William Wheatley (December 5, 1816 – November 3, 1876) was an American

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

actor.

Biography

He was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of Frederick Wheatley, once a favorite actor in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. His mother was Sarah (Ross) Wheatley, who died in 1873. She was an admirable and a justly renowned actress. He inherited talent for acting, together with a predilection for the stage. His first public appearance was made when he was a child, on October 13, 1826, at the Park Theatre, as "Albert" in ''

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

'', during an engagement played by Macready, who expressed approbation of the boy, and encouraged expectation of his success. In 1833 he was 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 populi ...

, acting walking-gentlemen (subordinate parts requiring dress and deportment as the chief qualifications). In 1834 he returned to the Park Theatre and was assigned to such parts as ''Laertes'', ''Henry Moreland'', ''Charles Courtly'', ''Sir Thomas Clifford'', ''Alfred Evelyn'', and ''Claude Melnotte''. He first attracted unusual notice there in the drama of "

Rienzi ' (''Rienzi, the last of the tribunes''; WWV 49) is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to ''Rienzi ...

." On September 22, 1842, Wheatley appeared at 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 Walnut ...

, Philadelphia, as ''Doricourt'', in "The Belle's Stratagem" — a character which always remained a favorite with him, and in which, as in ''Rover'' in "Wild Oats," he delighted the public by his energetic vivacity and sun-bright merriment. His success in Philadelphia was brilliant and he became a popular favorite and long continued to be. On March 24, 1843, Wheatley took a farewell benefit at the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, and temporarily retired from the Stage. In 1847 he played a star engagement at the Park Theatre, New York, in conjunction with his brilliant sister Emma Wheatley, afterward Mrs. James Mason. At about that time he visited

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, and it is said that the first American flag flown there was raised by his hands, — on the shore of Virgin Bay. In 1853 he became associated with John Drew in the direction of the

Arch Street Theatre The Arch Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 19th century, was one of the three main Philadelphia theaters for plays; the other two were the Walnut Street Theatre and the Chestnut Street Theatre. The Arch Street Theatre opene ...

, Philadelphia, and there he continued to manage and act, — at first with Drew, then alone, and then with

John Sleeper Clarke John Sleeper Clarke (September 3, 1833 – September 24, 1899) was a 19th-century American comedian and actor. Life He was born in Baltimore, Maryland to George W. Sleeper and Georgianna Sleeper (née Clarke), and was educated for the law. In hi ...

, — till the spring of 1861. In the spring of 1862, after acting at

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 ...

in the Wallack-Davenport Combination, he leased that theatre, and he continued to manage it until the autumn of 1868 (producing the record-breaking and historically important ''

The Black Crook ''The Black Crook'' is a work of musical theatre first produced in New York City with great success in 1866. Many theatre writers have cautiously identified ''The Black Crook'' as the first popular piece that conforms to the modern notion of a mu ...

'' in 1866), when he sold his interest to Messrs.

Jarrett & Palmer Jarrett & Palmer was an American theatrical production partnership, prominent and influential in the 1860s and 1870s. The partners were Henry Clay Jarrett (1828–1903) and Harry Palmer (born Henry David Palmer; 1833–1879). The partner ...

and finally retired from management and from the Stage. He died in

on November 3, 1876.

References

External links

* * * This source gives his mother's year of death as 1854. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheatley, William 19th-century American male actors American male stage actors Male actors from Philadelphia Male actors from New York City 1816 births 1876 deaths

Biography

References

Further reading

External links