Samuel Sandford ( fl. 1661–1699) was an English character actor, known for his roles as

villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

Career

He joined

William D'Avenant Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March 1606 – 7 April 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned bot ...

's company at

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in develo ...

about a year after its formation, and was, on 16 December 1661, the original Worm in

Abraham Cowley Abraham Cowley (; 161828 July 1667) was an English poet and essayist born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his ''Works'' published between 1668 and 1721. Early ...

's ''Cutter of Coleman Street''. On 1 March 1662 he was Sampson 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 20 October Maligni (the villain) in Thomas Porter's ''The Villain''. Early in January 1663 he was Ernesto in Samuel Tuke's ''Adventures of Five Hours'', and on 28 May Vindex in

Robert Stapylton Sir Robert Stapylton or Stapleton (died 1669) was an English courtier, dramatic poet and translator. Life Stapylton was the third son of Richard Stapleton of Carlton by Snaith, Yorkshire, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Henry Pierrepont of Ho ...

's ''Slighted Maid''. During the same season he was Sylvanus in the ''Stepmother'', also by Stapleton, and in 1664 was Wheadle in

George Etherege Sir George Etherege (c. 1636, Maidenhead, Berkshire – c. 10 May 1692, Paris) was an English dramatist. He wrote the plays '' The Comical Revenge or, Love in a Tub'' in 1664, ''She Would If She Could'' in 1668, and '' The Man of Mode or, ...

's ''Comical Revenge, or Love in a Tub'', and Provost in ''The Rivals'', D'Avenant's alteration of ''

The Two Noble Kinsmen ''The Two Noble Kinsmen'' is a Jacobean tragicomedy, first published in 1634 and attributed jointly to John Fletcher and William Shakespeare. Its plot derives from "The Knight's Tale" in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales'', which had ...

''. After the break of performances on account of the

Great Plague The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

, Sandford on 26 March 1668, sang with Harris, as two ballad singers, the epilogue to D'Avenant's ''Man's the Master''. After the death of D'Avenant, Sandford was, in 1669, Wary in ''Sir Solomon, or the Cautious Coxcomb'', taken by John Caryll, in part, from

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's ''

L'École des Femmes ''The School for Wives'' (french: L'école des femmes; ) is a theatrical comedy written by the seventeenth century French playwright Molière and considered by some critics to be one of his finest achievements. It was first staged at the Palai ...

''. In 1671 he was Toxaris in Edward Howard's ''Women's Conquest'', Justice Frump in Edward Revet's ''Town Shifts, or the Suburb Justice'', and Cassonofsky in

John Crowne John Crowne (6 April 1641 – 1712) was a British dramatist. His father "Colonel" William Crowne, accompanied the earl of Arundel on a diplomatic mission to Vienna in 1637, and wrote an account of his journey. He emigrated to Nova Scotia where h ...

's ''Juliana, or the Princess of Poland''. After the migration of the company under Lady D'Avenant to the new house at Dorset Garden, Sandford was Trivultio in Crowne's ''Charles VIII, or the Invasion of Naples by the French'', the first novelty produced at the house; Cureal in

Edward Ravenscroft Edward Ravenscroft (c. 1654–1707) was an English dramatist who belonged to an ancient Flintshire family. He was entered at the Middle Temple, but devoted his attention mainly to literature. Ravenscroft was the first critic to posit that Sh ...

's ''Citizen turned Gentleman, or Mamamouchi'', taken from ''

Monsieur de Pourceaugnac ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' is a three-act ''comédie-ballet''—a ballet interrupted by spoken dialogue—by Molière, first presented on 6 October 1669 before the court of Louis XIV at the Château of Chambord by Molière's troupe of actors. ...

'' and ''

Le Bourgeois gentilhomme ''Le Bourgeois gentilhomme'' (, translated as ''The Bourgeois Gentleman'', ''The Middle-Class Aristocrat'', or ''The Would-Be Noble'') is a five-act ''comédie-ballet'' – a Play (theatre), play intermingled with music, dance and singing – wri ...

'', and either Sir Timothy or Trick in the

Earl of Orrery Earl of Orrery is a title in the Peerage of Ireland that has been united with the earldom of Cork since 1753. It was created in 1660 for the soldier, statesman and dramatist Roger Boyle, 1st Baron Boyle, third but eldest surviving son of Richar ...

's ''Mr. Anthony''. In 1672 he was Camillo in Joseph Arrowsmith's ''Reformation'', Jasper in

Henry Nevil Payne Henry Nevil Payne (died 1710?) was a dramatist and agitator for the Roman Catholic cause in Scotland and England. He wrote ''The Fatal Jealousy'' (1672), ''The Morning Ramble'' (1672), and ''The Siege of Constantinople'' (1675). After he finished w ...

