John Edwin (10 August 1749 – 31 October 1790), English actor, was born in London, the son of a watchmaker. He was the long-term companion of the actress Elizabeth Walmesley who acted under the name Mrs. Edwin.

Life

As a youth, he appeared in the provinces, in minor parts; and at Bath in 1768 he formed a connexion with a Mrs Walmsley, a milliner, who bore him a son, but whom he afterwards deserted. His first London appearance was at the Haymarket in 1776 as Flaw in

Samuel Foote Samuel Foote (January 1720 – 21 October 1777) was a Cornish dramatist, actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. He was known for his comedic acting and writing, and for turning the loss of a leg in a riding accident in 1766 to comedic oppor ...

's ''The Cozeners'', but when George Colman took over the theatre he was given better parts and became its leading actor. In 1779 he was 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 ...

, and played there or at the Haymarket until his death. Ascribed to him are ''The Last Legacy of John Edwin'', 1780; ''Edwin's Jests'' and ''Edwin's Pills to Purge Melancholy''.

Selected roles

* Jacob in '' The Chapter of Accidents'' by Sophia Lee (1780) * Bronze in '' The World as it Goes'' by Hannah Cowley (1781) * Timid in '' Duplicity'' by

Thomas Holcroft Thomas Holcroft (10 December 174523 March 1809) was an English dramatist, miscellanist, poet, novelist and translator. He was sympathetic to the early ideas of the French Revolution and helped Thomas Paine to publish the first part of ''The Ri ...

(1781) * Pat Carey in ''

The Walloons ''The Walloons'' is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London in April 1782. The original cast included John Henderson as Father Sullivan, Richard Wroughton as Mo ...

'' by Richard Cumberland (1782) * Sir Marvel Mushroom in '' More Ways Than One'' by Hannah Cowley (1783) * Don Vincentio in '' A Bold Stroke for a Husband'' by Hannah Cowley (1783) * Nicholas in '' Fashionable Levities'' by Leonard MacNally (1785) * Humphry in '' Appearance Is Against Them'' by Elizabeth Inchbald (1785) * Jerome in '' The Widow's Vow'' by Elizabeth Inchbald (1786) * Gregory in '' The Campaign'' by Robert Jephson (1785) * Caleb in '' He Would Be a Soldier'' by Frederick Pilon (1786) * Sheepface in '' The Village Lawyer'' by

George Colman the Elder George Colman (April 1732 – 14 August 1794) was an English dramatist and essayist, usually called "the Elder", and sometimes "George the First", to distinguish him from his son, George Colman the Younger. He also owned a theatre. Early life H ...

(1787) * Nicolas in '' The Midnight Hour'' by Elizabeth Inchbald (1787) * Muns in '' The Prisoner at Large'' by John O'Keeffe (1788) * Methlegin in '' The Toy'' by John O'Keeffe (1789)

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwin, John English male stage actors 1749 births 1790 deaths 18th-century English male actors