fine quality of his por- 
 trayals, and as speedily he won the admiring es- 
 teem of theatre-goers who were accustomed to the 
 best. His name was linked with that of Lester 
 Wallack and John Gilbert as a trio of unsurpassed 
 excellence, and to witness the acting of three such 
 artists was a treat indeed. 
 
 As time went on, Fisher ripened in conception 
 and execution, until his faculties were completely 
 f under his command, so that, within his limitations, 
 v each character he essayed became a finished pic- 
 ture. The refinement of manner I have particular- 
 ized was still a characteristic of his acting; hu- 
 morous and even rollicking episodes were treated 
 with conspicuous delicacy. And it may be said 
 here that Mr. Fisher's capacity for the expression 
 of humor was very much greater than most people 
 supposed. He was not given to comic extravagance, 
 but he had a keen appreciation of mirthful effect, 
 and knew how to indicate and support a humorous 
 situation, and to duly emphasize the points of ludi- 
 vcrous meaning. But what he did was thought-pro- 
 
yi/i/ 
 
 voking as well as mirth-provoking, and was sug- l 
 gestive rather than broadly rendered. In Malvolio, 
 for example, he never was tempted to farcical aban- 
 don, even when cross-gartered and wearing the 
 self-deluded smile. Throughout he maintained his 
 dignified self-importance. When he read the letter 
 in the garden you were amused at the trap into 
 which he had fallen, but you condemned the trap 
 as much as you ridiculed the victim. The humor 
 of the situation was so delicately shaded that you 
 felt like excusing his presumption. This is per- 
 haps another way of saying that Fisher did not 
 buffoon the part. He might have stirred the risi- > 
 bilities more, but he was judicious and his humor' 
 was pathetic. It was the same with Triplet. He/ 
 had studied the part closely, and he knew its pa- v 
 thos, its sentiment and its humor. He played ity 
 naturally and consistently, and with a due regard . 
 to the character's peculiarities and environment. 
 The humor was brought out subtly and delicately,/ 
 but was none the less humor for being quietly and 
 almost unconsciously rendered. 
 
 While at Wallack's, Fisher played many parts, 
 and widely extended his repertory. He appeared 
 in most of the comedies and dramas produced at 
 that famous house, and was the original in numer- 
 ous characters. Mr. Hutton, already quoted, gives 
 with characteristic diligence the following valuable 
 list : "He was the first George D'Alroy in Robert- 
 son's 'Caste' at Wallack's, to the Esther of Rose 
 
88 31 Broup of Comebiang 
 
 Eytinge, May 3, 1869; the original Beau Farintosh 
 in 'School' during the same season; the original 
 Arthur Mompesson in 'Progress/ the original 
 Prince Perovsky in 'Ours/ and the original Tom 
 Styles in 'Society/ He created Gilbert Feather- 
 stone in 'Lost in London/ Rawlings in 'Lost at 
 Sea/ Dr. Bland in 'Bosom Friends/ Father Malone 
 in 'Shamus O'Brien/ Tom Robinson in 'Never 
 Too Late To Mend/ Tom Sutherland in 'The Fa- 
 vorite of Fortune/ Mr. Davis in 'Flying Scud/ 
 Matthew Leigh in 'Rosedale/ Digby Grant in 'The 
 Two Roses/ Bowles in 'Coquette/ Lawyer Good- 
 win in 'Minnie's Luck/ Brackenbury in 'Pure 
 Gold/ Didier in 'The Fast Family/ Rawdon Scuda- 
 more in 'Hunted Down/ Dick Hartley in 'How 
 She Loves Him/ the Major in 'Henry Dunbar/ 
 Colonel Epee in 'The Lancers/ Robert Redburn in 
 'The Lancashire Lass/ and Randall in 'Randall's 
 Thumb' " truly a wide range and showing un- 
 usual versatility. Mr. Hutton thinks Mr. Fisher 
 made a mistake in leaving Wallack's, and very 
 likely he did, for the association must have been 
 as congenial and agreeable as it had been long, and 
 it does not seem that he bettered his professional 
 standing by making a change. Be that as it may, 
 he ceased to be a member of the company in June, 
 1872, and took his leave of Wallack's stage on 
 July 20 in the same year, playing Noah Learoyd in 
 "The Long Strike." 
 
