William Mountfort

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William Mountfort (* 1664 ; † December 10, 1692 in London ) was an English actor and playwright.

life and career

He was born the son of a gentleman from Staffordshire . Mountfort made his actor debut around 1678 at the Dorset Garden Theater . There he was often cast in youthful supporting roles. A few years later he played bigger roles, mostly as a fine gentleman. He was one of the busiest actors in the United Company , starring in all of the major plays in the Dorset Garden Theater and Lincoln's Inn Fields Theaters . Mountfort also wrote a number of plays, some as sole authorship or co-author, as well as many prologues and epilogues. He married the actress Susanna Percival on July 2, 1686 in St. Giles-in-the-Fields Church, with whom he had two daughters.

Colley Cibber praised Mountfort's portrayals and said he was handsome and fair. His voice is clear, full and melodious. In the tragedy he is, according to his memory, the most touching lover. Mountfort fills the stage by surpassing its teammates in a true masterpiece.

Mountfort maintained a close friendship with George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys , with whom he often spent time. For the entertainment of the Lord Mayor and the City Council in 1685, Jeffreys Mountfort called and asked him, an eminent imitator of well-known lawyers, to make a fictitious plea.

Violent death

In 1692 a widely acclaimed tragedy ensued in a battle for the favor of an attractive and sought-after actress. The young officer, Captain Richard Hill , had fallen in love with Mountfort's colleague at the Dorset Garden Theater, Anne Bracegirdle . He accepted (the married) Mountfort as a supposed lover of Bracegirdle and thus a rival. On December 9, 1692, the young soldier asked a friend to kidnap the 17-year-old aristocratic, but nonetheless notorious bully, Lord Mohun , Bracegirdle after a performance. When it came to that, she lost courage due to the resistance of accompanying people and they let the actress go. Disappointed by the failure, they had a drink in an adjoining tavern. Mountfort, who lived next door on Howard Street ( Strand ) - and probably alerted by Bracegirdle's servant - joined them. When Mountfort made a derogatory remark in the direction of the young officer Hill, the latter jumped up and attacked the actor. Allegedly, Mohun wanted to hold him back (according to eyewitness reports, he just watched). Hill killed Mountfort with a stab in the chest. According to Thomas Babington Macaulay , Bracegirdle was successfully kidnapped, so that Mountfort rushed to her screams and a long sword fight took place. After Mountfort's death the next day, Hill fled to the Channel Islands ( according to other sources to France ). Mohun was arrested on the spot and had to answer before the House of Lords. In a verdict that caused widespread outrage, however, Mohun was acquitted on February 6, 1693 with a voting ratio of 69-14. One of the reasons could have been that he was 16 or 17 years old.

burial

At the well-attended burial on December 13, 1692 in St Clement Danes , the royal choir sang . Possibly this was a favor on Queen Mary , who valued Mountfort's performance. Henry Purcell played the organ. During the ringing of the death, a noise was heard that indicated a crack in the bell.

His surviving wife later married the actor John Verbruggen on January 31, 1694.

Works

An anthology of his plays, entitled Six Plays , was edited by J. Tonson, G. Strahan, and William Mears in two volumes in 1719 and 1720, along with a biographical foreword.

  • The injur'd lovers, or, The Ambitious Father
  • The successful strangers
  • Greenwich Park
  • King Edward the Third, with the Fall of Mortimer Earl of March (mainly attributed to John Bancroft)
  • The life and death of Dr. Faustus
  • Henry the Second, King of England, with the Death of Rosamond (mainly attributed to John Bancroft)

The exclamation known in English "Be still my beating heart" ( inter alia used as the title of a song by the pop singer Sting , 1987) comes from Mountfort's piece "Zelmane".

literature

  • William Mountfort: Six plays, written by Mr. Mountfort. In two volumes. , Printed for J. Tonson, G. Strahan, and W. Mears. W. Mears London, 1720, ISBN 978-1379715764 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sidney Lee, ed. (1894). "Mountfort, William". Dictionary of National Biography. 39. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pages. 211-213.
  2. ^ Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 39
  3. ↑ s: en: Page: History of England (Macaulay) Vol 4.djvu / 386 “History of England”, after Thomas Babington Macaulay
  4. ↑ a b Purcell: A Biography, by Jonathan Keates in the Google book search
  5. ↑ s: en: 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica / Mohun, Charles Mohun, 4th Baron
  6. ↑ Murder of Moutnfort, the Player from "The Romance of London" by John Timbs, 1865
  7. ↑ Jonathan Keates speaks of 15 years in his book "Purcell: A Biography". Mohun is said to have been born around 1675.
  8. ^ William Mountfort, William Mears, G. Strahan. Jacob Tonson, Francis Hoffman, J Hogg "Six plays", Printed for J. Tonson ..., G. Strahan ..., and W. Mears ..., 1720, oclc = 810523798
personal data
SURNAME Mountfort, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English actor and playwright
DATE OF BIRTH 1664
DATE OF DEATH December 10, 1692
Place of death London