Sam Collins (born Samuel Thomas Collins Vagg; 22 March 1825 – 25 May 1865) was an English
music hall comedian, singer and theatre proprietor.
He was born in
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it m ...
, London, and started work as a
chimney sweep
A chimney sweep is a person who clears soot and creosote from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys ...
. He began touring the music halls in London in the 1840s, in the guise of an Irish traveller, characteristically "wearing a brimless
top hat
A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...
, a dress coat, knee breeches, worsted stockings, and
brogues... his clothes tied up in a bundle and a
shillelagh on his shoulder."
[Richard Anthony Baker, ''British Music Hall: An Illustrated History'', Pen and Sword, 2014, p.17]
/ref> His songs, such as "Paddy's Wedding", "Limerick Races", and " The Rocky Road to Dublin", earned him the nickname "The Singing Irishman", and "he is still regarded as the prototype stage Irish comic".Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...
, converting it into a larger venue, which became known as Collins' Music Hall after it opened in 1863. Collins died in 1865, but his widow continued to run the music hall after his death. It was enlarged in 1897 and remained as a theatre until it was destroyed by fire in 1958.
References
1825 births
1865 deaths
Music hall performers
{{UK-comedian-stub