Robert William Elliston (7 April 1774 – 7 July 1831) was an English actor and theatre manager.

Life

He was born in London, the son of a watchmaker. He was educated at St Paul's School, but ran away from home and made his first appearance on the stage as Tressel in '' Richard III'' at the Old Orchard Street Theatre in Bath in 1791. There he was later seen as

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

, and in other leading parts, both comic and tragic, and he repeated his successes in London from 1796. In the same year he married Elizabeth, the sister of Mary Ann Rundall, and they would in time have ten children. He acted at Drury Lane from 1804 to 1809, and again from 1812. From 1819 he was the lessee of the house, presenting

Edmund Kean Edmund Kean (4 November 178715 May 1833) was a celebrated British Shakespearean stage actor born in England, who performed, among other places, in London, Belfast, New York, Quebec, and Paris. He was known for his short stature, tumultuo ...

, Mme Vestris, and Macready. He bought the

Olympic Theatre The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout ...

in 1813 and also had an interest in a patent theatre, the

Theatre Royal, Birmingham The Theatre Royal, until 1807 the New Street Theatre, or, colloquially, New Theatre, was a 2000-seat theatre located on New Street in Birmingham, England. It was erected in 1774 and demolished in 1956. The theatre was damaged by fire in 1792 ...

. Ill-health and misfortune culminated in his bankruptcy in 1826, when he made his last appearance at Drury Lane as

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

. As the lessee of the Surrey Theatre, he acted almost up to his death in 1831, which was hastened by

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

. At the Surrey, where he was the lessee first from 1806–14 and then again beginning in 1827, to avoid the patent restrictions on drama outside the West End, he presented

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and other plays accompanied by ballet music.

Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...

compared him favorably as an actor with David Garrick;

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

thought him inimitable in high comedy; and Macready praised his versatility. Elliston was the author of ''The Venetian Outlaw'' (1805), and, with Francis Godolphin Waldron, of ''No Prelude'' (1803), in both of which plays he appeared. His son was Henry Twiselton Elliston.Christopher Murray, 'Elliston, Robert William (1774–1831)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
retrieved 6 Dec 2014
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References

External Links

Theater Arts Manuscripts:
An Inventory of the Collection at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliston, Robert William 1774 births 1831 deaths English male stage actors 19th-century English male actors People educated at St Paul's School, London