Edward Askew Sothern
Edward Askew Sothern (1 April 1826 – 20 January 1881) was an English actor known for his comic roles in Britain and America, particularly Lord Dundreary in Our American Cousin. He was also known for his many practical jokes.
Life and career
Early years
Sothern was born in
Sothern travelled to America in 1852, first playing Dr. Pangloss in
Our American Cousin
As a result of his success in Camille, Sothern was given a part in
On 15 October 1858, Our American Cousin premiered in New York. After a couple of unhappy weeks in the small role, Sothern began portraying the role as a lisping, skipping, eccentric, weak-minded fop prone to nonsensical references to sayings of his "bwother" Sam.
Dundreary became a popular recurring character, and Sothern successfully revived the play many times, making Dundreary by far his most famous role. A number of spin-off works were also created, including Charles Gayler's sequel, Our American Cousin at Home, or, Lord Dundreary Abroad (Buffalo, New York, 1860,
1860s and 1870s
In 1864, Sothern created the title role in
Sothern continued to act mostly in London until 1876, but also toured extensively in the British provinces, North America and Europe.Sothern became popular with Robertson's crowd, including with the Haymarket's manager,
Sothern never appeared in any of these works. His biographer T. Edgar Pemberton noted that one role he regretted not playing was Cheviot in Engaged.[2] Instead, Sothern continued to tour and perform Dundreary and other works. In October 1877 at the Academy of Music in New York, he played the title role in Othello.[24]
Sothern's next great role was the title role, Fitzaltamont, in a hit revival of Byron's The Crushed Tragedian (1878, originally named The Prompter's Box) at the Haymarket. The Era admired "the sepulchral tones, the glaring eyeballs, the long hair, the wonderful 'stage walk', the melodramatic attitudes" of his portrayal.[25] He next appeared in The Hornet's Nest by Byron at the Haymarket. The Crushed Tragedian was not a great success in London, but it became a hit in New York. The Philadelphia Inquirer raved, "With what elaboration of detail does the actor embody his conception! There is not a gesture, not an intonation, not a movement, but seems to illustrate the character portrayed. He strides across the stage and it is as though he were wading through a sea of gore; he mutters to himself ‘Ha! ha!’ and you know that he is cursing fate with a bitterness loud and deep. always and in all things poor Altamont is exquisitely, indescribably ludicrous."[26] In April 1879, he was still at the Haymarket, appearing in Bulwer-Lytton's play Money as Sir Frederick Blount.[27]
Last years and family
In the autumn of 1879, after a long summer fishing trip, Sothern was on another American tour. The Era wrote in October 1879 that "It is proposed, during Mr Sothern's [American] engagement, to bring out revivals of The Crushed Tragedian, Dundreary, and David Garrick, the new comedy by Mr Gilbert being reserved for the spring engagement."
Sothern died at his home in Cavendish Square, London, at the age of 54 and is buried in Southampton Old Cemetery, Southampton.[31] He was such a notorious practical joker that many of his friends missed his funeral, thinking it was a joke. His sister, Mary Cowan, was the principal beneficiary of his last will, signed shortly before his death. A previous will had given most of the estate to his widow and children. Sothern's widow contested the will but lost, and it took Cowan until 31 May 1881 to obtain probate.[20] Gilbert suggested that she "underlet" Foggerty's Fairy to him, and he eventually had it produced.[32]
Sothern and his wife had four children, all of whom became actors: Lytton Edward (1851–1887),
Practical jokes
Sothern was known as a sportsman and bon vivant and became famous for his magic tricks, conversation and, especially, his
Among his most elaborate practical jokes was the following. When the husband of actress Adelaide Neilson, Philip Henry Lee, visited New York in the mid-19th century, he had been warned about the wild, bohemian behaviour of American authors, but expressed his doubt as to the veracity of the stories. Sothern assured him it was true and arranged a private dinner for Lee with twelve "writers and critics", who were really actors. During the dinner, a quarrel arose over literary matters, culminating in a fight breaking out. The men, apparently drunk, brandished an axe, knives and revolvers. The room was filled with shouts, shots and struggle. Someone thrust a knife into Lee's hand, saying, "Defend yourself! This is butchery, sheer butchery!" Sothern advised him to "Keep cool, and don't get shot", before the joke was exposed.[34]
Notes
- ^ a b c d The Times obituary, 22 January 1881, p. 9, col. F
- ^ a b c d e f g Holder, Heidi J. "Sothern, Edward Askew (1826–1881)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
- ^ a b c Chisholm 1911.
