Charles Vincent (1823 – 10 May 1868) was an English actor with a career as actor and stage manager in Australia, where he died when an apparently innocuous injury turned septic. He was married to the actress Louise Cleveland.

History

Vincent, (real name Charles Panrucker Viner) was brought up destined for a career in the Church, but his interests lay in the theatre. He came to public attention when as a member of an English company playing a series of Shakespeare's plays at the Theatre Imperial, Paris, he received a great deal of praise, notably from Lemaître. He was playing at the Drury Lane theatre and his wife, "Miss Cleveland" was at the Strand theatre, when they were approached by John Black, who built the

Theatre Royal, Melbourne The Theatre Royal was one of the premier theatres for nearly 80 years in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 1855 to 1932. It was located at what is now 236 Bourke Street, once the heart of the city's theatre and entertainment distri ...

, to appear in a series of plays in Australia.

Australia

On 27 February 1864 they made their first appearance on the Melbourne stage with the drama ''Leah, or The Forsaken'', adapted from Mosenthal's ''Deborah''. Cleveland acted in the name part and Vincent as Nathan, both receiving excellent notices. They took the play to other Australian colonies and to New Zealand, everywhere to good houses, returning to Melbourne in July. Other parts for which he was noted were Philip Faulconbridge in '' King John'', Macbeth, Hamlet's father, and Joseph Surface in ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sn ...

''.

Manager

When William Hoskins became lessee of the

Theatre Royal, Ballarat The Theatre Royal, Ballarat was a theatre in Ballarat, Victoria. It was the first permanent theatre built in Inland Australia. When the theatre opened in 1858, it was the finest structure in the gold-rich town, and possibly the grandest and most ...

, in 1865, Vincent and Cleveland moved too, and when J. C. Lambert became lessee of the

, Vincent took on the duties of stage manager, at which he excelled, being reckoned second only to

Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer), Chicago lawyer and ...

in that function. And when Lambert quit as lessee-manager in February 1868, Vincent took on those duties as well.

Last days

Vincent was in the yard of their residence on Palmer-street,

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

, on 1 May 1868, and went to mount his horse,

bareback Bareback riding is a form of equestrianism, horseback riding without a saddle. It requires skill, balance, and coordination, as the rider does not have any equipment to compensate for errors of balance or skill. Proponents of bareback riding argu ...

, when the horse shied away, throwing him to the ground. He got to his feet, having apparently suffered nothing more than a sore back and badly dislocated thumb. No fears were held for his well-being, but two days later the thumb injury had spread in the form of

erysipelas Erysipelas () is a relatively common bacterial infection of the superficial layer of the skin ( upper dermis), extending to the superficial lymphatic vessels within the skin, characterized by a raised, well-defined, tender, bright red rash, t ...

to the shoulder and by 7 May he had become delirious and the consulting doctors advised him to finalise his affairs which, being perfectly conscious, he was able to do. His wife,

John Hennings John Hennings (c. 1833 – 13 October 1898) was a theatrical scene painter and theatre manager in Melbourne, Australia. He has been identified as Johann Friederich Hennings, probably born on 6 July 1835, son of Danish-born parents Johann Hennings, ...

and friend James Hosie were with him when he died. The funeral took place on 12 May and his remains were buried at the

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of four Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other n ...

Personal

Vincent married Louise Cleveland (c. 1834–1902), professionally known as Miss Cleveland, in 1856. After his death she used "Mrs Viner" professionally, as when she was praised for her role as Marion Holcombe in an adaptation of

Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for '' The Woman in White'' (1859), a mystery novel and early "sensation novel", and for '' The Moonstone'' (1868), which has b ...

's ''The Woman in White''. Cleveland later married the tragedian Arthur Stirling, the aftermath of which filled the gossip columns for weeks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent, Charles 1823 births 1868 deaths 19th-century English male actors 19th-century Australian male actors Australian theatre managers and producers Infectious disease deaths in Victoria (state) Deaths from streptococcus infection