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During my first ten years I played in the chief cities of Canada and in the
western cities of New York State. Playing with nearly all of the prominent
“stars” of the time, whose kindness and encouragement are still happy memories
with me, among whom I may mention C.W.
Couldock,
James
Anderson,
John Brougham,
James Wallack Jr.,
James Wallack
and Charles Mathews,
Sir Wm Don,
Charles Dillon,
James
Bennett, Mrs. Barnes? Mrs. Fannon?
Mr.
Chas.
Mathews [Lizzie Weston Davenport Mathews
d 1899],
Mr.
and
Mrs.
D[aniel] W[ilmarth] Waller [Emma] and
many many others.
Most of these years were at the
Royal Lyceum Theatre Toronto working with
John Nickinson
James Anderson [1811-1895]
Born in Glasgow, James Robertson Anderson
[1811-1895] managed the Leicester, Gloster and Cheltenham circuit during
1834-1835 and 1836. In 1837 he appeared with Macready at Covent Garden where he
made rapid progress, appearing as Othello on 23 May 1842. He came to America in
1846-1847, 1848, 1853, 1857 and 1858-1860, recording his impressions of Canada
and America for an English newspaper thereafter. Graham, Montreal, pp. 95-96,
and Brown, American, p. 10.
O’Neill thesis 1973
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robertson_Anderson
James Bennett [died
1885] Appeared at the Royal Lyceum in 1857 in Knowle’s The Wife, Money, Othello
and Hamlet.
Catalog of Dramatic Portraits, Dictionary of the Drama
1904
John Brougham began acting at sixteen in Ireland in 1830,
and made his American debut at the Park Theatre, New York, on 4 October 1842. He
made a reputation for himself writing burlesques of popular dramas, one of the
most successful being his parody of Metamora in which Brougham played the
leading role in imitation of Forrest. In 1848, he achieved his greatest single
success as a playwright with Dombey & Sons at Burton's theatre in New York with
John
Brougham, then a member of Wallack's company in New York, joined Nickinson’s
company for the first week of July 1855. Performing three comedies, The Serious
Family, The Irish Lion and The Bachelor of Arts, Brougham also offered "a
selection of his favorite characters, a capital bill being presented
tonight."*50 He’d also performed in 1853 in David Copperfield, and in 1856 in
Dombey and Son. O’Neill
Thesis, 1973
Charles
Walter Couldock
[1815-1898]
came to America in 1849 and performed with
Charlotte Cushman’s company at the Broadway Theatre, New York, on 8 October
1849. After leaving her company, Couldock performed for four seasons as leading
man at the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, and toured as a star in the
summers. He acted in Canada for over thirty years as a star.
He appeared in Toronto each year between 1854
and 1857 in plays such as School for Scandal, Richard III, Merchant of Venice,
Othello, MacBeth, Hamlet, Lear and Richelieu.
One newspaper did provide, however, the only extant
record of Mrs. John Nickinson in connection with her husband's theatrical
activities. Her appearance coincided with Charles Couldock's scheduled
performance on 22 January 1855. 102 Couldock did not meet the commitment and on
25 January 1855 the Evening Patriot noted in its "arrival" column the names of
Mrs. Nickinson and Couldock from B u f f a l o . P r e s u m a b l y, Nickinson
cancelled Hamlet, Richelieu,
Daughter Eliza Couldock [1845-1872] also appeared in Toronto in
1857, when she was 12.
O’Neill
thesis 1973
Clara
Morris in her memoir Life on the Stage 1901, wrote of Couldock that “being of a
naturally quick and irritable temper, instead of trying to control it, he
yielded himself up to every impulse of vexation or annoyance, while with
ever-growing violence he made mountains out of molehills and when he had just
cause for anger he burst into paroxysms of rage,
even
of ferocity, that had they not been half unconscious acting must have landed him
in a mad-house out of consideration for the safety of others, while worst of
all, like too many of his great nation, he was profane almost beyond belief.
https://books.google.com/books?id=dTNDAAAAIAAJ&dq=life+on+the+stage+clara+morris&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Walter_Couldock
American National Biography (1999) describes Couldock as being of "the old-school
sentimental style of acting which required great emotive power and a command of
the sweeping gesture" and at his best "in maudlin domestic pieces" where "he
gave convincing life to a gallery of uniquely American stage characters." ANB also notes that while "recognized as an important theatrical
figure both in his own time and in ours, Couldock has not received sustained
scholarly attention from historians ...."[1][4]
Charles
Dillon
[1819-1881]
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dillon_(actor-manager)
Check
original could this be Charles Dibdin or Charles Dance?
