Bob Acres is a character in

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, writer and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 to 1812, representing the constituencies of Stafford, Westminster and I ...

's ''

The Rivals ''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...

''. Acres was a

coward Cowardice is a characteristic wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumb ...

, whose "courage always oozed out at his finger ends". He was popularly played in the 19th century by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Joseph Jefferson Joseph Jefferson III (February 20, 1829 – April 23, 1905), often known as Joe Jefferson, was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedians ...

. (Jefferson named a Louisiana train station after this character; see

Bob Acres, Louisiana Bob Acres is a small unincorporated community in rural Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States. It was established as a train station by American actor Joseph Jefferson,Benjamin McArthur, ''The Man Who Was Rip Van Winkle: Joseph Jefferson and N ...

.)Benjamin McArthur, ''The Man Who Was Rip Van Winkle: Joseph Jefferson and Nineteenth-Century American Theatre'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 274.

References

Acres, Bob Acres, Bob Acres, Bob Acres, Bob Acres, Bob {{Lit-char-stub