- ^ "Edward Askew Sothern" at the American Theater Guide
- ^ Odell, Vol. VI, p. 359
- ^ a b Whitley, Edward. "Sothern, Edward Askew (Douglas Stewart)", The Vault at Pfaff's, Lehigh University's digital library
- ^ Scott, vol. 1, p. 392
- ^ Odell, Vol. VII, p. 129
- ^ Pemberton, p. 318
- ^ Pemberton, p. 319
- ^ "Edward Askew Sothern", Virtual American Biographies (2001)
- ^ The Athenaeum, 16 November 1861
- ^ Buffalo Daily Courier, 1 November 1860
- ^ Brown, T. Allston (1903). A History of the New York Stage, Volume I, New York: Dodd, Mead, p. 450
- ^ The Times, 6 May 1864
- ^ The Times, 2 May 1871, p. 12
- ^ Ainger, pp. 119–20; 123–24
- ^ Information about The Ne'er do Weel at the G&S Archive Archived 8 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 23 February 2013
- ^ Ainger, pp. 124 and 134–35
- ^ a b c d "Foggerty's Failure: A few background notes on Foggerty’s Fairy" Archived 14 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 2007, accessed 23 February 2013
- ^ Ainger, pp. 119–20
- ^ Ainger, pp. 123–24 and 134–35
- ^ Ainger, pp. 134–35 and 166
- ^ Matthews, Brander and Hutton, Laurence. The Life and art of Edwin Booth and his contemporaries (1906), p. 118, Boston: L. C. Page
- ^ The Era, 19 May 1878
- ^ Quoted in Pemberton, pp. 91–92
- ^ The Times, 10 April 1879, p. 8, col. B
- ^ The Era, Drama in America column, 12 October 1879
- ^ The Era, 29 February 1880
- ^ Stedman, p. 180
- ^ "Southampton: Southampton Old Cemetery", Tripadvisor, accessed 23 November 2020
- ^ Ainger, p. 194; Later, she wrote to Gilbert: "Allow me to say that of all the people with whom I have had any dealings in reference to money since my Brother's death, you have treated me with the greatest kindness & fairness & I feel grateful to you for sparing me any trouble or anxiety."
- ^ Pemberton, Chapter IV, "Sothern in High Spirits", pp. 199 et seq.
- ^ Pemberton, pp. 223–226
References
- Ainger, Michael (2002). Gilbert and Sullivan – A Dual Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514769-8.
- Brown, T. A. History of the American stage (1870)
- Marston, J. W. Our recent actors, 2 vols. (1888)
- Michael Diamond (2003). Victorian Sensation, pp. 265–68, Anthem Press ISBN 978-1-84331-150-8.
- Odell, George Clinton. Annals of the New York Stage: Volume VI (1850–1857). New York: Columbia University Press (1931)
- Odell, George Clinton. Annals of the New York Stage: Volume VII (1857–1865). New York: Columbia University Press (1931)
- Pascoe, C. E. ed. The dramatic list, 2nd edn (1880)
- Pemberton, T. Edgar (1890). A Memoir of Edward Askew Sothern, London: Richard Bentley and Son
- Reignolds-Winslow, C. Yesterdays with actors (1887)
- Scott, Clement. The drama of yesterday and today, 2 vols. (1899)
- Sothern, E. A., Birds of a feather flock together, or, Talk with Sothern, ed. F. G. De Fontaine (1878)
- Sothern, E. A. "Mr. Sothern on Spiritualism", New York Saturday Press, 30 December 1865
- Stedman, Jane W. (1996). W. S. Gilbert, A Classic Victorian & His Theatre. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-816174-5.
- Towse, J. R. Sixty years of theatre (1916)
- New York Tribune, 22 January 1881
- The Times 25 January 1881
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 435.