John Brougham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Brougham
Born	9 May 1814, 1810
Died	7 June 1880, 1880  (aged 66)
Occupation	Writer, playwright, poet
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John Brougham (9 May 1814 – 7 June 1880) was an Irish and American actor, dramatist, poet, theatre manager, and author. As an actor he was celebrated for his portrayals of comic Irish characters. The author of more than seventy-five dramatic works, with some sources stating more than 150, he was particularly successful in the genres of burlesque and satire. His large output of subversive satirical stage works earned him the nickname "The American Aristophanes" among critics. In addition to his work as a playwright he published two volumes of his miscellaneous writings; including essays, poems, and other works.

Born in Dublin, Brougham began his career as a professional actor in London in 1830 and staged his first play in that city in 1831. After performing for a decade in the theatre troupe of actress Lucia Elizabeth Vestris and her husband Charles James Mathews, first at the Olympic Theatre and then the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (now the Royal Opera House), he became manager of the Lyceum Theatre, London in 1840. He left that position in 1842 to travel to the United States where he made his stage debut at the Park Theatre, New York City in 1842.

Brougham rapidly became a favorite actor among the American public in a wide range of contemporary plays, and toured the United States in theatre troupes led by the impresarios William Evans Burton and James William Wallack in addition to appearing on Broadway with some frequency. During this period he also worked as a theatre manager in New York City, managing such theaters as Niblo's Garden, Brougham's Lyceum Theatre, and the Bowery Theatre. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1844 upon his second marriage to American actress Annette Hawley. He left the United States at the height of his popularity just prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War; returning to England in September 1860 to work once again on the London stage.

After further performances in England and Ireland in the first half of the 1860s, Brougham returned to New York City in October 1865 to join the company of players at the Winter Garden Theatre. By this time his popularity had dwindled, but he remained active as a performer. at the Winter Garden and in the theatre troupe of Augustin Daly up until October 1879. He died just eight months later in New York City in June 1880.

Early life and educartion

John Brougham was born in Dublin on 9 May 1814. The eldest of three children, he was the only child in the family to survive to adulthood. His father, an amateur painter, died young. His mother, the daughter of a Huguenot, was forced to live in exile due to the politics and religious persecution of her time. Her situation left her in a state of poverty and John Brougham was raised in the home of his uncle.

Brougham was prepared for college at an academy at Trim, County Meath, twenty miles from Dublin. After this he matriculated to Trinity College Dublinl; where he acquired a classical education and became involved in student theatrical productions. There he formed interesting and useful associations and acquaintances that assisted him in his later career as an actor and dramatist. He become acquainted with the actress Lucia Elizabeth Vestris, and became involved with a social set of friends that put on their own plays; casting parts by drawing names out of a hat. Though he most always traded off larger roles so he could pay attention to his studies, Brougham took quite an interest in acting. Additionally, he frequently attended performances at the Theatre Royal, Dublin.

Brougham was educated with the intention of his becoming a surgeon, and was a surgical student at Peter Street Hospital for a brief period. His education in this capacity came to an abrupt end after he lost the financial support of his uncle, who had fallen into to difficult economic circumstances. Now having to support himself financially, he relocated to London in 1830.

Career

John Brougham, undated

While having a brief experience of living in poverty in London, Brougham had a chance meeting with Lucia Elizabeth Vestri; whom he had befriended earlier at Trinity College. Vestri used her influence as an actress at the Queen's Theatre, Tottenham Court Road to secure Bougham work in that theatre's production of William Thomas Moncrieff's Tom and Jerry. He made his professional London stage debut in July 1930 portraying six characters in that work.

In 1831 Brougham was a member of Vestris's company which was the resident troupe at London's Olympic Theatre, and was managed by Vestris's husband Charles Mathews. He wrote his first play, a burlesque as a starring vehicle for her in 1832. He remained with Madame Vestris's company for a decade; continuing with the organization after it left the Olympic Theatre in 1839 to take up residency at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (now the Royal Opera House). With Dion Boucicault he co-authored the 1841 play London Assurance (1841), the role of Dazzle being one of those with which he became associated. However, the relationship between Boucicault and Brougham soured, and after the work premiered Brougham relinquished his authorship rights in a lawsuit settlement and left the production at the Theatre Royal.

