Harvard Theatre Collection - Rufus Blake TCS 1

William Rufus Blake (1805 – 22 April 1863) was a Canadian stage actor.

Biography

Blake was born in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

, of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

background, his parents being William Blake and Charlotte Herring. He was their eldest child, and was baptised on 5 Dec. 1802 at Halifax, Nova Scotia. When only seventeen years old he went on the stage at Halifax, N. S., taking the part of the Prince of Wales, in Richard III with a company of strolling players. His first appearance in New York was in 1824, at the old Chatham Theatre, as Frederick, in ''The Poor Gentleman'', and in ''The Three Singles''. While playing at the

Tremont Theatre, Boston The Tremont Theatre (1827–1843) on 88 Tremont Street was a playhouse in Boston. A group of wealthy Boston residents financed the building's construction. Architect Isaiah Rogers designed the original Theatre structure in 1827 in the Greek Rev ...

, in 1827, he received the first call before the curtain ever given to an actor in this country. In 1839 he visited England, making his first appearance there in the Haymarket Theatre, London. On 21 April 1863, while playing Sir Peter Teazle in ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sn ...

'' in the Boston Theatre he was suddenly taken ill, and died the next day. Blake excelled in the portrayal of old men. One of his best characters was that of Jesse Rural in ''Old Heads and Young Hearts''. He was, at different times, manager of the Pearl Street Theatre in Albany, N. Y.; stage manager of the Tremont Theatre in Boston; joint manager of the

Walnut Street Theatre The Walnut Street Theatre, founded in 1809 at 825 Walnut Street, on the corner of S. 9th Street in the Washington Square West neighborhood of Philadelphia, is the oldest operating theatre in the United States. The venue is operated by the Walnu ...

in Philadelphia; and stage manager of 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 died at Boston, Massachusetts.

Family

His wife, Caroline Placide, widow of Leigh Waring, was an actress. They had one son.

Works

He was the author of several plays: *''Nero'' *''The Turned Head'', an adaptation of Theodore S. Fay's novel ''Norman Leslie'' *''The Buggs'', a burlesque

References

1805 births 1863 deaths 19th-century Canadian male actors Canadian male stage actors 19th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Male actors from Halifax, Nova Scotia British emigrants to the United States Writers from Halifax, Nova Scotia Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian people of Irish descent 19th-century Canadian male writers {{Canada-actor-stub