John Cooper (1793–1870), was a British actor active between 1811 and 1859, who played in "a singularly large number of parts, some of them of leading importance"Joseph Knight, ‘Cooper, John (1793–1870)’, rev. Nilanjana Banerji, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 23 Jan 2010
/ref> in many locations in England, Wales and Scotland.

Career

Early years

Cooper was born in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in 1793, the son of a tradesman. His first recorded role was as "Alonzo" in E. Young's ''The Revenge'', in a private theatre. He first appeared on the Bath stage on 14 March 1811, aged 18. His first appearance in London was at the Haymarket, on 15 May 1811, as "Count Montalban" in John Tobin's ''The Honeymoon''. He subsequently joined Andrew Cherry and played in a number of Welsh theatres, and in 1812 he played in the north of England and in Scotland. In Edinburgh he played "Edgar" to

Edmund Kean Edmund Kean (4 November 178715 May 1833) was a British Shakespearean actor, who performed, among other places, in London, Belfast, New York, Quebec, and Paris. He was known for his short stature, tumultuous personal life, and controversial div ...

's ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'', and in Glasgow was the first to play the title role in Sheridan Knowles' '' Virginius''.

Drury Lane

He made his first appearance at

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

in November 1820, as "Romeo", and "was well received". Subsequent roles at Drury Lane included: "Antony" in ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'', "Tullus Aufidius" in ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

'', "Joseph" in ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling S ...

'', "Richmond" in ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'', and "Iago" in ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''.

London

Around 1825 he married the widowed actress Mrs Dalton, originally Miss Walton, of Dublin, and over the next couple of decades played a large number and variety of parts at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

, the Haymarket, the English Opera House, and the

Surrey Theatre The Surrey Theatre, London began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided entertainment of both horsemanship and drama ( hippodrama). It stood in Blackfriars Road, near the j ...

The Midlands

Cooper was also popular and in demand on the

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

circuits. When his wife died in London in 1843, he moved to

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

where he was appointed stage-manager. In 1845 moved to Newmarket, and was subsequently engaged by Knowles, the proprietor of the Theatre Royal,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. He made his début there as "Menenius" in ''Coriolanus''. Cooper was also popular in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

and

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

London

His final roles were played under

Charles Kean Charles John Kean (18 January 181122 January 1868) was an Irish-born English actor and theatre manager, best known for his revivals of Shakespearean plays. Life Kean was born at Waterford, Ireland, a son of actor Edmund Kean and actress Mary ...

at the

Princess's Theatre, London The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 18 ...

, where his performances included "Henry IV" in ''

Henry IV, Part I ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...

'', the "Duke of York" in ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

'', and "Kent" in ''King Lear''.

Retirement

He retired in 1859, withdrew from the stage, and lived on his savings in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

. He subsequently moved to

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

for his health, and died there on 13 July 1870.

Selected roles

* Doge of Venice in ''

Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice ''Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice'' is a blank verse tragedy in five acts by Lord Byron, published and first performed in 1821. Synopsis The play is set in Venice in 1355. Marino Faliero, recently elected Doge of Venice, offends one of the ...

'' by

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

(1821) * Arsenio in ''

Conscience A conscience is a Cognition, cognitive process that elicits emotion and rational associations based on an individual's ethics, moral philosophy or value system. Conscience is not an elicited emotion or thought produced by associations based on i ...

'' by

James Haynes James Almand Haynes (10 November 1933 – 6 January 2021) was an American-born figure in the British 1950s-60s counterculture, beginning in Edinburgh, Scotland with the opening of The Paperback bookshop in 1959. He was also a co-founder of Edi ...

(1821) * Cortez in '' Cortez'' by

James Planché James Robinson Planché (27 February 1796 – 30 May 1880) was a British dramatist, antiquary and officer of arms. Over a period of approximately 60 years he wrote, adapted, or collaborated on 176 plays in a wide range of genres including ...

(1823) * The Hungarian in ''

The Three Strangers "The Three Strangers" is a short story by Thomas Hardy, first published in ''Longman's Magazine'' and ''Harper's Weekly'' in March 1883. It later it became the first of five stories in Hardy's 1888 short story collection ''Wessex Tales''. Plot On ...

'' by Harriet Lee (1825) * Dorival in '' The French Libertine'' by

John Howard Payne John Howard Payne (June 9, 1791 – April 10, 1852) was an American actor, poet, playwright, and writer who had nearly two decades of a theatrical career and success in London. He is today most remembered as the creator of " Home! Sweet Home ...

(1826) * Cameron in '' Forget and Forgive'' by James Kenney (1827) * Eudes in ''

Ben Nazir, the Saracen ''Ben Nazir, the Saracen'' is an 1827 historical tragedy by the Irish writer Thomas Colley Grattan. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 21 May 1827. The original cast included Edmund Kean as Ben Nazir, Henry John Wallack as ...

'' by

Thomas Colley Grattan Thomas Colley Grattan (1792 – 4 July 1864) was an Irish novelist, poet, dramatist, travel writer, historian and diplomat. Born in Dublin, he was educated for the law, but did not practise. He wrote a few novels, including '' The Heiress of ...

(1827) * Don Pedro in '' Don Pedro, King of Castile'' by Lord Porchester (1828) * Angelo Colonna in ''

Rienzi ' (''Rienzi, the last of the tribunes''; WWV 49) is an 1842 opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to ''Rienzi' ...

'' by

Mary Russell Mitford Mary Russell Mitford (16 December 1787 – 10 January 1855) was an English essayist, novelist, poet and dramatist. She was born at Alresford in Hampshire, England. She is best known for '' Our Village'', a series of sketches of village scenes ...

(1828) * Don Carlos in ''

The Pledge Pledge may refer to: Promises * a solemn promise * Abstinence pledge, a commitment to practice abstinence, usually teetotalism or chastity * The Pledge (New Hampshire), a promise about taxes by New Hampshire politicians * Pledge of Allegianc ...

'' by James Kenney (1831) * Guthrum in ''

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

'' by

James Sheridan Knowles James Sheridan Knowles (12 May 1784 – 30 November 1862) was an Irish dramatist and actor. A relative of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Knowles enjoyed success writing plays for the leading West End theatres. Later in his career he also produced ...

(1831) * Lord Marston in ''

The School for Coquettes ''The School for Coquettes'' is an 1831 comedy play by the British writer Catherine Gore, best known for her silver fork novels, for whom it was her theatrical debut. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London on 14 July 1831. The or ...

'' by

Catherine Gore Catherine Grace Frances Gore (''née'' Moody; 12 February 1798 – 29 January 1861), was a prolific English novelist and dramatist. The daughter of a wine merchant from Retford, Nottinghamshire, she became among the best known of the silver fork ...

(1831) * Richard Fitzalan in '' The Merchant of London'' by

Thomas James Serle Thomas James Serle (1798–1889) was an English dramatist and actor. He was also a journalist with the '' Weekly Dispatch''. Early life Serle was born in Gracechurch Street, London, on 28 October 1798, and educated for the Bar. Between the ages o ...

(1832) * Prince of Eisbach in '' The House of Colberg'' by

(1832) * Edward in '' The Daughter'' by

(1836)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, John 1793 births 1870 deaths 19th-century English male actors