Henry Jacobson (1836 – 13 August 1885), best known by the stage name Harry Jackson, was an English actor and

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

Biography

Early life and career

Harry Jackson was born into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in London in 1836. At a young age he left England for Australia, where he began his career in the performing arts. During the Australian Gold Rush he played with a company in improvised theatres at the diggings. He subsequently performed alongside Mrs W. H. Foley in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, and in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

between 1856 and 1862. Around 1870, Jackson relocated to England and took the stage at the Gaiety Theatre in London. He appeared at the Princess's Theatre, where he eventually assumed the role of stage manager. In the late 1870s, he joined the company of

Augustus Harris Sir Augustus Henry Glossop Harris (18 March 1852 – 22 June 1896) was a British actor, impresario, and dramatist, a dominant figure in the West End theatre, West End theatre of the 1880s and 1890s. Born into a theatrical family, Harris brief ...

and gained prominence as the leading comedian and stage manager at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

. Jackson specialized in portraying caricatures of Jews in productions like ''Queen's Evidence'', ''The World'', and ''Pluck''. His portrayal of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

also received some acclaim, due to his physical resemblance to the historical figure. He directed the

Opera Comique The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, located between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and K ...

during Lotta Crabtree's performances in 1883–84.

Death

On 12 August 1885, he revived his best known role at the

Pavilion Theatre, Whitechapel The Pavilion Theatre at 191–193 Whitechapel Road, London, was the first major theatre to open in London's East End. It was destroyed by fire in 1856 and rebuilt as the New Royal Pavilion Theatre, which operated until 1935. History The theatre ...

, that of the "disreputable Jew diamond dealer" Moss Jewell in ''The World''. That night, Jackson reportedly expressed fears about not being permitted to be buried among the Jewish community, given "his identification on the stage with the hideous caricature of a Jew

hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...

gave great and not unnatural offence to his coreligionists." He died of a morphine overdose the following evening at his residence at 45

Great Russell Street Great Russell Street is a street in Bloomsbury, London, best known for being the location of the British Museum. It runs between Tottenham Court Road (part of the A400 route) in the west, and Southampton Row (part of the A4200 route) in the e ...

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

, at the age of 49. A coroner's inquest found no evidence to suggest any suicidal intent. He was buried at Willesden Jewish Cemetery on 19 August.

Selected roles

* Various characters (including impersonations of Edward Kenealy and

) in ''Heads of the People'' (

, Gaiety Theatre,

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

, and across England, Scotland, and Ireland) * Rip Van Winkle in ''Rip Van Winkle'' by

Dion Boucicault Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the ...

(Gaiety Theatre, 1872) * Isaacs (alias Jonas Levant) in ''Queen's Evidence'' by George Conquest and

Henry Pettitt Henry Alfred Pettitt (7 April 1848 – 24 December 1893), was a British actor and dramatist. With Augustus Harris, he wrote the play ''Burmah'', produced on Broadway in 1896. With G. R. Sims, he created a substantial body of very succes ...

(Surrey Theatre, 1882; Princess's Theatre, 1878) * Moss Jewell in ''The World'' by Paul Meritt, Henry Pettitt, and

(Drury Lane Theatre, 1880; Pavilion Theatre, 1885) * Larry O'Pheysey in ''Youth'' (Drury Lane Theatre, 1881) * Bevis Marks in ''Pluck; A Story of £50,000'' by Henry Pettitt and Augustus Harris (Drury Lane Theatre, 1882)

References

External links