James William Wallack (c. 1794–1864), commonly referred to as J. W. Wallack, was an Anglo-

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actor and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, born in London, and brother of

Henry John Wallack Henry John Wallack (1790 – 30 August 1870) was a British actor, stage manager, and brother of actor James William Wallack. Wallack was born in London. Wallack's parents were comedians, who performed at the London minor playhouses and in the B ...

Life

Lester Wallack und James Wallack - Schauspieler

Wallack's father was named William Wallack and his sister was named Elizabeth. His parents were

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

s, who performed at the London minor playhouses and in the British provinces. His first appearance on the stage was as a child at the

Surrey Theatre The Surrey Theatre, London began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided entertainment of both horsemanship and drama (hippodrama). It stood in Blackfriars Road, near the jun ...

in London. Soon afterward he performed in juvenile characters at

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

, and at the age of eighteen entered on a permanent career at the same house as Laertes in ''Hamlet''. He also acted in the British provinces and in Ireland, gradually winning his way to popularity as a useful representative of drama and comedy. In 1823 he played Victor Frankenstein in ''

Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein ''Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein'' is an 1823 play in three acts by Richard Brinsley Peake based on the 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' by Mary Shelley. It is the first recorded theatrical adaptation of the nove ...

'' at the English Opera House. In 1824, Wallack became

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...

at Drury Lane, and rose to the performance of secondary roles in tragedy. Later he played at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

, and officiated as stage manager at the Princess's Theatre. On the occasion of his first visit to the United States, in 1818, he played Macbeth at the Park Theatre, New York. He also played Romeo, Shylock, Coriolanus, Hamlet, and Richard III, all without making any favorable impression. But in the principal roles in ''The Stranger'', ''Pizarro'' and ''The Gamester'' he closely copied the manner of Kemble and attracted favorable consideration. From 1818 until 1845 Wallack performed at intervals in all the principal cities of the United States. Among his roles were the chief characters in ''The Brigand'', ''The Rent-Day'', ''The Wonder'', ''Don Cassar de Bazan'', ''Wild Oats'' and the refined comedy parts of Mercutio, Jaques, and Benedick. ''Love's Ritornello'', as sung by him in ''The Brigand'', was hummed from one end of the country to the other. In 1822 Wallack met with an accident, in which his leg was fractured by the overturning of a stagecoach between New York and Philadelphia. This mishap retired him from active life for about eighteen months, and from its effect he never entirely recovered. From 1837 until its destruction by fire, Wallack conducted the New York National Theatre. There he presented a repertory of the best plays in the English language, rendered by a company such as never before had been seen in this country. He settled permanently in New York City in 1852. In that year, he assumed management of an 1850 theatre two doors south of Broome Street on the west side of Broadway, called Brougham's Lyceum, renaming it Wallack's Lyceum. In 1861 he built a new

Wallack's Theatre Three New York City playhouses named Wallack's Theatre played an important part in the history of American theater, as the successive homes of the Repertory theatre, stock company managed by actors James William Wallack, James W. Wallack and hi ...

at 13th Street and Broadway. His

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

opened the third

in 1882. Wallack was an actor of the old school. Thackeray praised his performance as

Shylock Shylock is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play ''The Merchant of Venice'' (c. 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal antagonist. His defeat and conversion to Christianity form the climax of the ...

, and

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 ...

his Don Caesar de Bazan. As a performer he was endowed with a fine personality; his voice was highly melodious, set off by flexibility and careful elocution, and his knowledge of stage-effect was unexcelled. In refined and eccentric comedy Wallack had few superiors. Some of his roles in the romantic dramas of his own creation were entirely unequalled, and have died with him.

Family

Wallack married

Susan Johnstone Susan Johnstone, also known as Mrs. James William Wallack (29 November 1792 – 25 December 1850) was an English-American actress of the 19th-century. She was born as Georgiana Susannah Johnstone in Covent Garden in London in 1792, the o ...

, a comic actress and the daughter of

John Henry Johnstone John Henry Johnstone (1749–1828), also known as 'Jack' Johnstone or 'Irish' Johnstone, was an Irish actor, comedian and singer. Life Johnstone was born probably on 1 August 1749, in the horse-barracks in Kilkenny, where his father, a quarter ...

, in 1817; she died in 1851. Together, the Wallacks had four sons. The eldest, Lester Wallack, was also a famous actor and theater manager. Wallack's sister, Elizabeth had a daughter, Leonora Pincott, who married Alfred Wigan was a noted actor.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Theater Arts Manuscripts:
An Inventory of the Collection at the Harry Ransom Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallack, James William English male stage actors American male stage actors Actor-managers British emigrants to the United States 1794 births 1864 deaths

Life

Family

Notes

References

Further reading

External links