In 1840 Brougham was appointed manager of the Lyceum Theatre, London, for which he wrote several light burlesques. In 1842 he moved to the United States, where he made his debut starring in a production of William Bayle Bernard's His Last Legs at the Park Theatre in Manhattan. He became a member of WE Burton's company, for which he wrote several comedies, including Met-a-mora; or, the Last of the Pollywogs, a parody of John A. Stone and Edwin Forrest's Metamora; or The Last of the Wamponoags, and Irish Yankee; or, The Birthday of Freedom.

Later he was the manager of Niblo's Garden, and in 1850 opened Brougham's Lyceum, which, like his next speculation, the lease of the Bowery Theatre, was not a financial success, despite the popularity of such works as Po-ca-hon-tas; or, The Gentle Savage. He was later connected with Wallack's and Daly's theatres, and wrote plays for both. In 1852, he edited a comedic paper, The Lantern, and published two collections of miscellaneous writings, A Basket of Chips and The Bunsby Papers. In 1857, he published A Day in New York.

In 1860 he returned to London, where he adapted or wrote several plays, including The Duke's Motto for Fechter. In November 1864 he appeared at the Theatre Royal in his native Dublin in the first performance of Dion Boucicault's Arrah-na-Pogue with Boucicault, Samuel Johnson and Samuel Anderson Emery in the cast.

After the American Civil War he returned to New York City. Brougham's Theatre was opened in 1869 with his comedies Better Late than Never and Much Ado About a Merchant of Venice, but this managerial experience was also a failure, due to disagreements with his business partner, Jim Fisk, and he took to playing the stock market. His last appearance onstage was in 1879 as "O'Reilly, the detective" in Boucicault's Rescued. He died in Manhattan in 1880.

Brougham was a founding member and first vice president of the Lotos Club in New York (established 1870), and for a time its president.

Marriages

He was twice married, in 1838 to Emma Williams (d. 1865), and, in 1844, to Annette Hawley, daughter of Captain Nelson, R.N., and widow of Mr. Hodges (d. 1870), both actresses.

Plays

Sources vary in stating the number of plays Broughman authored with the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography stating he wrote more the 75 dramatic works, and the Historical Dictionary of American Theater stating he authored more than 150 plays. Broughman was particularly adept at writing satirical comedies, and his significant output of subversive satires earned him the nickname "The American Aristophanes" from critics of the time.

Brougham's 1880 obituary in The New York Tribune listed the following works as his "most conspicuous plays": Life in the Clouds, Love's Livery, Enthusiasm, Thom Thumb the Second, The Demon Gift (with Mark Lemon), Bunsby's Wedding, The Confidence Man, Don Caeser de Bassoon, Vanity Fair, The Irish Yankee, Benjamin Franklin, All's Fair in Love, The Irish Emigrant, Dombey and Son (dramatization), Home, Ambrose Germain, The World's Fair, Faustus, The Spirit of Air, Row at the Lyceum, David Copperfield (dramatization), The Actress of Padua (new version), The Pirates of the Mississippi, The Red Mask, Orion, the Gold-Beater, Tom and Jerry in America, The Miller of New Jersey, The Game of Love, Bleak House (adaptation), My Cousin German, A Decided Case, The Game of Life, Pocahantas, Neptune's Defeat, Love and Murder, Romance and Reality, The Ruling Passion, Playing With Fire, Columbus (burlesque), This House to Be Sold, The Duke's Motto, Bel Demonio, Lady Audley's Secret (adaptation), Only a Clod (adaptation), Better Late than Never, The Emerald Ring, Irish Stew, Much Ado About a Merchant of Venice, The Red Light, Minnie's Luck, John Garth, and The Lily of France.

Other works included The Lottery of Life (1867), and Home Rule, his final work.