John Verbruggen facts for kids

John Baptista Verbruggen (died 1708) was a well-known English actor. He worked in London during the late 1600s and early 1700s. He became famous for his natural acting style. Verbruggen played many "fine gentlemen" and witty characters on stage.

Who Was John Verbruggen?

Early Acting Days

John Verbruggen first appeared as an actor in 1688. He was part of a group called the United Company. His name started showing up in play casts around October 1690. Some people thought he might have used a different name, "Mr. Alexander," earlier. This was supposedly a nickname from a play called Rival Queens. However, Verbruggen had not played that role until much later. It is more likely that the confusion came from his name often being misspelled. People wrote it as Verbrugen, Verbrogell, or Verkruggan.

On January 31, 1694, John Verbruggen married a famous actress. Her name was Susanna Mountfort. She was the widow of another actor, William Mountfort. Interestingly, William Mountfort was very famous for playing Alexander the Great. This might have added to the confusion about John Verbruggen's name.

A Big Decision in His Career

In March 1695, many top actors left the United Company. They formed their own acting group. But John and Susanna Verbruggen stayed with Christopher Rich. Rich managed the Drury Lane Theatre. The Verbruggens were very important to his company. Rich even doubled John Verbruggen's weekly salary. It went from £2 to £4. This new contract meant he would "Sing Dance Act Rehearse and Represent" with his best effort. This put him on the same level as George Powell, another leading actor.

Later, in September 1696, Verbruggen had a disagreement about money. This led to a physical argument. He was told to stop acting for a short time. But he was ordered to stay with the Drury Lane company until January 1, 1697. This gave Rich time to find a new actor. This order helped a play called The Relapse open in November. Verbruggen played the part of Loveless in it.

His Acting Style and Famous Roles

In January 1697, Verbruggen joined Thomas Betterton's company. People started to write reviews about his acting. Most of these comments were positive. He was seen as a very natural actor. People said he had a "negligent agreeable Wildness" in his acting. This suited him well.

He often played "fine gentlemen," clever characters, and charming but wild young men. He was the first actor to play Mirabell in William Congreve's play The Way of the World (1700). Another writer, Anthony Aston, said Verbruggen's talent was wild and untaught. This was different from Betterton's more practiced style. Verbruggen was especially good at playing "natural" characters. One famous role was the main character in Oroonoko. This play was based on a story by Aphra Behn.

Family Life

John and Susanna Verbruggen had a child named Lewis. Lewis was baptized on May 27, 1703. Sadly, Susanna Verbruggen died between July and August 1703. Their infant son Lewis was buried in October of that same year.

John Baptista Verbruggen was buried on March 12, 1708. On April 26, a special performance was held at Drury Lane. This show was to help "a Young Orphan-Child of the late Mr Verbruggen and Mrs Verbruggen." This child was likely John George Verbruggen. He was the son of John and Susanna, baptized on November 23, 1708.

Selected appearances

• Tamerlane by Nicholas Rowe (1701)