Harry Conor (c. 1856 – April 1931) was an American comic actor, best known for playing the role of Welland Strong in ''

A Trip to Chinatown ''A Trip to Chinatown'' is a musical comedy in three acts by Charles H. Hoyt with music by Percy Gaunt and lyrics by Hoyt. In addition to the Gaunt and Hoyt score, many songs were interpolated into the score at one time or another during the ru ...

''.

Biography

Conor grew up in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, and began acting at an early age, appearing as a child with

William J. Florence William Jermyn Conlin (July 26, 1831 – November 19, 1891), better known by his stage name William J. Florence, was a US actor, songwriter, and playwright. Florence awarded the ribbon of the French Societe Histoire Dramatique. He was also co- ...

in ''

No Thoroughfare ''No Thoroughfare'' is a stage play and novel by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, both released in December 1867. Background In 1867 Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins collaborated to produce a stage play titled ''No Thoroughfare: A Drama: ...

''.Our Gallery of Players
''The Illustrated American'', p. 114 (July 29, 1893) He came to sing comic songs and performed small pieces around

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. At age 19, he formed his own company to perform a play written for him, and traveled to South Carolina for their first show. According to Conor, seeing a glow in the sky in the wee hours of the night as he arrived in Columbia, he commented on the "beautiful sunrise" only to be told it was local theatre burning down which included all his sets and costumes, which was the end of that first touring company. He later was taken on by

Charles Hale Hoyt Charles Hale Hoyt (July 26, 1859 – November 20, 1900) was an American dramatist and playwright. He was married twice, to stage actresses Flora Walsh and Caroline Miskel Hoyt, both of whom died young. The shock of the death of his second wi ...

, with whom Conor worked for 18 years, and who produced ''A Trip to Chinatown''. Conor was also in Hoyt's ''A Rag Baby'', ''A Tin Soldier'', and ''A Stranger in New York''.(13 December 1908)
Farces Old and New. Harry Conor Recalls Days of Hoyt -- "Revival Here," He Says
'' New York Tribune'', p. 2(19 December 1899)
Mr. Harry Conor. A Celebrated Comedian
''Taranaki Herald'' His best known performance was in the role of hypochondriac Welland Strong in ''

'' (1891), wherein he performed the song "

The Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "Bo ...

". He performed that role for many years and many hundreds of performances both in New York and abroad.(29 December 1899)
Mr. Harry Conor. The American Comedian
''

Wanganui Herald ''The Wanganui Herald'', originally published as ''The Evening Herald'', was a daily newspaper in Wanganui published from 1867 to 1986 when it was replaced by a community newspaper of the same name. John Ballance arrived in Wanganui in August 1 ...

'' He also reprised the role of Welland Strong in 1912's '' A Winsome Widow''.Hischak, Thomas S
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre
p. 144 (3d ed. 2004)(12 April 1912)
Now New York Has Its Moulin Rouge
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''(21 December 1895)
A Comedian's Hard Luck Story
''The Pittsburgh Press'' Mabel Barrison-Harry Conor

Miss Helen Hunt (NYPL Hades-609864-1255811) (cropped)

Other performances included ''The Blue Mouse'' (1908) and ''Lulu's Husbands'' (1910) with

Mabel Barrison Mabel Barrison (April 21, 1882 - November 1, 1912) was a Canadian born American stage actress and singer in the first decade of the 20th century. She was born Eva Farrance and joined a musical chorus while still in her teens. She appeared in vau ...

.(30 August 1910)
Lulu's Husbands
''Rock Island Argus'', p. 6, col. 5 Conor also composed songs including ''Miss Helen Hunt'' from ''A Stranger in New York''.Miss Helen Hunt(shee music)
NYPL Digital Gallery, Retrieved 31 March 2014 Conor died in

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts. Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for neighborhood services coordination. The city states that Roxbury se ...

, in April 1931Harry Conor, circa 1904
University of Louisville Photographic Archives, Retrieved 31 March 2014 and is little remembered today, though he has a short entry in ''The Oxford Companion to American Theatre''.

Selected performances

* ''A Rag Baby'' as the Dude Tramp (1883, Broadway 1884) * ''A Tin Soldier'' as Willie Steele (1885) * ''

'' as Welland Strong (1891)(18 January 1891)
Pithy Play Pararaphs
''Boston Daily Globe'', p. 10, col. 3 ("That Harry Conor is not a "one-party actor" is evidenced by his success in so many widely different roles. His Clorinda in "Cinderella" the dude tramp in "A Rag Baby," Willie Steele in "A Tin Soldier," Jinks Hoodoo in "Little Puck," and Welland Strong in "A Trip to Chinatown," are examples of his versatility as a character comedian.") * ''A Stranger in New York'' (1897) * ''The Chaperons'' as Adam Hogg (1902) * ''The Blue Mouse'' (1908) * ''Lulu's Husbands'' (1910) * '' Marriage a la Carte'' (1911) * '' A Winsome Widow'' (1912) * ''Alone at Last'' (1915) * ''Fancy Free'' (1918)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conor, Harry American male stage actors 1856 births 1931 deaths 20th-century American male actors 19th-century American male actors Male actors from Massachusetts