Sir William Don
[1825-1862]
born
in Scotland in 1826, Sir William Don made his debut on the American stage at the
Broadway Theatre, New York, in November 1850, as Cousin Joe in Rough Diamond.
Sir William stood six feet four
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_William_Don,_7th_Baronet
Dictionary of National Biography, 1888
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Don,_William_Henry_(DNB00)
Sir William Don would adapt The Manager in Distress into Native Talent, a
vehicle chosen frequently thereafter by Charlotte Nickinson.
Charles
W. Couldock and Sir William Don, who had appeared at the Royal Lyceum under
Besnard's management, began an engagement with the company on 1 September 1854
in Richelieu and The Maid and the Milk Pail. Following a puff of the company in
the Toronto Daily Patriot and Express, 94 a "Leader Reader" wrote a letter to
the Daily Leader stating that "a more ridiculous compound [than the puff] had
never been printed," and continued to describe the theatre as a den of iniquity,
where birds of a feather are sure to congregate [in] the rare luxury of a motley
pit, a mottled pandemonium—reeling at one corner, clamorous, swaying, chewing,
screeching, hooting, standing with unsavoury exhalation at the other.
. . . [watching] retrograde aristocrace,
stalking for the liberal guffaws of its enraptured audience in the vilest casts
of Dick Turpinism, tumbling like Harlequin and personifying sotted maniacs, to
win a souse of applause. . .On the following day, 6 September, believing
Morrison himself the author of the letter, Sir William Don, the "retrograde
aristocracy" referred to in the article, conveyed a reply, accompanied by a
dictionary, to the editor: Sir William Don presents his compliments to the
editor of the Leader, and would feel obliged if he would send Sir Wm. a hamper
of those octosyllabic words which appeared in an article in this morning’s
Leader, as Sir William is about furnishing a book for the insane. Sir William
begs to enclose a dictionary for the use of the office and advises the Leader to
stick to two syllable words after dinner.
Toronto, Daily Patriot and Express, 2 September 1854. General articles defending
or attacking the theatre as an institution were frequent during the period of
this study. Such "puffs" often provided extra revenue to the editor who exacted
payment in return for their publication.
O’Neill thesis 1973
Sir
William Don appeared in Toronto in 1854 in a Pretty Piece of Business and 1854,
1855 and 1857 in Native Talent.
Charles Mathews (1803-1876) Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_James_Mathews
Encyclopedia Brittanica 1911
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Mathews,_Charles
Life of Charles James Mathews, edited by Charles
Dickens (2 vols., 1879); H. G. Paine in Actors and Actresses of Great Britain
and the United States (New York, 1886).
Mathews
appeared at the Royal Lyceum in 1854 in Used up, and in 1855 in Love a la mode
Mrs. Chas. Mathews [Lizzie Weston Davenport Mathews
[1828-
1899]
as Oberon in Midsummer
Night’s Dream
https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/885d7370-4e7d-0134-1db1-0050569601ca-c#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&r=0&xywh=-5078%2C-302%2C13982%2C6037
Appleton’s Cyclopedia 1900
https://books.google.com/books?id=3IZRAAAAYAAJ&dq=lizzier+weston+davenport+matthews&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Fanny Morant
[
1821-1900]
Began her career in London
and decided to stay in the US after a starring tour through the country.
Remained a member of James Wallacks company
until hired by Edwin Booth for
his new theatre. (History American Stage) The
attractive, if somewhat mouse-faced, performer was born in England and performed
at Drury Lane before settling in America in 1853. [Oxford Reference] Catalog of
Dramatic Portraits
1864 http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/ref/collection/19thcenturyactors/id/417
Charles D Fredericks
Fanny Morant appeared at the Royal Lyceum in 1856 in the
Hunchback and Lucretia Borgia
James Wallack (1794-1864)
James William Wallack (1791-1864) belonged to a
family of actors. He came to America in 1818 from London and, after that time,
divided his time between England and America. He managed the National Theatre,
New York, between 1837 and 1839, and opened Brougham's old Lyceum Theatre, New
York, as Wallack's Theatre in 1853. Although a highly gifted actor in both
comedy and tragedy, his place in American theatre history derives from his
excellent management of his theatres. After ten years of productions at his
first theatre, he opened a second Wallack's Theatre at Broadway and 13th Streets
in 1861. Although he retired from acting in 1859, he continued managing until
his death in 1864. His son, John Johnstone (Lester) Wallack, managed the Wallack
Theatre after his father's death. Coad and Mims, American Stage, pp. 73, 105,
109, 110, 199-203.
