Anthony Leigh (died 1692) was a celebrated English comic actor. Anthony Leigh Kneller

Life

He was from a

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

family, and was not closely related to the actor John Leigh (c.1689–1726?). He joined the Duke of York's company about 1672, and appeared in that year at the recently opened theatre in Dorset Garden, as the original Pacheco in ''The Reformation'' (1673), a comedy ascribed by

Gerard Langbaine Gerard Langbaine (15 July 1656 – 23 June 1692) was an English dramatic biographer and critic, best known for his ''An Account of the English Dramatic Poets'' (1691), the earliest work to give biographical and critical information on the playwrig ...

to one Arrowsmith, a Cambridge M.A. graduate. At Dorset Garden, Leigh played many original parts. After the merger of the duke's company with the king's in 1682, Leigh did not immediately go to the Theatre Royal. He was in 1683, however, at that theatre the original Bartoline in

John Crowne John Crowne (6 April 1641 – 1712) was a British dramatist. His father "Colonel" William Crowne, accompanied the earl of Arundel on a diplomatic mission to Vienna in 1637, and wrote an account of his journey. He emigrated to Nova Scotia where h ...

's ''City Politics'', and played Bessus in a revival of ''

A King and No King ''A King and No King'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher and first published in 1619. It has traditionally been among the most highly praised and popular works in the canon of Fletcher ...

''. Here he remained until his death, creating many characters.They included: Beaugard's Father in Otway's ''The Atheist'', Rogero in

Thomas Southerne Thomas Southerne (12 February 166026 May 1746) was an Irish dramatist. Biography Thomas Southerne, born on 12 February 1660, in Oxmantown, near Dublin, was an Irish dramatist. He was the son of Francis Southerne (a Dublin brewer) and Margaret ...

's ''The Disappointment'', Sir Paul Squelch in

Richard Brome Richard Brome ; (c. 1590? – 24 September 1652) was an English dramatist of the Caroline era. Life Virtually nothing is known about Brome's private life. Repeated allusions in contemporary works, like Ben Jonson's ''Bartholomew Fair'', ind ...

's ''Northern Lass'', Crack in Crowne's ''

Sir Courtly Nice ''Sir Courtly Nice: Or, It Cannot Be'' is a 1685 comedy play by the English writer John Crowne. Rehearsals by the United Company were underway when the death of Charles II of England, Charles II in February led to the closure of all theatres as a ...

'', Trappolin in

Nahum Tate Nahum Tate ( ; 1652 – 30 July 1715) was an Irish poet, hymnist and lyricist, who became Poet Laureate in 1692. Tate is best known for ''The History of King Lear'', his 1681 adaptation of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', and for his libretto for ...

's ''Duke and No Duke'', Security in Tate's ''Cuckold's Haven'', an adaptation of ''

Eastward Hoe ''Eastward Hoe'' or ''Eastward Ho!'' is an early Jacobean-era stage play written by George Chapman, Ben Jonson and John Marston. The play was first performed at the Blackfriars Theatre by a company of boy actors known as the Children of the ...

'', Scaramouch in William Mountfort's ''Dr. Faustus'', Sir Feeble Fainwou'd in Behn's ''Lucky Chance'', Scaramouch in her ''Emperor of the Moon'', Sir William Belfond in Shadwell's ''

The Squire of Alsatia ''The Squire of Alsatia'' is a 1688 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Shadwell. Alsatia was a nickname for the Whitefriars area of London, deriving from Alsace in northeastern France. A restoration comedy, it was performed at the Drury L ...

'', Justice Grub in ''Fool's Preferment'', altered by D'Urfey from Fletcher's ''The Noble Gentleman'', Lord Stately in Crowne's ''English Friar'', Mustapha in Dryden's '' Don Sebastian'', Mercury in Dryden's ''Amphitryon'', Abbé in Mountfort's ''

Sir Anthony Love ''Sir Anthony Love; Or, The Rambling Lady'' is a 1690 comedy play by the Irish writer Thomas Southerne. It was originally staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane with a cast that included Susanna Mountfort in a breeches rol ...

'', Tope in Shadwell's ''Scowrers'', Sir Thomas Reveller in Mountfort's ''

Greenwich Park Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World Herita ...

'', Lady Addleplot in D'Urfey's '' Love for Money'', Van Grin in D'Urfey's ''

The Marriage-Hater Matched ''The Marriage-Hater Matched'' is a comedy play by the English writer Thomas D'Urfey. It was first staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in January 1692. The original cast included John Bowman as Brainless, William Mount ...

'', and Major-general Blunt in Shadwell's ''Volunteers''.

John Genest John Genest (1764–1839) was an English clergyman and theatre historian. Life He was the son of John Genest of Dunker's Hill, Devon. He was educated at Westminster School, entered 9 May 1780 as a pensioner at Trinity College, Cambridge, and gra ...

believed Leigh was the original Aldo in Dryden's ''Limberham''. Leigh died of fever in December 1692, in the same season as

James Nokes James Nokes (Noke, Noak, Noakes) (died c.1692) was an English actor, whose laughter-arousing genius was attested by Cibber and other contemporaries. Life Nokes was one of the male actors who played female roles in the newly reopened playhouses s ...

, and these deaths, combined with the murder of

William Mountfort William Mountfort (c. 1664 – 10 December 1692), England, English actor and dramatic writer, was the son of a Staffordshire gentleman. Biography His first stage appearance was with the Dorset Garden Theatre company about 1678, and by 168 ...

, greatly weakened the company.

Reputation

Richard Estcourt Richard Estcourt (1668–1712) was an English actor, who began by playing comedy parts in Dublin. His first London appearance was in 1704 as Dominick, in Dryden's ''Spanish Friar'', and he continued to take important parts at Drury Lane, being t ...

used to imitate Leigh's "Spanish Fryar" in the play by Dryden. Coligni in ''The Villain'' by Thomas Porter, Ralph in ''Sir Solomon'' by John Caryll, Sir Jolly Jumble in Otway's ''Soldier's Fortune'' and Belfond in Thomas Shadwell's ''Squire of Alsatia'' were thought his best parts. In his Sir William Belfond, said

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling ...

, Leigh "seemed not to court, but to attack, your applause, and always came off victorious".

Family

Leigh's wife was an actress, named

Elinor Leigh Elinor Leigh was a British stage actor of the seventeenth century. Born Elinor Dixon, she was billed as Mrs Leigh or Mrs Lee after she married the actor Anthony Leigh in 1671. This has led to some difficulty distinguishing on playbills between h ...

, tentatively identified as Elinor Dixon. She acted as Mrs. Leigh to the season of 1706-7. There is a possibility of confusion with the actress Mrs. Lee (Mary Lee, later

Mary Slingsby Mary, Lady Slingsby, born Aldridge (perhaps died 1693), was an English actress. After a marriage lasting 1670 to 1680 to John Lee, an actor, during which she was on the stage as Mrs. Lee, she was widowed. She then married Sir Charles Slingsby, ...

), given that spelling was not fixed at the time. They had eight children baptised at

St Bride's Church St Bride's Church is a church in the City of London, England. The building's most recent incarnation was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1672 in Fleet Street in the City of London, though Wren's original building was largely gutted by fire d ...

. Francis Leigh, one of the sons, was on the stage to 1719. He was one of the actors who on 14 June 1710 defied the authority of Aaron Hill, the manager for William Collier, broke open the doors of Drury Lane, and created a riot. He was also one of the actors who deserted to

John Rich John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After d ...

and his new-built theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1714.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh, Anthony Year of birth missing 1692 deaths English male stage actors 17th-century English male actors