Thomas L. Moxley (c. 1828, Baltimore — 7 July 1890,

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

) was an American actor,

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

minstrel show entertainer, and

theatre manager Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. As a stage actor he performed under the name Master Floyd and was an acclaimed female impersonator in minstrel shows. He formed a close partnership with the minstrel show impresario, actor, and theatre manager

George Kunkel George Kunkel (March 10, 1893 – May 18, 1965) was an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 15th district from 1937 to 1941. Early life and education Kunkel wa ...

. He was a leading member of Kunkel's Nightingales, one of the most popular minstrel shows of the 1850s and 1860s, and toured widely with the troupe during this period. In 1855 he formed a theatre management firm with Kunkel and

John T. Ford John Thompson Ford (April 16, 1829 – March 14, 1894) was an American Theatre director, theater manager and politician during the nineteenth century. He is most notable for operating Ford's Theatre at the time of the Abraham Lincoln assassinatio ...

; co-managing multiple theaters in Baltimore, Washington D.C. and

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. These included the National Theatre in Washington D.C., and the Richmond Theatre (then known as the Marshall Theatre) in Virginia. When Kunkel adapted

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

's novel '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' for the stage in 1861, Moxley portrayed the role of Topsy. In his obituary he was credited as the first actor to perform the role of Topsy in the theatre. Moxley died of heart failure in Baltimore, Maryland on 7 July 1890 at the age of 62.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moxley, Thomas 1828 births 1890 deaths 19th-century American male actors American theatre managers and producers Blackface minstrel performers Deaths from congestive heart failure Female impersonators Year of birth uncertain