Edmund Kean

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Edmund Kean

Edmund Kean (born November 4, 1787 in London , † May 15, 1833 in Richmond ) was an English actor .

Life

Kean was the illegitimate son of Aaron Kean and actress Anne Carey . He received his first artistic lessons from his mother and was soon able to make his debut in several children's roles.

In order to earn money and because of the adventure, Kean hired himself as a cabin boy for a trip to Madeira . When he returned to his hometown, he went back to the theater. By the end of 1813 he went on tour with a few theater companies through the English provincial theaters. But it wasn't until he got an engagement at the Drury Lane Theater in early 1814 that he achieved his artistic breakthrough.

On July 17, 1808, Kean married his colleague, actress Mary Chambers, in London . With her he had a son, Charles Kean (1811-1868), who later also became an actor.

A first tour to Paris in 1818 brought him sensational success and subsequently Kean gave several guest appearances in Scotland and Ireland. Between 1820 and 1821 he was to be admired at all major theaters in the United States , but with a second tour through the USA in 1825/26 he was unable to build on the great successes of his first tour. When Kean made a second guest appearance in Paris in 1828, he had the same success as the first time.

Kean gave his last performance as "Othello" on March 15, 1833. During the play he collapsed unconscious on the stage. He did not recover from these consequences and died on May 15, 1833. (Meyer's Konversations-Lexikon speaks of a “disorderly way of life”).

reception

Kean possessed pathos, strength and the ability to arouse terror in the highest degree; only the way it was presented was often too vague and it was not uncommon for it to emphasize only the most glaring points instead of the entire character. Alexandre Dumas treated Kean's fates dramatically.

Roles (selection)

literature

Non-fiction
  • Joseph W. Donohue: Theater in the age of Kean . Blackwell, Oxford 1975, ISBN 0-631-14850-7 .
  • Frederick W. Hawkins: The life of Edmund Kean . Tinsley Books, London 1869 (2 vol.).
  • Giles Playfair: Kean . Dutton Books, New York 1939.
Fiction

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kean, Edmund
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English actor
DATE OF BIRTH November 4, 1787
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH May 15, 1833
Place of death Richmond