John Ennis Lawson (9 January 1865 – 25 November 1920), known as "Humanity" Lawson, was a British actor who wrote, performed and directed dramatic sketches in

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

s and silent films.

Life and career

Born in Hollinwood near Manchester (not Derbyshire as suggested in some sources), he was the son of a Jewish woman who married a Christian. He began as an actor and

trapeze artist A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

, and made his music hall debut in 1896. He wrote and performed the dramatic sketch "Humanity", which was immediately successful, and for the rest of his career he was known and billed as "Humanity" Lawson. In the piece, based on an actual event, Lawson plays the part of a Jew, Silvani, who has an unfaithful gentile wife. He fights his wife's lover in a spectacular scene in which everything on stage is smashed to pieces, and the stairway on which they are fighting eventually collapses, killing them both. According to W. J. MacQueen-Pope: "It is human nature to enjoy seeing things smashed up, and Lawson satisfied the most demanding of smash fans... People went to see it in myriads for years; it made no difference that they knew every word, every bit of business. There was always that wholesale smash-up which was irresistible." Performances concluded with a musical

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

, "Only a Jew", co-written by Lawson and Moses Besso, "dedicated to the Hebrew gentlemen of the world", with the refrain: "Only a Jew - the insult I'll remember / Only a Jew - then why not Christian too? / The same world lies before us, the same sun shining o'er us / And why should they insult a man - only a Jew!". Lawson performed in the United States and Australia, and also recorded part of the sketch, and song, in 1897.John Lawson, ''National Portrait Gallery''
Retrieved 20 January 2023 A silent film was made of the sketch in 1913 by

Barker Motion Photography Barker may refer to: Occupations * Barker (occupation), a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events * Barker (coachbuilder), a builder of horse-drawn coaches and later of bodywork for prestige cars * a person who strips tanbar ...

, starring Lawson and directed by him with

Bert Haldane Bert Haldane (1871–1937) was a British film director of the silent era. Filmography Filmography - based on IMDb - is complete. 1910 *'' Coals of Fire'' (1910) *'' Tried and Found True'' (1910) *'' Cast Thy Bread Upon the Waters'' ( ...

. Lawson also appeared in two films directed by

Sidney Northcote Sidney Webber Northcote (1884-1952) was an actor and film director. He was born in Liverpool, Lancashire in 1884. He married Kathleen Kerr in Manchester in 1921 and they had 3 sons. He died in London 1952 at the age of 67. He was the director 14 s ...

: ''The KIng of Crime'' (1914); and ''The Monkey's Paw'' (1915), the latter based on a play in which Lawson had performed in the West End. Lawson also acted in other plays, including ''The Shield of David'', ''The King of Palestine'', and ''Dizzy'', in which he played

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

. John Lawson married actress Cissie Skinner in 1896. By 1912, he had become the managing director of the Empire Theatre, Camberwell, with Cissie as the proprietress, who also appeared in some of their productions. "The Camberwell Palace of Varieties", ''ArthurLloyd.co.uk''
Retrieved 20 January 2023 They each petitioned for divorce in 1913, with John claiming Cissie's adultery with the Manager of the Shoreditch Empire, Hector Munro. He sued his wife successfully over ownership of the theatre. He also owned the Revue Theatre at Kingston-upon-Thames. He died in London in 1920, at the age of 55.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, John 1865 births 1920 deaths English film directors English male silent film actors Music hall performers Silent film directors