Edward O'Connor Terry
Encyclopedia
Edward O'Connor Terry English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, who became one of the most influential actors and comedians of the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
.
Life and career
Terry was born in London, allegedly the illegitimate son of Feargus O'ConnorFeargus O'Connor
Feargus Edward O'Connor was an Irish Chartist leader and advocate of the Land Plan.- Background :Feargus O'Connor was born into a prominent Irish Protestant family, the son of Irish Nationalist politician Roger O'Connor...
, Irish Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
leader and advocate of the land plan. The younger Terry made his debut in 1863 as Wormwood in The Lottery Ticket. He began his stage career in small companies in the provinces playing in Shakespeare with the young Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
and sometimes in pieces employing his singing talents.
Surrey Theatre
The Surrey Theatre began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided contemporary London entertainment of both horsemanship and drama...
in both comedy and drama. Between 1868 and 1875, he was the leading comedian at the Royal Strand Theatre
Royal Strand Theatre
The Royal Strand Theatre was located in Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre was built on the site of a panorama in 1832, and in 1882 was rebuilt by the prolific theatre architect Charles J. Phipps...
in London. He reached the peak of his popularity after he joined John Hollingshead
John Hollingshead
John Hollingshead was an English theatrical impresario, journalist and writer during the latter half of the 19th century. He is best remembered as the first manager of the Gaiety Theatre, London...
's company at the Gaiety Theatre, London
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
in 1876, starring in the musical burlesques produced there during the next eight years. With Nellie Farren
Nellie Farren
Nellie Farren was an English actress and singer best known for her roles as the "principal boy" in musical burlesques at the Gaiety Theatre.Born into a theatrical family, Farren began acting as a child...
, Kate Vaughan and E. W. Royce, he made the fortune of this house, his eccentric acting and singing creating a style which had many imitators. Some of the roles in which he appeared there included Mephistopheles in Little Doctor Faust (1878).
In 1887 he went into management, opening Terry's Theatre
Terry's Theatre
Terry's Theatre was a West End theatre on Strand, in the City of Westminster, London. Built in 1887, it became a cinema in 1910 before being demolished in 1923.-History:...
, built on the site of the old Coal Hole Public House and music hall on the Strand. There, he produced and starred as Dick Phenyl in Arthur Wing Pinero
Arthur Wing Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
's Sweet Lavender, which was perhaps his greatest success, running for 670 nights. He then revived Pinero's The Magistrate
The Magistrate (play)
The Magistrate is a farce by the English playwright Arthur Wing Pinero. The plot concerns a respectable magistrate who finds himself caught up in a series of scandalous events that almost cause his disgrace....
and The Times. In subsequent years, he was only occasionally seen at his own theatre and made many tours in the British provinces and in Australia, North and South America, South Africa and India. He returned to Terry's in 1890, producing and starring in King Kodak, The Blue Boar and several other notable productions. Off the stage he was well known as an ardent Freemason and an indefatigable member of the councils of many charities and of public bodies.
Terry married twice; his first marriage was to Ellen Seitz in 1870. He married his second wife, Lady Florence Harris, widow of Augustus Harris
Augustus Harris
Sir Augustus Henry Glossop Harris , was a British actor, impresario, and dramatist.-Early life:Harris was born in Paris, France, the son of Augustus Glossop Harris , who was also a dramatist, and his wife, née Maria Ann Bone, a theatrical costumier...
in 1904.
Terry died of neuritis at his home in Barnes
Barnes
Barnes is a riverside London suburb in southwest London and in terms of local governance falls under the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located around west south-west of Charing Cross in a loop of the River Thames, with Hammersmith Bridge at the north end...
, England, at the age of 68.