David Nunn Fisher was an English actor and musician usually known as David Fisher.

Biography

Fisher was born in July 1816 at East Dereham, Norfolk, the first child and only son of David Fisher (1788–1858), actor, musician, and painter, and his first wife, F. B. Bane, (1788/9–1818).

East Dereham, was a town on a circuit established by his grandfather (David Fisher

David Fisher (I)

-Biography:Fisher came from a family of farmers who in Hethersett, near Norwich who had been farming there for about 100 years. His father, David Fisher , a craftsman, and his mother...

 (1760–1832)), and managed by his father and his uncle. An accident to his leg disqualified him for the stage, and he appeared as principal violinist at local concerts. A recovery, never perfect, enabled him to join the company at the Prince's Theatre, Glasgow. After a stay of four years he appeared 2 November 1853 at the Princess's Theatre, under Charles Kean

Charles Kean

Charles John Kean , was born at Waterford, Ireland, the son of the actor Edmund Kean.After preparatory education at Worplesdon and at Greenford, near Harrow, he was sent to Eton College, where he remained three years...

's management, as Victor in the Lancers, or the Gentleman's Son, an adaptation of Le Fils de Famille of Bayard. During six years he played at this house in various novelties and revivals, including a trifling production from his own pen entitled Music hath Charms (June 1858). In 1859 he joined the Adelphi

Adelphi Theatre

The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...

 under B. Webster's management,where he was the original Abbé Latour in the Dead Heart of Watts Phillips. In 1863 he gave, at the Hanover Square Rooms

Hanover Square Rooms

The Hanover Square Rooms or the Queen's Concert Rooms were assembly rooms established, principally for musical performances, on the corner of Hanover Square, London, by Sir John Gallini in partnership with Johann Christian Bach and Carl Friedrich Abel in 1774. For exactly one century this was the...

 and at St. James's Hall, an entertainment called Facts and Fancies, and in the autumn of the same year rejoined the Princess's, then under Yining's management. In 1865 he played, at the Haymarket, Orpheus in Blanche's Orpheus in the Haymarket, In 1866–8 he was at Liverpool as stage-manager for Mr. H. J. Byron, playing at The Amphitheatre and the Alexandra Theatre. When the Globe Theatre

Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...

, London, opened, 28 November 1868, he was the first Major Treherne in Byron's Cyril's Success, He appeared in succession at Drury Lane

Drury Lane

Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....

, the Olympic, the Globe, the Opera Comique

Opera Comique

The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway...

, the Criterion, the Mirror (Holborn) Theatre, now destroyed, and the Princess's, playing in pieces by H. J. Byron, Mr. Boucicault, and other writers. His last appearance in London was at the Lyceum in 1884, as Sir Toby Belch. After that period he played in the country.

He died in St. Augustine's Road, Camden Town

Camden Town

-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...

, on 4 October 1887, and was buried at Highgate cemetery

Highgate Cemetery

Highgate Cemetery is a cemetery located in north London, England. It is designated Grade I on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. It is divided into two parts, named the East and West cemetery....

. The Era says that not a single actor attended his funeral.

Assessment

Fisher was below the middle height, a stiff-built man, who tried to conceal his lameness by a dancing-master elegance. Concerning his Abbé Latour, John Oxenford

John Oxenford

John Oxenford , English dramatist, was born at Camberwell, London, England.-Life:He began his literary career by writing on finance...

 said in the Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

that "he came to the Adelphi a second-rate eccentric comedian, and showed himself an able supporter of the serious drama". He left a son on the stage, who perpetuated the name of David Fisher borne by at least four generations of actors.

Family

Walter David Fisher (1845–1889), followed in the steps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, in being known as David Fisher and having a career in the theatre. He made his name as a comic actor, initially playing Major-General Stanley in Gilbert and Sullivan

Gilbert and Sullivan

Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...

's The Pirates of Penzance.