John Johnstone Wallack (January 1, 1820, New York City – September 6, 1888, Stamford, Connecticut), was an American

actor-manager An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the business, sometimes taking over a theatre to perform select plays in which they usually star. It is a method of theatrical production used co ...

and son of

James William Wallack James William Wallack (c. 1794–1864), commonly referred to as J. W. Wallack, was an Anglo- American actor and manager, born in London, and brother of Henry John Wallack. Life Wallack's father was named William Wallack and his sister was nam ...

and Susan Johnstone. He used the stage name John Lester until October 5, 1858, when he first acted under the name Lester Wallack, which he retained the rest of his career.

Biography

He was born in New York but at an early age he was taken to his parents' home in London where he was reared and educated. His mother was also an actress Susan Johnstone and his father was

a theatre producer. He had chosen a military career but became discouraged and went to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

where he went upon the stage. He remained for two seasons and then went to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. Then in 1846, he appeared in London at the Haymarket Theatre under

Benjamin Webster Benjamin Nottingham Webster (3 September 17973 July 1882) was an English actor-manager and dramatist. Early life Webster was born in Bath, the son of a dancing master. Career First appearing as Harlequin, and then in small parts at D ...

's management. There he was seen by George H. Barrett, who had come to London to engage actors for the

Broadway Theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

, in New York. He made his American debut there in 1847, under the name of John Lester, appearing as Sir Charles Coldstream in Boucicault's adaptation of ''Used Up''. His father's brother, Henry Wallack, the father of James William Wallack Jr. (1818–1873), was also in the Broadway Theatre's company. His second appearance was as Viscount de Ligny in ''Captain of the Guard'' by

James Planché James Robinson Planché (27 February 1796 – 30 May 1880) was a British dramatist, antiquary and officer of arms. Over a period of approximately 60 years he wrote, adapted, or collaborated on 176 plays in a wide range of genres including ...

. Subsequently, he performed at the

Bowery Theatre The Bowery Theatre was a playhouse on the Bowery in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Although it was founded by rich families to compete with the upscale Park Theatre, the Bowery saw its most successful period under the populis ...

, Burton's Theatre,

Niblo's Garden Niblo's Garden was a theater on Broadway and Crosby Street, near Prince Street, in SoHo, Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1823 as "Columbia Garden" which in 1828 gained the name of the ''Sans Souci'' and was later the property of ...

and the first

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 stock company managed by actors James W. Wallack and his son, Lester Wallack. During its 35-ye ...

. His first appearance at the Bowery Theatre was in 1849 as ''Don Caesar de Bazan'' by

Adolphe d'Ennery Adolphe Philippe d'Ennery or Dennery (17 June 181125 January 1899) was a French playwright and novelist. Life Born in Paris, his real surname was Philippe. He obtained his first success in collaboration with Charles Desnoyer in ''Émile, ou le ...

and Philippe Dumanoir. He was manager of the second Wallack's Theatre from 1861 (demolished in 1901), and in 1882 he opened the third at 30th Street and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

(demolished in 1915). Among the productions staged at the latter was Margaret Mather's ill-fated production of ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerning the early Celti ...

'' in 1897. Another Wallack's Theatre, at 254 West 42nd Street in New York, was named for him in 1924. Wallack joined

The Lambs The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a social club in New York City for actors, songwriters, and others involved in the theatre. It is America's oldest theatrical organization. "The Lambs" is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc ...

in 1875, which frequently met at Wallack's Theater. He served as its Shepherd (president): 1878-1879, 1880-1882. 1884-1888, and was one of the founders of the Actors' Fund of America. His greatest successes were as Charles Surface, as Benedick, and especially as Elliot Grey in his own play ''Rosedale'', and similar light comedy and romantic parts, for which his fascinating manners and handsome person well fitted him. He married a sister (d. 1909) of Sir John Millais. He wrote his own ''Memories of Fifty Years''.

Notes

References

* Attribution: *

External links

*
Theater Arts Manuscripts:
An Inventory of the Collection at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallack, Lester 1820 births 1888 deaths American autobiographers Male actors from New York City 19th-century American male actors American male stage actors The Lambs presidents Members of The Lambs Club Actor-managers

Biography

Notes

References

Further reading

External links