Jerome Sykes (June 24, 1868 - December 29, 1903) was an American stage actor, singer and comedian. He was perhaps best known for his performances as Foxy Quiller in two theatrical productions. His brother Albert S Sykes was also an actor. Sykes was born in Washington, D.C., under the name of Henry Karl August Seitz and grew up in a house where part of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

now stands. He "was a member of a famous family of actors ..." Sykes' professional debut came in the 1884-1885 season in a performance of ''The Mikado'' with the Ford Opera Company in Baltimore. His biggest Broadway success was ''The Billionaires'' (1902-03) which had in its cast

May Robson Mary Jeanette Robison (19 April 1858 – 20 October 1942), known professionally as May Robson, was an Australian-born American-based actress whose career spanned 58 years, starting in 1883 when she was 25. A major stage actress of the late 19t ...

and

Sallie Fisher Sallie Fisher (August 10, 1880 June 8, 1950) was an American stage and vaudeville actress who appeared in the 1916 silent ''The Little Shepherd of Bargain Row''. Early years Fisher "was born on a ranch in Wyoming" but moved with her family to ...

and was the New York debut of

Marie Doro Marie Doro (born Marie Katherine Stewart; May 25, 1882 – October 9, 1956) was an American stage and film actress of the early silent film era. She was first noticed as a chorus-girl by impresario Charles Frohman, who took her to Broadway, whe ...

. His other Broadway credits included ''Foxy Quiller (In Corsica)'' (1900), ''Chris and the Wonderful Lamp'' (1900), and ''The Three Dragoons'' (1899). Sykes portrayed Constable Foxy Quiller in ''The Highwayman'', which became popular enough that it resulted in a sequel, ''Foxy Quiller''. During a party feted for Sykes and ''The Billionaires'' in Chicago, Sykes caught pneumonia, while wearing too few clothes in the dead of winter, and died at 35. After his body was temporarily stored in a receiving tomb at Greenwood Cemetery, he was buried at St. James Episcopal Cemetery in St. James, New York, where his family had a summer residence for many years. Sykes was married twice, to Agnes Sherwood, who died in 1896 and to actress Jessie Wood. THE HATCHING CAT, True and Unusual Animal Tales of Old New York
.. ir Oliver the Parrot, the Mascot of the Lambs/ref>

References

External links

Jerome Sykes at IBDb.com Macauley Theatre Collection
Univ. of Louisville)
Jerome Sykes
City Museum of New York)
site concerning 1903 Iroquois Theater fire, Chicago
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, Jerome 1868 births 1903 deaths Male actors from Washington, D.C. People from Capitol Hill, DC Deaths from pneumonia in Illinois 19th-century American male actors American male stage actors 20th-century American male actors Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery