Joseph Jefferson

Joseph Jefferson (February 20, 1829 – April 23, 1905) was an American actor. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment For the game see 1829 (board game. Year 1829 ( MDCCCXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display Events 215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous of all American comedians. An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Life and career

Jefferson was born in Philadelphia. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə His father was a scenic designer and actor and his mother an actress. Scenic design (also known as stage design, set design or production design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as Film or He appeared onstage early in life, often being used when a play called for "a babe in arms". His first recorded appearance was at the Washington Theatre in Washington, D.C. where he appeared in a benefit performance for the minstrel Thomas D. Rice. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D minstrel was a medieval European Bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories about distant places or about real or imaginary historical events Thomas Dartmouth (TD "Daddy" Rice ( May 20, 1808 &ndash September 19, 1860) was a comedian in the Blackface form of comedy It was there that the four-year-old Jefferson sang alternating stanzas in the song "Jump Jim Crow". His father died when he was 13, and young Jefferson continued acting and helping to support the family. Jefferson was twice married: at the age of 21 in 1850, to actress Margaret Clements Lockyer (1832–1861), whose early death left him with four children; and in 1867 to Sarah Warren, niece of William Warren the actor. For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link Year 1867 ( MDCCCLXVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting

Early career

Jefferson as the young Rip Van Winkle

He saved money, visited Europe in 1856, and in November of that year joined Laura Keene's Company in New York and established a reputation as a first-rate actor. Laura Keene (1826 &ndash November 4, 1873) was an Anglo-American actress and manager whose real name was Mary Frances Moss. The City of New York Throughout his youth he experienced many of the hardships connected with theatrical touring in those early days.

After this experience, partly as actor, partly as manager, he won his first pronounced success in 1858 as Asa Trenchard in Tom Taylor's Our American Cousin at Laura Keene's theatre in New York. Our American Cousin is a play in three acts by Tom Taylor. The play is a farcical comedy whose plot is based on the introduction of an awkward boorish This play was the turning-point of his career, as it would be for the actor E. A. Sothern. Edward Askew Sothern ( 1 April 1826 &ndash 21 January 1881) English Actor known for his comic roles particularly The naturalness and spontaneity of humour with which he acted the love scenes revealed a spirit in comedy new to his contemporaries, long used to a more artificial convention; and the touch of pathos which the part required revealed no less to the actor an unexpected power in himself. Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and Pathos (ˈpeɪːθɒs ( πάθος) is one of the three Modes of persuasion in Rhetoric (along with Ethos and Logos) Famously, when Sothern complained about the small size of his role, Jefferson replied, "There are no small parts, only small actors. "

Other early parts included Newman Noggs in Nicholas Nickleby, Caleb Plummer in The Cricket on the Hearth, Dr. Pangloss in The Heir at Law, Salem Scudder in The Octoroon, and Bob Acres in The Rivals, the last being not so much an interpretation of the character as Sheridan sketched it as a creation of the actors. The Octoroon is a play by Dion Boucicault, which opened in 1859 at The Winter Garden Theatre. Bob Acres is a character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan 's The Rivals. The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a Comedy of manners in five acts

Jefferson as the old Rip Van Winkle, 1896

In 1859, Jefferson made a dramatic version of the story of Rip Van Winkle on the basis of older plays, and acted it with success in Washington. Year 1859 ( MDCCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common " Rip Van Winkle " is a short story by the American author Washington Irving published in 1819, as well as the name of the story's fictional protagonist Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D He arrived at Sydney in the beginning of November 1861, and played a successful season introducing to Australia Rip Van Winkle, Our American Cousin, The Octoroon and other plays. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 He opened in Melbourne on March 31, 1862, and had a most successful season extending over about six months. Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Year 1862 was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Monday Seasons followed in the country and in Tasmania. Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass In 1865 Jefferson with health recovered went to London and arranged with Dion Boucicault for a revised version of Rip Van Winkle. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot (born December 26, circa 1820 &ndash died September 18, 1890) was an Irish Actor and Playwright It ran 170 nights, with Jefferson in the leading part.

Later years

Jefferson would continue acting in this show for 40 years. Returning to America, Jefferson made it his stock play, making annual tours of the states with it, and occasionally reviving The Heir-at-Law in which he played Dr. Pangloss, The Cricket on the Hearth (Caleb Plummer) and The Rivals (Bob Acres). He was one of the first to establish the travelling combinations which superseded the old system of local stock companies. Jefferson also starred in a number of films as the character starting in the 1896, Awakening of Rip, which is in the U. Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Awakening of Rip is an 1896 American short Black-and-white silent Drama film starring Joseph Jefferson S. National Film Registry. The National Film Registry is the registry of Films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Jefferson’s son Thomas followed in his father’s footsteps and also played the character in a number of early 20th century films.

With the exception of minor parts, such as the First Gravedigger in Hamlet, which he played in an all-star combination headed by Edwin Booth, Jefferson created no new character after 1865; and the success of Rip Van Winkle was so pronounced that he has often been called a one-part actor. Hamlet is a Tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601 Edwin Thomas Booth (13 November 1833 &ndash 7 June 1893 was a famous 19th century American Actor. If this was a fault, it was the public's, who never wearied of his one masterpiece.

No man in his profession was more honored for his achievements or his character. He was the friend of many of the leading men in American politics, art and literature. He was an ardent fisherman and lover of nature, and devoted to painting. It is erroneously believed that he was distantly related to British comedian Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson), but UK civil registration, census and church records suggest that Jefferson was not the real name of his father. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; June 16, 1890 &ndash February 23, 1965) was an English comic actor writer Jefferson was a founding member and the second president of the Players' Club in Manhattan.

Jefferson died from pneumonia on April 23, 1905 in Palm Beach, Florida. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal Events 215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Palm Beach is an upscale Incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States.

Publications

• William Winter, The Jeffersons (Boston, 1881)
• Carroll, Twelve Americans: Their Lives and Times (New York, 1883)
• Matthews and Hutton, Actors and Actresses of Great Britain and the United States (New York, 1886)
• N. H. Dole, Joseph Jefferson at Home (Boston, 1898)
• Francis Wilson, Joseph Jefferson (New York, 1906)
• M. J. Moses, Famous Actor-Families in America (New York, 1906)
• Francis Wilson, Reminiscences of a Fellow Player (New York, 1906)
• William Winter, Other Days (New York, 1908)
• E. William Winter ( July 15, 1836 &mdash June 30, 1917) was an American dramatic critic and author James Brander Matthews ( February 21, 1852 in New Orleans – March 31, 1929 in New York City) was a U Laurence Hutton (1843-1904 was an American essayist and critic born in New York City and educated privately there Nathan Haskell Dole (1852-1935 was an American editor Translator, and author born at Chelsea, Massachusetts. Francis Wilson can refer to Francis H Wilson (1844–1910 US Representative from New York Francis Wilson (actor (1854–1935 American Montrose Jonas Moses (1878&ndash September 2, 1934) was an American author born in New York, where he graduated from the City College in 1899 P. Jefferson, Intimate Recollections of Joseph Jefferson, (New York, 1909)
• Arthur Bloom, Joseph Jefferson: Dean of the American Theatre (Savannah, 2000)

References

• Serle, Percival (1949). "Jefferson, Joseph". Dictionary of Australian Biography. The Dictionary of Australian Biography, published in 1949, is a reference work by Percival Serle containing information on notable people associated with Sydney: Angus and Robertson.  
• The original version of this article is taken from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica
• This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain. The New International Encyclopedia was an English -language encyclopedia first published in the early 1900s The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

External links

• Joseph Jefferson at the Internet Movie Database
• Joseph Jefferson Writing on Acting
• Birthplace
• Joseph Jefferson at Find A Grave
• Rip Van Winkle, complete downloadable 1896 film