James Middleton (c.1769–1799) was an Irish

stage actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

. He was born in Dublin as James Magan, the son of a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

. He was originally intended for a career in medicine, but chose to take up acting again. He made his debut at the Theatre Royal, Bath on 31 January 1888 in ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'', his voice being compared to Spranger Barry, and adopted his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

soon afterwards. The same year he appeared at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

in London but his free-spending and unpredictable behaviour led to him being released at the end of the season. His wife also died around this time, but he rebuilt his career at

Crow Street Theatre Crow Street Theatre was a theatre in Dublin, Ireland, originally opened in 1758 by the actor Spranger Barry. From 1788 until 1818 it was a patent theatre. History Spranger Barry and Henry Woodward The actor Spranger Barry (1719–1777), born ...

in his native Dublin and also appeared in Waterford,

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and Belfast. In 1793 he was rehired by Covent Garden and established himself as a major figure in the company over the following three seasons. However his heavy drinking led to him again being dismissed in 1796, briefly returned to Dublin, and then was engaged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He died while intoxicated in 1799.https://garrick.ssl.co.uk/names/SMI001

Selected roles

* William Bellevue in '' The World in a Village'' by John O'Keeffe (1793) * Archibald in ''

The Siege of Berwick ''The Siege of Berwick'' is a four-act verse tragedy by Edward Jerningham, acted in 1793 and published the following year. The text was republished in the third volume of Jerningham’s ''Poems and Plays'' (1806) and then in a separate edition as ...

'' by

Edward Jerningham Edward Jerningham was a poet who moved in high society during the second half of the 18th century. Born at the family home of Costessey Park in 1737, he died in London on 17 November 1812. A writer of liberal views, he was savagely satirised later ...

(1793) * Sir George Gauntlet in '' The Rage'' by Frederick Reynolds (1794) *Captal De Buche in ''

The Siege of Meaux ''The Siege of Meaux'' is a 1794 historical tragedy by the English writer Henry James Pye. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 19 May 1794.Greene p. 4501 It is set around the fighting at Meaux in the wake of the Battle of Poit ...

'' by Henry James Pye (1794) * Bloomfield in '' The Bank Note'' by William Macready (1795) * Clement in ''

The Deserted Daughter ''The Deserted Daughter'' is a 1795 comedy play by the British writer Thomas Holcroft. The original Covent Garden cast included William Thomas Lewis as Cheveril, John Quick as Item, Alexander Pope as Mr Mordent, Joseph Shepherd Munden as Donald ...

'' by Thomas Holcroft (1795) * Captain Arable in ''

Speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline i ...

'' by Frederick Reynolds (1795) * Sir Charles Danvers in '' Fortune's Fool'' by Frederick Reynolds (1796) * Alfred, King of England in ''

The Days of Yore ''The Days of Yore'' is a British play by Richard Cumberland. It was first staged at the Covent Garden Theatre on 13 January 1796. The work is set in the Anglo-Saxon era. The work was possibly influenced by Horace Walpole's gothic Gothic or Got ...

'' by

Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to: * Richard Cumberland (philosopher) (1631–1718), bishop, philosopher * Richard Cumberland (dramatist) (1732–1811), civil servant, dramatist * Richard Cumberland (priest) (1710–1737), Archdeacon of Northa ...

(1796)

References

Bibliography

* Highfill, Philip H, Burnim, Kalman A. & Langhans, Edward A. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers, and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800: Volume 10''. SIU Press, 1973. 1769 births 1799 deaths Irish male stage actors 18th-century British male actors 18th-century Irish male actors Male actors from Dublin (city) Irish emigrants to Kingdom of Great Britain {{Ireland-actor-stub