William Abbot or Abbott (12 June 1790 – 1 June 1843) was an English

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, and a theatrical manager, both in England and the

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Life

Abbot was born in

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, and made his first appearance on the stage at Bath in 1806, and his first

appearance in 1808, at the Haymarket Theatre, in a benefit performance. There he appeared as Frederick in an 1809 production of ''

Lovers' Vows ''Lovers' Vows'' (1798), a play by Elizabeth Inchbald arguably best known now for having been featured in Jane Austen's novel ''Mansfield Park'' (1814), is one of at least four adaptations of August von Kotzebue's ''Das Kind der Liebe'' (1780; lit ...

''. At the Covent Garden Theatre in 1813, in light

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

and melodrama, he made his first definite success. He was Pylades to

William Charles Macready William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English actor. Life He was born in London the son of William Macready the elder, and actress Christina Ann Birch. Educated at Rugby School where he became headboy, and where now the t ...

's Orestes in

Ambrose Philips Ambrose Philips (167418 June 1749) was an English poet and politician. He feuded with other poets of his time, resulting in Henry Carey bestowing the nickname " Namby-Pamby" upon him, which came to mean affected, weak, and maudlin speech or ver ...

's ''Distressed Mother'' when Macready made his first appearance there, in 1816. He created the parts of Appius Claudius in Sheridan Knowles's '' Virginius'' (1820) and of Modus in his ''Hunchback'' (1832). In 1827 Abbot organized the company, including

Harriet Smithson Harriet Constance Smithson (18 March 1800 – 3 March 1854), most commonly known as Harriet Smithson, who also went by Henrietta Constance Smithson,, Murphy, Groghegan, 2015 p.196. Harriet Smithson Berlioz, and Miss H.C. Smithson, was an Anglo- ...

, which acted

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

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. His position was as stage manager; he performed at the

Salle Favart The Salle Favart, officially the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, is a Paris opera house and theatre, the current home of the Opéra-Comique. It was built from 1893 to 1898 in a neo-Baroque style to the designs of the French architect Louis Bernie ...

, but not to plaudits. On his return to

he played Romeo to

Fanny Kemble Frances Anne "Fanny" Kemble (27 November 180915 January 1893) was a British actress from a theatre family in the early and mid-19th century. She was a well-known and popular writer and abolitionist, whose published works included plays, poetry ...

's ''Juliet'' (1830). Two of Abbot's melodramas, ''The Youthful Days of Frederick the Great'' (1817) and ''Swedish Patriotism'' (1819), were produced at Covent Garden. Abbot also worked in America, where he first appeared as "Mr. Beverly" in an 1832 production of '' The Gamester'' at the Park Theatre in New York. Later he moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where he created the

New Charleston Theatre New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

and operated it from 1837 through 1841. This theatre brought stars like Ellen Tree to the company there, but did not enjoy major success. William Abbot died in New York on 7 June 1843; also earlier that year in

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. He had married an actress, Elizabeth Bradshaw née Buloid.

References

*''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume 1607–1896''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963. Attribution 1790 births 1843 deaths 19th-century English businesspeople Businesspeople from London British emigrants to the United States English male stage actors 19th-century English male actors English theatre managers and producers 19th-century theatre managers People from Chelsea, London {{England-business-bio-stub