Joseph Vernon (c. 1738–1782) was an English actor and singer. From his days as a boy soprano, he had a successful career on the London stage, interrupted only by the aftermath of an underage wedding to a colleague.

Early life

Born at Coventry around 1738, Vernon was illegitimate. He studied in London under

William Savage William Savage (1720 – 27 July 1789) was an English people, English composer, organist, and singer of the 18th century. He sang as a boy boy soprano, treble and alto, a countertenor, and as a bass (voice), bass. He is best remembered for his ...

in the choir of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

. As a boy he had a fine soprano voice, and on 23 February 1751 he sang at

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...

in Thomas Arne's ''

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

''. On 22 May he took part in ''Queen Mab'', the pantomime by Henry Woodward; on 20 September in the funeral procession in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

''; and on 19 November in ''The Shepherd's Lottery'', an opera by

William Boyce William Boyce may refer to: *William Boyce (composer) (1711–1779), English-born composer and Master of the King's Musick * William Binnington Boyce (1804–1889), English-born philologist and clergyman, active in Australia *William Waters Boyce ( ...

. In the early part of 1754 he sang tenor parts and acted comedy at Drury Lane.

Scandal and exile in Dublin

In 1755 Vernon married

Jane Poitier Jane Poitier (8 June 1736 - after 1786) was a British singer and dancer. She started out as a dancer but became a singer of main parts. She was known for appearing saucily dressed. She was an innocent party in a marriage where the clergy involved ...

, a singer at Drury Lane at the Savoy Chapel. John Wilkinson, the incumbent of the Savoy Chapel, thought that the terms of the Marriage Act 1753, aimed at clandestine marriages, did not apply to his extra-parochial church, and continued to issue licenses and to solemnise marriages. Among these technically irregular weddings, Vernon's happened to be the test case taken to court by the authorities. According to

Tate Wilkinson Tate Wilkinson (27 October 173916 November 1803) was an English actor and manager. Life He was the son of a clergyman and was sent to Harrow. His first attempts at acting were badly received, and it was to his wonderful gift of mimicry that he ...

Joseph and Jane, who had been acting as "Mrs. Vernon", were happy enough to be parted. On the other hand, the fallout of the prosecution case against the clergy of the Chapel was serious. Wilkinson was sentenced in 1756 to 14 years transportation to British North America, and died in 1757 on the way. The curate John Grierson, who had carried out the marriage, received the same sentence: Vernon had testified at the trial, and was then hissed on stage. The unpopular Vernon moved to Dublin, where he had further success as an actor.

Return to Drury Lane

Back at Drury Lane in 1762, Vernon was given parts by

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...

. He combined polished singing and a natural style of acting in Shakespeare. He was also assigned some characters in comedy and farce: Colonel Bully in '' The Provoked Wife''; Master Stephen in '' Every Man in his Humour''; Sir John Loverule in ''The Devil to Pay'', a ballad opera by

Charles Coffey Charles Coffey (late 17th century – 13 May 1745) was an Irish playwright, opera librettist and arranger of music from Westmeath. Following the initial failure of his ballad opera '' The Beggar’s Wedding'' (Dublin, Smock Alley Theatre, 24 Ma ...

, and Sharp in ''The Lying Valet'' by Garrick. According to

James Boaden James Boaden (23 May 1762 – 16 February 1839) was an English biographer, dramatist, and journalist. Biographer He was the son of William Boaden, a merchant in the Russia trade. He was born at Whitehaven, Cumberland, on 23 May 1762, and at ...

, Vernon's voice in maturity was of poor quality. Nonetheless, he continued to take singing parts in opera and interludes.He sang Macheath in '' The Beggar's Opera'', and Principal Witch in ''The Witches''. He had parts in ''Pharnaces'' by William Bates (1765); Thomas Arne's ''Cymon'', 1767; and in ''The Padlock'', ''Love in a Village'', ''Ode to Shakespeare'', ''The Jubilee'', 1769; ''Lionel and Clarissa'', and ''King Arthur'', 1770; ''Christmas Tale'', 1773; ''The Deserter'', 1774; ''Black-a-moor washed White'' (with Sarah Siddons), ''Rival Candidates'', 1776; and many others. The song in Act III of '' The School for Scandal'' was written by Thomas Linley for him. He took the title role in ''Selima and Azor'', Linley's first opera.

Last years

Vernon's last performances were Artabanes in '' Artaxerxes'', First Bacchanal in '' Comus'', and Truemore in ''The Lord of the Manor'' by

Jackson of Exeter William Jackson (29 May 1730 – 5 July 1803), referred to as Jackson of Exeter, was an English organist and composer. Life Jackson was born and died in Exeter, England, the son of an Exeter grocer, who later became master of the city workhouse. ...

, 1780. Until 6 October 1781 he appeared in these and his older parts. He died on 19 March 1782 at

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, and the administration of his effects was granted to Margaret Vernon, his widow.

Works

Vernon compiled around 1782 ''The New London and Country Songster, or a Banquet of Vocal Music''. He composed songs and ballads, including ''New Songs in the Pantomime of the Witches'', the epilogue in '' Twelfth Night'', and a song in the ''

Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tent ...

''.

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Joseph 1730s births 1782 deaths Year of birth uncertain 18th-century English male actors English singers Actors from Coventry English male stage actors