George Herbert Rogers (July 1820 – 12 February 1872), commonly known as G. H. Rogers, was an Australian stage actor.

Life and career

Rogers was born at

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

,Kenyon Manuscripts at Melbourne public library the son of Thomas Rogers, a surgeon, and brother of Henry Rogers, the essayist and author of ''The Eclipse of Faith''. George Rogers, having quarrelled with his family, enlisted in the army and came to

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

with his regiment in July 1839. Rogers was promoted corporal (and sergeant) and showing talent in regimental theatricals, had his discharge purchased by public subscription. Rogers was then employed as a civil officer in the convict department. Rogers took to the stage and was playing with a local company when he was engaged by

George Selth 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'', ...

who was visiting Hobart. Rogers had been well-educated but he had had no formal training for the stage. Under Coppin's management he played in Australia's leading cities and by the beginning of 1848 had established a great reputation in old men's parts, although not yet 30 years of age. Rogers was for many years leading old man at the

Theatre Royal, Melbourne The Theatre Royal was one of the premier theatres for nearly 80 years in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 1855 to 1932. It was located at what is now 236 Bourke Street, once the heart of the city's theatre and entertainment distri ...

. For a time Rogers drew a large salary but later fell into misfortune and was in poor health for the final two years before his death at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

on 12 February 1872. He was married twice and was survived by sons and daughters, including the actress Frances Julia Rogers. Rogers immersed himself in his parts and completely lost his individuality. He was as inimitable in burlesque as in serious drama, and played such diverse parts as the

Widow Twankey Widow Twankey (originally Twankay, sometimes Twanky) is a female character in the pantomime ''Aladdin''. She is a pantomime dame, played by an older man. History The story of Aladdin is drawn from the ''Arabian Nights'', a collection of Middle- ...

in ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

'',

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

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The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

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''. But his greatest triumphs were in old English comedy, and though possibly Lambert may have equalled his performance of Sir Anthony Absolute, Roger's Sir Peter Teazle stood alone on the Australian stage. He was a member of the Melbourne

Garrick Club The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in the heart of London founded in 1831. It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world and, since its inception, has catered to members such as Charles Kean, Henry Irving, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, A ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, George Herbert 1820 births 1872 deaths Australian male stage actors Australian male comedians Australian people of English descent 19th-century Australian male actors 19th-century comedians