William Grattan Tyrone Power (20 November 1797 – 17 March 1841), known professionally as Tyrone Power, was an Irish stage actor, comedian, author and theatrical manager. He was an ancestor of the American actors Tyrone Power Sr. and

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

and is also referred to as Tyrone Power I.

Early life

Born in Kilmacthomas,

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

, Ireland, Power was the son of Tyrone Power, reported to be “a minstrel of sorts”, by his marriage to Maria Maxwell, whose father had been killed while serving in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

.Hector Arce, ''The Secret Life of Tyrone Power: The drama of a bisexual in the spotlight'' (Morrow, 1979), p. 26 His father was related to the Powers who were of the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...

and to George de la Poer Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford. In 1833, Power was a passenger on a train traveling from

South Amboy, New Jersey South Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Raritan Bay. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,411, an increase of 780 (+9.0%) from the 2010 census count of 8,631, which in ...

on the Camden & Amboy Railroad when it broke an axle in

Hightstown, New Jersey Hightstown is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nestled within the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region, Hightstown is an historic, commercial, and cultural hub of Cent ...

and derailed. Power was the only one of the 24 passengers not seriously hurt, suffering only minor injuries, and he helped a surgeon treat the injured passengers. He said of the accident that it was "the most dreadful catastrophe that ever my eyes beheld."

Career

The young Power took to the stage, achieving prominence throughout the world as an actor and manager. His major break came when fellow Irishman

Charles Connor Charles Connor (January 14, 1935 – July 31, 2021) was an American drummer, best known as a member of Little Richard's band. Richard's shout of "a-wop bop-a loo-mop, a-lop bam-boom" at the beginning of " Tutti Frutti" is said to be a reference ...

died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

in 1826, and he took over many of his

stage Irish Stage Irish, also known as Drunk Irish, or collectively as Paddywhackery, is a Stereotype, stereotyped portrayal of Irish people once common in plays.

parts. He was well known for acting in such Irish-themed plays as Catherine Gore's ''King O'Neil'' (1835), his own ''St. Patrick's Eve'' (1837), Samuel Lover's ''Rory O'More'' (1837) and ''The White Horse of the Peppers'' (1838),

Anna Maria Hall Anna Maria Hall (6 January 1800 – 30 January 1881) was an Irish novelist who often published as "Mrs. S. C. Hall". She married Samuel Carter Hall, a writer on art, who described her in ''Retrospect of a Long Life, from 1815 to 1883''. She was ...

's ''The Groves of Blarney'' (1838), Eugene Macarthy's ''Charles O'Malley'' (1838) (see

Charles Lever Charles James Lever (31 August 1806 – 1 June 1872) was an Irish novelist and raconteur, whose novels, according to Anthony Trollope, were just like his conversation. Biography Early life Lever was born in Amiens Street, Dublin, the secon ...

), and Bayle Bernard's ''His Last Legs'' (1839) and ''The Irish Attorney'' (1840). In his discussion of these works, Richard Allen Cave has argued that Power, both in his acting as well as his choice of plays, sought to rehabilitate the Irishman from the derogatory associations with "

stage Irish Stage Irish, also known as Drunk Irish, or collectively as Paddywhackery, is a Stereotype, stereotyped portrayal of Irish people once common in plays.

men" ("Staging the Irishman" in ''Acts of Supremacy''

991 Year 991 (Roman numerals, CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Peace and Truce of God, Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I o ...

Family tree

Power had a number of notable descendants by his wife Anne, daughter of John Gilbert of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

: Anne Power is buried in the churchyard of St Mary The Virgin Church in High Halden, Kent, England. * Sir William James Murray Tyrone PowerRegisters of

St Andrew, Holborn The Church of St Andrew, Holborn, is a Church of England church on the northwestern edge of the City of London, on Holborn within the Ward of Farringdon Without. History Roman and medieval Roman pottery was found on the site during 2001/02 exc ...

(1819–1911) Commissary General in Chief of the British Army and briefly Agent-General for New Zealand. **Norah Power, who married Dr. Thomas Guthrie *** Sir Tyrone Guthrie British theatrical director (1900–1971). *Maurice Henry Anthony O'Reilly Power (1821–1849) trained as a barrister but later took up acting. *Frederick Augustus Dobbyn Nugent Power (1823–1896), civil engineer, left a large estate of £197,000, equivalent to £15.6 million or 28 million

US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

s in 2006. *Clara Elizabeth Murray Power (born 1825) *Mary Jane Power (born 1827) *Harold Littledale Power (1833–1901) actor, wine merchant, mine agent & engineer. ** Tyrone Power Sr. (1869–1931), English theatre and silent movie star. ***

(1914–1958), American Hollywood star of the 1930s to 1950s. Did not use Tyrone Power III as his screen name. **** Romina Power (born 1951), American singer and film actress. **** Taryn Power (1953–2020), film actress. **** Tyrone Power Jr. (born 1959) American film actor. Did not use Tyrone Power IV as his screen name.

Death

Tyrone Power was lost at sea in March 1841, when the disappeared without trace in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

.''Northern Mariner'', Volume 15 (Canadian Nauatical Research Society, 2005), p. 65

Published works

*''Born to Good Luck: or the Irishman's Fortune. A farce in two acts. Adapted from "False and True".'' *''How to Pay the Rent; a farce, in one act nd in prose' *''St. Patrick's Eve; or the Order of the Day. A drama in three acts nd in prose' *''The Lost Heir and The Prediction'' (1830) *''The King's Secret'' (1831) *''The Gipsy of the Abruzzo.'' (1831) *''Impressions of America, during the years 1833, 1834 and 1835.'' (1836)

References

External links

* * (note: includes results for both Tyrone Power I and Tyrone Power III) * *
Tyrone Power (1795–1841)
charcoal & painted images at NY Public Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Tyrone 1797 births 1841 deaths 19th-century Irish male actors 19th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Irish male writers Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish male stage actors 19th-century Irish travel writers Actors from County Waterford People lost at sea Power family People from Kilmacthomas