He
appeared at the Royal Lyceum in 1856 in MacBeth, the Merchant of Venice,
Othello, Much ado about nothing, Lady of Lyon and Werner and in 1857 in Hamlet
and the Three Guardsman.
Perhaps
the second visitor of the season, J. W. Wallack, attracted large houses because
the audience thought him his uncle, James W. Wallack, but the elder Wallack also
arrived to perform with his old friend, John Nickinson. *151
*Robertson states that "it was a long time after he had taken the management
of the Royal Lyceum that Mr. Nickinson was able to get any of the great actors
of the day to visit Toronto and play in It. Fortunately, while in New York he
had gained the friendship of James Wallack, the Wallack whose star was then in
the ascendant and as an
The first performance of the elder Wallack at the
Royal Lyceum almost coincided with his last, and the last, indeed for the entire
company. Almost immediately after the conclusion of the performance on Tuesday,
22 July 1856, a fire broke out in a house south of King Street in Theatre Lane.
The fire spread rapidly north to King Street and south to Wellington Street.
"The theatre was saved with the greatest difficulty--the whole of Mr.
Nickinson's company having applied themselves with almost superhuman exertions,
succeeded with the co-operation of the firemen in extinguishing the flames after
the
Although both Wallack’s came to Toronto, they
did not visit together as Robertson suggests. The visits of the Wallack's were a
landmark in Toronto's theatre history, but the influx of stars to Toronto and
the Great Lakes region at this time is undoubtedly due more to the coming of the
railroads than the appearance of any one star. Robertson, Landmarks, I, 488.
James Wallack Jr.
[1818-1873]
The
season at the Royal Lyceum in 1856-1857 boasted numerous stars: Georgina Hodson,
both the Wallacks, Fanny Morant, Charles W. Couldock, William Davidge, J.
Collins, J. B. Roberts, Mrs. Melinda Jones, Andrew Jackson Neafie, Henry Farren,
F. E. Belton, Charlotte Wyette, Mrs. Annie Senter, R. French, Mrs. Macready, C.
Barton Hill, and Ben G. Roger. Of these stars, five of them, Hodson, Wallack,
Jr., Collins, Roberts, Senter, appeared twice during the season and one of them,
Couldock, appeared three times.
Six of the visiting stars, Farren, Davidge, Couldock, Roberts, Neafie, and
Senter, had all appeared the year before. Nickinson had discovered a guest star
format which met with success during his first season at the Royal Lyceum and
did not change it throughout his management
Wallack Jr. Appeared at the Royal Lyceum in 1856 and
1857.
Mr.
Daniel Wilmarth Waller [died 1882] Actor
and stage manager, husband of tragedienne Emma Waller, Stage manager at Booth’s
Theatre
Mr. Waller was perhaps Widmarth
Waller, an "American tragedian of some experience in England," who portrayed
Hamlet, Virginius, Rolla, and Shylock in New York during the summer of 1851.
Mrs. Waller became manager of the Division Street Theatre in Albany in 1870.
Odell, Annals, VI, 15, 16, and Phelps, Players, p. 371. O’Neill thesis 1973
Mrs. D[aniel] W[ilmarth] Waller [Emma
1819-1899]
Histrionic Montreal 1902
https://books.google.com/books?id=svQ_AAAAYAAJ&dq=Daniel+Wilmarth+Waller&source=gbs_navlinks_s
The
Wallers appeared at the Royal Lyceum in 1858 in Charles Dance’s Naval
Engagements, Macbeth as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, the Lady of Lyons as Claude
Melnotte and Pauline, in Hamlet and Othello as Othello and Desdemona Phillipe of
France
Daniel and Emma Waller travelled to the United States
in 1851.Daniel played Hamlet and other tragic roles in New York soon after their
arrival. Emma American stage début was as lead in a grand concert at the Jenny
Lind Theatre, San Francisco, on May 6, 1852. She was received well and became a
popular performer. For much of 1852 The Waller Troupe, which includes a young
Edwin Booth, toured the northern Californian mining towns on horseback.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Waller
1848 EJP played with
Charles Kemble Mason at the Royal Lyceum Toronto 185?-1875 William
winter Brief Chronicles
https://books.google.com/books?id=agYuAAAAYAAJ&dq=charles+kemble+mason+winter&source=gbs_navlinks_s