's ''Fatal Jealousy'', and Ghost of Banquo in D'Avenant's operatic rendering of ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

''. In 1679 Sandford was Creon in ''Œdipus'', by

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

and

Nathaniel Lee Nathaniel Lee (c. 1653 – 6 May 1692) was an England, English dramatist. He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth; Dr Lee was ...

. Playing with George Powell in this play, Sandford, who had been by mistake supplied with a real dagger instead of the trick dagger ordered, stabbed him, it is said, so seriously as to endanger his life. Nothing more is heard of Sandford until the amalgamation of the two London companies in 1682, when he played, at the Theatre Royal, one of the Sheriffs in Dryden and Lee's ''Duke of Guise''. His name is not again traceable until 1688, when, at the same house, it appears as Cheatly in Shadwell's ''

The Squire of Alsatia ''The Squire of Alsatia'' is a 1688 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Shadwell. Alsatia was a nickname for the Whitefriars area of London, deriving from Alsace in northeastern France. A restoration comedy, it was performed at the Drury L ...

'', and Colonel in

William Mountfort William Mountfort (c. 1664 – 10 December 1692), England, English actor and dramatic writer, was the son of a Staffordshire gentleman. Biography His first stage appearance was with the Dorset Garden Theatre company about 1678, and by 168 ...

's ''Injured Lovers''.In 1689 he played Sir Thomas Credulous in Crowne's ''English Friar''; in 1690 Benducar in Dryden's '' Don Sebastian, King of Portugal'', Dareing in ''Widow Ranter, or the History of Bacon in Virginia'', by

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...

, and Gripus in Dryden's ''Amphitryon''. To 1691 belong Rugildas in Settle's ''Distressed Innocence'', the Earl of Exeter in Mountfort's ''King Edward III, with the Fall of Mortimer'', Count Verole in

Thomas Southerne Thomas Southerne (12 February 166026 May 1746) was an Irish dramatist. Biography Thomas Southerne, born on 12 February 1660, in Oxmantown, near Dublin, was an Irish dramatist. He was the son of Francis Southerne (a Dublin brewer) and Margaret ...

's ''

Sir Anthony Love ''Sir Anthony Love; Or, The Rambling Lady'' is a 1690 comedy play by the Irish writer Thomas Southerne. It was originally staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane with a cast that included Susanna Mountfort in a breeches rol ...

'', Osmond in Dryden's ''

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

'', and Sir Arthur Clare in the '' Merry Devil of Edmonton''; to 1692 Sir Lawrence Limber in D'Urfey's ''Marriage Hater Matched'', Hamilcar in Crowne's ''Regulus'', Sosybius in Dryden's ''Cleomenes'', the Abbot in ''Henry II, King of England'', assigned to John Bancroft and also to Mountfort. In 1693 Sandford was Dr. Guiacum in D'Urfey's ''Richmond Heiress''. When, in 1695,

Thomas Betterton Thomas Patrick Betterton (August 1635 – 28 April 1710), the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London. Apprentice and actor Betterton was born in August 16 ...

and his associates seceded to the new theatre at Lincoln's Inn Fields, Sandford refused to join as a sharer, but at a salary of £3 acted with them, creating Foresight in

William Congreve William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright and poet of the Restoration period. He is known for his clever, satirical dialogue and influence on the comedy of manners style of that period. He was also a min ...

's ''Love for Love''. In 1697 he was Caska in Charles Hopkins's ''Boadicea'', Gonsalez in Congreve's ''Mourning Bride'', and in 1698 Ulysses in George Granville's ''Heroic Love''. Sandford seems to have left the stage in 1699 or 1700. John Downes speaks of Betterton and

Cave Underhill Cave Underhill (1634–1710?) was an English actor in comedy roles. Underhill entertained three generations of London theatre-goers. For over 40 years, as a member of the Duke's Company, Underhill played the first Gravedigger in ''Hamlet''. He w ...

as "the only remains" of the Duke of York's servants from 1662 at the union in October 1706, it has been assumed that Sandford was then dead.

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling ...

seems to imply that he was dead in 1704–5. Anthony Aston, in his ''Brief Supplement'', described Sandford as round-shouldered, meagre-faced, spindle-shanked, splay-footed, with a sour countenance, and long thin arms; and adds that Charles II called him the best villain in the world.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandford, Samuel 17th-century English male actors English male stage actors Year of birth missing Year of death missing