Clarance Holt (9 January 1826 – 27 September 1903), born Joseph Frederick Holt was an English actor-manager who had a successful career on the stage in England, Australia and New Zealand. His company included his wife and, frequently, his three children, all of whom went on to have successful careers on the stage. His first name is frequently misspelled "Clarence".

Early life and career

He was born on 9 January 1826 in Marylebone, London the youngest son of Thomas Holt and Elizabeth Giddens. His father was a successful military tailor with an establishment (Thomas Holt & Son) in

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

. He was variously described in his younger days as actor, acrobat and comedian and eventually adopted the stage name of Clarance. Holt made his stage debut in 1842 as Timothy in

William Thomas Moncrieff William Thomas Moncrieff (24 August 1794 – 3 December 1857) commonly referred as W.T. Moncrieff was an English dramatist and author. Biography He was born in London, the son of a Strand tradesman named Thomas. The name Moncrieff he assumed for ...

's farce ''All at Coventry'' at the Victoria Theatre, London. He married Marian Browne (sometimes named Marian Vaughan) in 1847 and they were acting together by 1850 when he was appointed manager of the Theatre Royal, Norwich under the name of Joseph Clarance.

Career in Australia and New Zealand

Holt went to Melbourne with his wife in September 1854 at the suggestion of

George Coppin George Selth Coppin (8 April 1819 – 14 March 1906) was a comic actor, a theatrical entrepreneur, a politician and a philanthropist, active in Australia.Sally O'Neill,Coppin, George Selth (1819–1906), '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', ...

. From Geelong he went to Hobart Town and

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and in September 1855 opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Before leaving Australia in April 1857 he had played in most of the goldfields centres of Victoria and performed on 330 nights. In 1858 he returned to Melbourne with his family on board the Josephine. A successful tragedian, Holt played Othello to

Gustavus Brooke Gustavus Vaughan Brooke (25 April 1818 – 11 January 1866), commonly referred to as G. V. Brooke, was an Irish stage actor who enjoyed success in Ireland, England and Australia. Early life Brooke was born in Dublin, Ireland, the eldest son of ...

's Iago. In 1861 he took over management of the Theatre Royal, Ballarat on Sturt Street, the town's only theatre after fire destroyed the Montezuma and the Charlie Napier, both on the Main Road. In 1862 as joint lessee of the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, he engaged Brooke,

Anna Bishop Anna Bishop (9 January 181018 March 1884) was an English operatic soprano. She sang in many countries on every continent, and was the most widely travelled singer of the 19th century.Joseph Jefferson Joseph Jefferson III, commonly known as Joe Jefferson (February 20, 1829 – April 23, 1905), was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedia ...

and others. When the lease ran out he went to Dunedin and "became the pioneer of the English drama in New Zealand" by establishing the theatre there.

Later Career in England

In September 1864 he returned to England and went into partnership with Charles Wilmot and they managed a number of theatres including the City of London Theatre, The Duke's Theatre, Holborn, The Islington Theatre and the Lyceum Theatre,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. In addition to managing these theatres he continued to perform and tour the provinces. He also created a successful one man touring show – ''A Night with Shakespeare and Dickens'' and in 1870 wrote, produced and starred in an adaptation of '' Les Misérables'' – ''The Barricade''. He retired from the stage in about 1893.

Personal life

He was married three times: to Marian Browne in 1847, Alice Hayes in 1883 and Hannah Harris in 1893. His three children; Ellen Elizabeth "Nellie" Vaughan (as per details in her marriage certificate in New Zealand to Thomas Edward Harris), (Elizabeth) May Holt and (Joseph Thomas) Bland Holt all became actors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Clarance English male stage actors English male Shakespearean actors 19th-century English male actors 19th-century theatre Actor-managers 1826 births 1903 deaths