1850 EJP and CKM played in the Honeymoon and The Stranger in Toronto.
1851 Providence RI Providence
Museum CW Couldock 1815-1898 Actress Charlotte
Cushman enticed
Couldock to travel to the United States in 1849, where he made a successful
American debut on 8 October 1849 in The Stranger. He played in the stock
company of Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre from 1850-55. Among roles he
first played during this period was that of Luke Fielding in The
Willow Copse,
a role he later reprised many times. In 1858 he joined the company of Laura
Keene,
where he appeared in the first American production of Our
American Cousin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Walter_Couldock
Clara Morris in her Life on the stage described Couldock’s temper and
profanity
https://books.google.com/books?id=dTNDAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA129#v=onepage&q&f=false
CW Couldock eventually was a member of the Madison Square Theatre
Company The Drama 1884
https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5tNAAAAMAAJ&dq=john+parselle+actor&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Couldock appeared at the Royal Lyceum
in Toronto a number of times between 1852 and 1857. A Toronto newspaper reported
that Mrs. John Nickinson had gone to Buffalo to retrieve him when he failed to
appear in Toronto in Jan 1855. JN also appeared with
Mrs. [Anna Cora ] Mowat
http://alphacentauri2.info/AnnaCoraMowatt/Anna%20Cora%20Mowatt%20--%20Main%20Page.htm
in Providence.
John Nickinson also appeared with the Herons, including
Matilda Heron,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_Heron
who was the mother of Bijou Heron 1863- 1937
1852
Buffalo JN with James Wallack and William
J Florence (1831-1891) married Malvina Pray, appeared at Royal Lyceum in 1852.
William Jermyn Conlin was better known as William J. Florence. He was fond of
Florence Italy,
where he had an apartment for his trips abroad, and adopted the city for his
stage name. Florence was one of a select number of Americans to win the ribbon
of the French Societe Histoire Dramatique.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Florence
Did John Nickinson know him in New York?
1854-1858 Royal Lyceum William Pleater Davidge appeared a number of times. 1814-1999, The original Dick Deadeye in HMS Pinafore 1879, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Pleater_Davidge Born in England, principal comedian Davidge first appeared in the US in 1850 at the Broadway Theatre. He later acted with Daly’s and Palmer’s Madison Square Theatre Companies. “Rare Old Bill” was awarded a special testimonial during his fiftieth year on the stage (which EJ Phillips acted in on April 21, 1887) and died the next year, in Wyoming on his way to San Francisco with the Madison Square Company
1854-1857
Denman Thompson was at the Royal
Lyceum 1833-1911
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denman_Thompson
Life of Denman Thompson. He subsequently hired Eliza Nickinson Peters and other
Nickinson relatives.
https://books.google.com/books?id=QI0VAAAAYAAJ&dq=Henry+Denman+Thompson&source=gbs_navlinks_s
1856 Royal Lyceum
James Wallack Sr 1794-1864
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_William_Wallack
Wallack was an actor of the old
school. Thackeray praised
his performance as Shylock,
and Joseph
Jefferson his
Don Caesar de Bazan.[4] As
a performer he was endowed with a fine personality; his voice was highly
melodious, set off by flexibility and careful elocution, and his knowledge of
stage-effect was unexcelled. In refined and eccentric comedy Wallack had few
superiors.
James Wallack 1818-1873 appeared at
the Royal Lyceum 1856 and 1857. Also known professionally as Lester Wallack.? Or
was the second John Wallack his cousin?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Wallack
.
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Wallack,_James_William_(DNB00)
. John Nickinson had known both Wallacks while working in New York.
1858 Royal Lyceum
Louisa Lane Drew,
Mrs. John Drew John Nickinson had also played with her when she was Mrs. Mossop
in 1842 and 1843 in New York at Mitchell’s Olympic Theatre. [History NY Stage]
1820-1897
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_Lane_Drew
EJP went to her funeral in Philadelphia in 189.
Her son in ‘law Maurice Barrymore was a Palmer colleague of EJP’s and she
knew his wife Georgie Drew Barrymore and reported that she was dying in 1893.
Did EJ Phillips ever meet John, Ethel of Lionel?
O'Neill, PB Anthony,
A History of Theatrical Activity in Toronto, Canada, from
its beginning to 1858, Louisiana State University dissertation, 1973
Last revised august 25, 2020
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