Clarance Holt (9 January 1826 – 27 September 1903), born Joseph Frederick Holt was an English

actor-manager An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the business, sometimes taking over a theatre to perform select plays in which they usually star. It is a method of theatrical production used co ...

who had a successful career on the stage in England, Australia and New Zealand. His company included his wife and, frequently, his three children, all of whom went on to have successful careers on the stage. His first name is frequently misspelled "Clarence".

Early life and career

He was born on 9 January 1826 in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, London the youngest son of Thomas Holt and Elizabeth Giddens. His father was a successful military tailor with an establishment (Thomas Holt & Son) in

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

. He was variously described in his younger days as actor, acrobat and comedian and eventually adopted the stage name of Clarance. Holt made his stage debut in 1842 as Timothy in

William Thomas Moncrieff William Thomas Moncrieff (24 August 1794 – 3 December 1857), commonly referred as W. T. Moncrieff, was an English dramatist and author. Biography William Thomas Thomas, born in London to a Strand tradesman named Thomas, assumed the name Moncri ...

's farce ''All at Coventry'' at the Victoria Theatre, London. He married Marian Browne (sometimes named Marian Vaughan) in 1847 and they were acting together by 1850 when he was appointed manager of the

Theatre Royal, Norwich The Theatre Royal is a theatre in Norwich, England. It is one of the country's oldest established theatres, founded in 1758. It was rebuilt in 1801 and 1826. It burnt down in 1934 and was bombed during World War II. Peter Wilson ran the theat ...

under the name of Joseph Clarance.

Career in Australia and New Zealand

Holt went to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

with his wife in September 1854 at the suggestion of

George Coppin George Selth Coppin (8 April 1819 – 14 March 1906) was a comic actor, a theatrical entrepreneur, a politician and a philanthropist, active in Australia.Sally O'Neill,Coppin, George Selth (1819–1906), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', ...

. From Geelong he went to

Hobart Town Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly half ...

and

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...

and in September 1855 opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Before leaving Australia in April 1857 he had played in most of the goldfields centres of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and performed on 330 nights. In 1858 he returned to Melbourne with his family on board the Josephine. A successful tragedian, Holt played Othello to

Gustavus Brooke Gustavus Vaughan Brooke (25 April 1818 – 11 January 1866), commonly referred to as G. V. Brooke, was an Irish stage actor who enjoyed success in Ireland, England, and Australia. Early life Brooke was born in Dublin, Ireland, the eldest son o ...

's Iago. In 1861 he took over management of the Theatre Royal, Ballarat on Sturt Street, the town's only theatre after fire destroyed the Montezuma and the Charlie Napier, both on the Main Road. In 1862 as joint lessee of 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 ...

, he engaged Brooke,

Anna Bishop Anna, Lady Bishop (9 January 181018 March 1884) was an English operatic soprano. She sang in many countries and was believed to be the most widely travelled singer of the 19th century.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 ...

and others. When the lease ran out he went to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

and "became the pioneer of the English drama in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

" by establishing the theatre there.

Later career in England

In September 1864 he returned to England and went into partnership with Charles Wilmot and they managed a number of theatres including the City of London Theatre, The Duke's Theatre, Holborn, The Islington Theatre and the Lyceum Theatre,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. In addition to managing these theatres he continued to perform and tour the provinces. He also created a successful one man touring show – ''A Night with Shakespeare and Dickens'' and in 1870 wrote, produced and starred in an adaptation of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' – ''The Barricade''. He retired from the stage in about 1893.

Personal life

He was married three times: to Marian Browne in 1847, Alice Hayes in 1883 and Hannah Harris in 1893. His three children; Ellen Elizabeth "Nellie" Vaughan (as per details in her marriage certificate in New Zealand to Thomas Edward Harris), (Elizabeth) May Holt and (Joseph Thomas) Bland Holt all became actors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Clarance English male stage actors English male Shakespearean actors 19th-century English male actors 19th-century theatre Actor-managers 1826 births 1903 deaths