Robert James Heir (10 February 1832 – 27 February 1868) was an actor in Australia, best known as the first husband of the great actress

Fanny Cathcart Mary Fanny Cathcart (3 August 1833 – 3 January 1880), was an Australian stage actress, active between 1853 and 1878. Between 1855 and 1865, she was regarded as the most famed female theatre star in Australia. Cathcart was born in England on 3 ...

History

Heir arrived in Melbourne by the George Marshall, and made his first appearance on 11 April 1855 at the Queen's Theatre, Melbourne as "Icilius" in Knowles' drama '' Virginius'' with

G. V. Brooke Gustavus Vaughan Brooke (25 April 1818 – 11 January 1866), commonly referred to as G. V. Brooke, was an Irish stage actor who enjoyed success in Ireland, England, and Australia. Early life Brooke was born in Dublin, Ireland, the eldest son o ...

and

. Heir and Cathcart were playing Morris Barnett's comedy, '' The Serious Family'', for

George Coppin George Selth Coppin (8 April 1819 – 14 March 1906) was a comic actor, a theatrical entrepreneur, a politician and a philanthropist, active in Australia.Sally O'Neill,Coppin, George Selth (1819–1906), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', ...

at his newly-opened

Olympic Theatre Olympic Theater or Olympic Theatre may refer to: * Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Australia, formerly Coppin's Olympic Theatre * National Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, converted to and renamed Olympic Theater in 1873 * Olympic Theatre (London), En ...

, with

and R. Younge, when they married and after the last performance defected to the rival company of John Black at the Theatre Royal to play Thomas Morton's comedy ''A Roland for an Oliver'', which they had performed for Coppin a few months earlier.

Death

Mr and Mrs Heir were booked to appear at the Invercargill Theatre, New Zealand, in 1868, but he died on the passage across, and was buried at The Bluff, one of the most southerly towns in that country. A later pilgrim to the cemetery was surprised at the condition of his grave, unmarked and unkempt. It was in a similar condition thirty years later, when the Mayor of Invercargill wrote to

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 ...

, who brought the matter to the attention of the Australasian Dramatic and Musical Association, and a headstone was procured.

Personal

Heir married Mary Fanny Cathcart (3 August 1833 – 3 January 1880) around early 1855. A daughter was born on 23 March 1856, the first of five children, who all died young. She married George Darrell (1851–1921) on 20 January 1870.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heir, Robert 1832 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Australian male actors People from the Colony of Victoria