Charles Western Taylor ( – April 11, 1874), often billed as C. W. Taylor, was an american actor and dramatist in the mid-19th century. He is best known today for writing one of the first stage adaptations of ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...

''.

Biography

Taylor was born in

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, England, about 1800 and first appeared on stage in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, in 1819. He soon after debuted in New York in the ''Forest Rose''. He long acted in parts at the National Theatre on Chatham Street in New York.Wemyss, Francis C
Wemyss'Chronology of the American Stage, from 1752 to 1852
p. 136 (1852) He also acted for many years in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, and also served as musical director of the

Bowery Theatre The Bowery Theatre was a playhouse on the Bowery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Although it was founded by rich families to compete with the upscale Park Theatre (Manhattan), Park Theatre, the Bowery saw its most successful ...

in New York City under the direction of

Thomas Hamblin Thomas Souness Hamblin (14 May 1800 – 8 January 1853) was an English actor and theatre manager. He first took the stage in England, then immigrated to the United States in 1825. He received critical acclaim there, and eventually entered theatr ...

.Stone, Henry Dickinson
Personal Recollections of the Drama
pp. 277-80 (1873) (a four page and somewhat colorful biography of Taylor) Taylor wrote the first produced non-comedic stage adaptation of

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

's ''

'' in the United States. It debuted on 23 August 1852, with Taylor playing Uncle Tom, but only ran for 11 nights after little success.(3 February 1877)
"UNCLE TOM'S CABIN:" ITS EARLY DAYS, AND THE PEOPLE WHO PLAYED IN IT
''New York Clipper'' Taylor's abbreviated play omitted key characters and had a happy ending where Tom gained his freedom.Miller, Tice L
Entertaining the Nation
p. 100 (2007) His other stage adaptations included a version of the 1854 bestseller ''

Hot Corn ''Hot Corn: Life Scenes in New York Illustrated'' is a collection of short stories by Solon Robinson about the life of the poor in New York City, and was a "runaway bestseller" when first published in the United States in early 1854. Along with ...

''.Bordman, Gerald & Thomas S. Hischak
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre
p. 317 (3d ed. 2004) Taylor retired from the stage in 1860.Ireland, Joseph Norton
Records of the New York stage: from 1750 to 1860, Volume 1
p. 572 (1866) He died in West Farms, New York, on April 11, 1874.(27 October 1877)
"Ion" in America and England
''New York Clipper''

Plays (partial list)

* ''

The Water-Witch ''The Water-Witch'' is an 1830 novel by James Fenimore Cooper. Set in 17th-century New York (state), New York and the surrounding sea, the novel depicts the abduction of a woman, Alida de Barbérie, by the pirate captain of the brigantine ''Wat ...

; or the Skimmer of the Seas'' (1831 adaptation of

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

book) (played for 18 successive performances at the

in New York, a long run for its time)(31 March 1831)
Bowery Theatre (advertisement
''New York Morning Courier'' (advertisement in far right column for tenth performance of the ''Water Watch'', a benefit for C.W. Taylor) * ''The Goblet of Death; or, the Road to Ruin'' (c. 1847) (an 1880 history of theatre in

called this "a thrilling temperance drama, with a moral the author would have done better had he heeded it")Phelps, Henry Pitt
Players of a Century: A Record of the Albany Stage
p. 251 (2d ed. 1880) * ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (adaptation 1852) * ''Little Katy or, The Hot Corn Girl'' (adaptation of ''

'' stories)(1853) * ''Dred; or the Dismal Swamp'' (adaptation of Stowe's Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp) (1856) (a different version than the one by

John Brougham John Brougham (9 May 1814 – 7 June 1880) was an Irish and American actor, dramatist, poet, theatre manager, and author. As an actor and dramatist he had most of his career in the United States, where he was celebrated for his portrayals of com ...

) * ''The Drunkard's Warning'' (1856)Frick, John W
Theatre, Culture and Temperance Reform in Nineteenth-Century America
p. 143 (2003) * ''The Lord if the Isles, or the Battle of Bannockburn'' (adaptation of Sir Walter Scott

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

) (1856)(22 September 1856)
Atlantic and European Theatricals
''Sacramento Daily Union'' * ''The Signet Ring of King Solomon'' (?)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Charles W. 1800s births 1874 deaths British emigrants to the United States 19th-century American dramatists and playwrights 19th-century American male actors