Robert William Elliston
Robert William Elliston ( April 7, 1774 , † 1831 ) was an English actor and theater manager.
Life
Born the son of a watchmaker, Elliston was educated at St Paul's School in London until he ran away from home. He had his first stage appearance in Bath in 1791 in Richard III . He was later seen there as Romeo , as well as in other well-known plays, both in comedies and in tragedies. He continued his success from 1796 in London. He played 1804 to 1809 in the Theater Royal Drury Lane and there again from 1812. From 1819 he himself was the leaseholder of the house, it appeared among others with Edmund Kean , Lucia Elizabeth Vestris and William Charles Macready .
He acquired the Olympic Theater in 1813 and had an interest in the Patent Theater Royal, Birmingham , but poor health and mishap led him into bankruptcy in 1826, while he was making his last appearance on Drury Lane as Falstaff . As the tenant of the Surrey Theater , he then played almost until his death, which was hastened by excessive alcohol abuse. In Surrey, where he was first tenant in 1807 and then again in 1827 to avoid patent restrictions on drama outside of the West End , he presented Shakespeare and other plays accompanied by ballet music.
Leigh Hunt compared him to David Garrick , Lord Byron thought he was inimitable in conversational comedies and Macready praised his versatility.
Elliston was the author of The Venetian Outlaw (1805) and, along with Francis Godolphin Waldron , of No Prelude (1803). He also appeared in both pieces.
His son was the composer Henry Twiselton Elliston (1801? -1864).
source
- Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Elliston, Robert William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English actor and theater manager |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 7, 1774 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1831 |