John Sleeper Clarke
Encyclopedia
John Sleeper Clarke 19th century American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and was educated for the law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. In his boyhood he was a schoolmate of Edwin Booth
Edwin Booth
Edwin Thomas Booth was a famous 19th century American actor who toured throughout America and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869 he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a spectacular theatre that was quite modern for its time...
who was born in the same year as he, and with whom he engaged in amateur dramatic readings as members of the Baltimore Thespian Club. {1}
The Wallet of Time
Produced in 1913, The Wallet of Time is a publication by William Winter, in two volumes. Its title is taken from the words of William Shakespeare: "Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion,..." American stage actors and actresses, most of whom had been born in...
{2}
New International Encyclopedia
The New International Encyclopedia was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It descended from the International Cyclopaedia and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926.-History:...
He made his first appearance in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
as Frank Hardy in Paul Pry in 1851, at the Howard Athenæum. The next year he went to Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. Clarke's first appearance in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
was made at the Metropolitan Theatre, - afterward called the Winter Garden, - on May 15, 1855, as Dickory, in "The Spectre Bridegroom", but it was not until he became again, in 1861-'62, to the same theatre that he made a conspicuous mark. In 1859 he became part of the Booth family
Booth family
The Booth family were an English-American theatrical family of the 19th century. It's most famous and well known members were Edwin Booth, one of the leading actors of his day, and John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Abraham Lincoln....
when he married Asia Booth
Asia Booth
Asia Frigga Clarke , was the youngest daughter in the family of ten children born to Junius Brutus Booth and his wife Mary Ann Holmes. Her famous brothers were Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth...
, daughter of Junius Brutus Booth
Junius Brutus Booth
Junius Brutus Booth was an English actor. He was the father of John Wilkes Booth , Edwin Booth , and Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., an actor and theatre manager...
, and eldest sister of John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
. Clarke was associated with his brother-in-law Edwin Booth
Edwin Booth
Edwin Thomas Booth was a famous 19th century American actor who toured throughout America and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869 he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a spectacular theatre that was quite modern for its time...
in the management of the Winter Garden theatre in New York, the Walnut Street theatre in Philadelphia
Walnut Street Theatre
The Walnut Street Theatre , located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 825 Walnut Street, is the oldest continuously operating theatre in the English-speaking world and the oldest in the United States...
and the Boston theatre.
- Following the assassination of US president Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, Clarke came into the possession of two letters, from his wife, written by his brother-in-law, John Wilkes Booth. He turned them over to the Philadelphia Inquirer who printed one of the two letters. His actions led to his arrest and imprisonment in the Capitol Prison in Washington D.C. for a month. Once released, he notified his pregnant wife that they must divorce. He wanted to distance himself professionally from the name of Booth. Eventually they stayed married and she bore him twin boys, Creston and Wilfred who became actors, in August 1865. Although still married, they were married in name only as Clarke sought the life of a bachelor, "..He lives a free going bachelor life and does what he likes.." wrote Asia to her brother Edwin. His wife Asia died 16 May 1888, age 52. - In 1867 he went to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he made his first appearance at the St. James's as Major Wellington de Boots in Stirling Coynes's Everybody's Friend, rewritten for him and called The Widow's Hunt. His success was so great that he remained in England for the rest of his life, except for four visits to America. He died suddenly, in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in his sixty-seventh year. {3}The Wallet of TimeProduced in 1913, The Wallet of Time is a publication by William Winter, in two volumes. Its title is taken from the words of William Shakespeare: "Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion,..." American stage actors and actresses, most of whom had been born in...
- Among his favourite parts were Toodles, which ran for 200 nights at the StrandStrand, LondonStrand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
, Dr. Pangloss in The Heir-at-law, and Dr. Ollapod in The Poor Gentleman. At the beginning of his career Clarke wished to play tragedy, but he soon discovered his true bent, and throughout life he was faithful to the Comic Muse, and by her he was abundantly rewarded. {4}The Wallet of TimeProduced in 1913, The Wallet of Time is a publication by William Winter, in two volumes. Its title is taken from the words of William Shakespeare: "Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion,..." American stage actors and actresses, most of whom had been born in...
He managed several London theatres, including the HaymarketHaymarket TheatreThe Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
, where he preceded the BancroftsSquire BancroftSir Squire Bancroft , born Squire White Butterfield, was an English actor-manager. He and his wife Effie Bancroft are considered to have instigated a new form of drama known as 'drawing-room comedy' or 'cup and saucer drama', owing to the realism of their stage sets.-Early life and career:Bancroft...
. He retired in 1889. His two sons also were actors.
Publications
- Bell, in Matthews and HuttonLaurence HuttonLaurence Hutton was an American essayist and critic, born in New York City and educated privately there. He was an inveterate traveler and for about 20 years spent his summers abroad. From about 1870 he contributed continually to periodicals. From 1886 to 1898 he was the literary editor of...
, Actors and Actresses of Great Britain and the United States, volume ii (New York, 1886) - Clapp and Edgett, Players of the Present (New York, 1899)