 His next engagement was with Augustin Daly 
 
Cfjarfeg figfytt 8 9 
 
 at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, where he opened as 
 Old Dornton, in "The Road to Ruin," October 28, 
 1872. This impersonation revived recollections of 
 Blake and Gilbert in the character, and it was the 
 opinion of critics that Fisher's effort, though most 
 meritorious, was not equal to that of either. How- 
 ever near he may have approached Gilbert, I can 
 well believe that he fell short with respect to Blake. 
 That great actor had been dead some years, but 
 the memory of his Old Dornton could not be 
 charmed away even by Gilbert. 
 
 Fisher was esteemed a valuable addition to Mr. 
 Daly's force, and his abilities were displayed in 
 parts suited to his gifts and others not so con- 
 genial, with now and then a more ambitious ven- 
 ture. Not long after "The Road to Ruin" one of 
 these ventures occurred in the production of "The 
 Merry Wives of Windsor," Fisher playing Fal- 
 staff for the first time. I made a passing refer- 
 ence to the fact in the early part of my sketch. 
 The comedy was presented on November 19, 1872. 
 The cast was as follows : 
 
 Sir John Falstaff CHARLES FISHER. 
 
 Fenton B. T. RINGGOLD. 
 
 Shallow D. WHITING. 
 
 Slender JAMES LEWIS. 
 
 Ford GEORGE CLARKE. 
 
 Page Louis JAMES. 
 
 William Page Miss JENNIE YEAMANS. 
 
 Sir Hugh Evans WILLIAM DAVIDGE. 
 
9 5t <*Brottp of Comcbiang 
 
 Host of the Garter Inn OWEN FAWCETT. 
 
 Dr. Caius W. J. LE MOYNE. 
 
 Bardolph J. A. MACKEY. 
 
 Pistol GEORGE DE VERE. 
 
 Nym J. H. BURNETT. 
 
 Robin Miss GERTY NORWOOD. 
 
 Simple WILLIAM BEEKMAN. 
 
 Mistress Ford Miss FANNY DAVENPORT. 
 
 Mistress Page " FANNY MORANT. 
 
 Mistress Anne Page " SARA JEWETT. 
 
 Mistress Quickly MRS. G. H. GILBERT. 
 
 The revival was a distinct success, and was gen- 
 erally well acted, as it could hardly fail to be with 
 so striking a distribution. Of course critical in- 
 terest centred on Fisher's performance of Sir John, 
 and that it was intelligently conceived and denoted 
 V careful and thoughtful study and was apprecia- 
 v tively executed there was no question. The actor 
 was not likely to do anything else. Whatever the 
 ./shortcoming, it was owing to Mr. Fisher's nature. 
 i/It was not in him to depict easily the ingrained 
 , coarseness of the knight, and to simulate his vices 
 'and repelling characteristics. He could portray 
 the braggart and sack-drinker and deliver his wit, 
 I but he could not abandon himself with unction to 
 his gross propensities. 
 
 Fisher continued to play at Daly's for some 
 years, and was seen in a round of important parts, 
 such as Sir Peter Teazle, Polonius, Triplet, and 
 others, also in the manager's Shaksperian reviv- 
 als, and likewise in the succession of plays pro- 
 
9 1 
 
 duced for the display of Miss Ada Rehan's abili- 
 ties, in which his ripe art made him a distinguished 
 support. The years were telling upon him, how- 
 ever, and his appearances became fewer and fewer, 
 each one showing his increasing feebleness. He 
 retired from the stage in 1890, his last performance 
 being A dam in "As You Like It." He died in 
 New York on the nth of June, 1891. 
 
 CHARLES FISHER will be remembered as a sterling \J 
 comedian who acted always acceptably, and in a y 
 certain round of parts won unqualified distinction.^ 
 He was painstaking and sincere in all that he did, 
 and his performances throughout were informed 
 by a high intelligence. In his light comedy as- 
 sumptions, wherein he was conscious of his limi-v 
 tations, he acted with the same earnestness that, 
 animated his masterpieces. His masterpieces werev 
 revelations of felicitous conception and execution, 
 and are worthy to be ranked among the finest ar- 
 tistic portrayals of our time. It is a great satis- 
 faction to lovers of the stage that its history is 
 graced by the record of delineations so admirable. 
 
 The personality of Mr. Fisher was interesting 
 and charming. There was something knightly in 
 his bearing, and his voice always carried with it a 
 ring of tuneful fervor. I know not how he may 
 have impressed others, but whenever I saw him I 
 felt that I was in the presence of a refined spirit 
 and a noble, true-hearted gentleman. 
 

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 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY