John Francis Sheridan (1843 – 26 December 1908) was an Irish-American comic actor and

female impersonator An organism's sex is female (symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and males ...

who had a long career in Australia, mostly in

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

History

Sheridan was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and got his start on the stage there in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

as a widow named Mulvaney. His best-known character was "Widow O'Brien" in ''Fun on the Bristol'', a musical farce written by

George Fawcett Rowe George Curtis Fawcett Rowe (24 July 1832 – 29 August 1889), was an English actor, manager and dramatist, whose career began in Australia as George Fawcett; later he was billed as George F. Rowe and worked in Britain and America, where he died. ...

, and first produced at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, but was heavily criticised. It was developed by E. E. Rice in New York, finally making 14th Street theatres in 1880, and was taken to London just as

Nellie Stewart Nellie Stewart, born Eleanor Stewart Towzey (20 November 1858 – 21 June 1931) was an Australian actress and singer, known as "Our Nell" and "Sweet Nell". Born into a theatrical family, Stewart began acting as a child. As a young woman, she ...

's ''Rainbow Revels'' was opening at the same theatre. Sheridan and his play were brought to Australia in 1884 by Williamson, Garner, and Musgrove. Later successes include the opera ''

The Earl and the Girl ''The Earl and the Girl'' is a musical comedy in two acts, with a book by Seymour Hicks, lyrics by Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll. It was produced by William Greet and opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 10 December 1903. It t ...

'', in which he was associated with Miss Heba Harlow, also '' A Trip to Chicago'' (written jointly by Sheridan and

Fred Lyster Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frede ...

), as "Johanna Murphy" and

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 ...

's ''

The Shaughraun ''The Shaughraun'' is a melodramatic Play (theatre), play written by Irish people, Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Wallack's Theatre, New York City, New York, on 14 November 1874. Dion Boucicault played Conn in the ...

''. He died of heart failure in the early hours of Boxing Day at the Criterion Hotel,

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, in which city he was due to appear in ''Cinderella'' for

William Anderson William Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Anderson (artist) (1757–1837), painter of marine and historical paintings * William Anderson (theatre) (1868–1940), Australian stage entrepreneur * William Anderson (1911–1986 ...

that night. He had been suffering poor health for a long period, and had recently lost a fortune when a financial institution, in which he had invested heavily, failed. His remains were interred in the

Waverley Cemetery The Waverley Cemetery is a Heritage register, heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte, New South Wales, Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, ...

Publications

*''John F. Sheridan's Songster'' aka ''John F. Sheridan's New Song Book'' (1900-1909) *''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1886), musical theatre by

Alfred Dampier Alfred Dampier (28 February 1843? 1847? – 23 May 1908) was an English-born actor-manager and playwright, active in Australia.John Rickard,Dampier, Alfred (1843–1908), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 4, Melbourne University Pre ...

, John F. Sheridan with H. Percy Kehoe and J. A. Robertson (composers. *''Black-Eyed Susan, or, The Lass Who Loved William'' (1890), musical theatre by John F. Sheridan and

Bert Royle Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album ''Here Comes a ...

, J. A. Robertson (composer), Macmahon Brothers, F. E. Hiscocks, W. J. Wilson *''Fun on the Bristol, or, A Night on the Sound'' (1879)

, John F. Sheridan *''The New Barmaid'' (1895–1908), musical theatre by John F. Sheridan

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheridan, John 1843 births 1908 deaths 19th-century Australian male actors