Robert Taber
Encyclopedia
Robert Schell Taber was an American Broadway
actor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
in New York
, where his father, Charles Corey Taber (1821–1892) was a well-known cotton merchant, his brothers were mathematician Dr. Henry S. Taber (1860–1936), a member of the American Academy
and professor of mathematics
at Clark University
from 1888 to 1921, and Edward Martin Taber (1863–1896), a landscape artist. Robert Taber attended Princeton University
.
His first professional engagement was in 1886 as Silvius in As You Like It
with the theatrical company of Helena Modjeska
. Taber later appeared with Richard Mansfield
. In 1888 he joined the company of the actress Julia Marlowe
and became the company's leading man.
During 1890 and 1891 he appeared in the companies of Augustin Daly
and Richard Mansfield
, returning to Julia Marlowe
's company in late 1891, appearing with her in Twelfth Night in 1892. In 1896 he appeared as Captain Absolute in a production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan
's The Rivals
with his wife Julia Marlowe
, Joseph Jefferson
and Louisa Lane Drew
at Macauley's Theatre
in Louisville, Kentucky
.
According to many who knew her, Marlowe sacrificed her own self-interests many times in order to promote Taber's career, such as when he played Hotspur to her Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part 1
. They married in May 1894 in Philadelphia, separated in 1899 and divorced in 1900 owing to "incompatability of temper and professional jealousy." There were no children from the marriage.
At the time of his divorce he was appearing in London, where, among other roles, he played Macduff in Macbeth
at the Lyceum Theatre in 1898, opposite Johnston Forbes-Robertson
and Mrs. Patrick Campbell. He appeared as Orsino in Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree
's production of Twelfth Night at Her Majesty's Theatre
in London in 1901.
His affair in 1903 with the British
actress Lena Ashwell
led to her divorce from her husband, Arthur Playfair
.
Robert Taber died in 1904 aged 39 from pleurisy
at a refuge in the Adirondack Mountains
provided for him by Julia Marlowe
as he had been made destitute by his illness.
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
actor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Biography
Born in 1865 in Staten IslandStaten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where his father, Charles Corey Taber (1821–1892) was a well-known cotton merchant, his brothers were mathematician Dr. Henry S. Taber (1860–1936), a member of the American Academy
American Academy
American Academy can refer to:*American Academy in Berlin*Dubai American Academy*American Academy of Larnaca*American Academy in Rome*Üsküdar American Academy...
and professor of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
from 1888 to 1921, and Edward Martin Taber (1863–1896), a landscape artist. Robert Taber attended Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
His first professional engagement was in 1886 as Silvius in As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
with the theatrical company of Helena Modjeska
Helena Modjeska
Helena Modjeska Helena Modjeska Helena Modjeska (October 12, 1840 – April 8, 1909, whose actual Polish surname was Modrzejewska , was a renowned actress who specialized in Shakespearean and tragic roles.Modjeska was the mother of Polish-American bridge engineer Ralph Modjeski....
. Taber later appeared with Richard Mansfield
Richard Mansfield
Richard Mansfield was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas and for his portrayal of the dual title roles in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
. In 1888 he joined the company of the actress Julia Marlowe
Julia Marlowe
Julia Marlowe was an English-born American actress known for her interpretations of William Shakespeare.-Life and career:...
and became the company's leading man.
During 1890 and 1891 he appeared in the companies of Augustin Daly
Augustin Daly
John Augustin Daly was an American theatrical manager and playwright active in both the US and UK.-Biography:Daly was born in Plymouth, North Carolina and educated at Norfolk, Va...
and Richard Mansfield
Richard Mansfield
Richard Mansfield was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas and for his portrayal of the dual title roles in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
, returning to Julia Marlowe
Julia Marlowe
Julia Marlowe was an English-born American actress known for her interpretations of William Shakespeare.-Life and career:...
's company in late 1891, appearing with her in Twelfth Night in 1892. In 1896 he appeared as Captain Absolute in a production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
's The Rivals
The Rivals
The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners in five acts. It was first performed on 17 January 1775.- Production :...
with his wife Julia Marlowe
Julia Marlowe
Julia Marlowe was an English-born American actress known for her interpretations of William Shakespeare.-Life and career:...
, Joseph Jefferson
Joseph Jefferson
Joseph Jefferson, commonly known as Joe Jefferson , was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous of all American comedians....
and Louisa Lane Drew
Louisa Lane Drew
Louisa Lane Drew was a British actress and theater owner.She and her third husband John Drew were the parents of Louisa Drew , John Drew, Jr. and Georgie Drew . She had no children from her first two marriages...
at Macauley's Theatre
Macauley's Theatre
Macauley's Theatre was the premier theatre in Louisville, Kentucky during the late 19th and early 20th century. It opened on October 18, 1873 on the north side of Walnut Street between Third and Fourth Streets, and was founded by Bernard "Barney" Macauley, a prominent Louisville actor since the...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
According to many who knew her, Marlowe sacrificed her own self-interests many times in order to promote Taber's career, such as when he played Hotspur to her Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
. They married in May 1894 in Philadelphia, separated in 1899 and divorced in 1900 owing to "incompatability of temper and professional jealousy." There were no children from the marriage.
At the time of his divorce he was appearing in London, where, among other roles, he played Macduff in Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
at the Lyceum Theatre in 1898, opposite Johnston Forbes-Robertson
Johnston Forbes-Robertson
Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson was an English actor and theatre manager. He was considered the finest Hamlet of the nineteenth century and one of the finest actors of his time, despite his dislike of the job and his lifelong belief that he was temperamentally unsuited to acting.-Early life:Born in...
and Mrs. Patrick Campbell. He appeared as Orsino in Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
's production of Twelfth Night at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in London in 1901.
His affair in 1903 with the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actress Lena Ashwell
Lena Ashwell
Lena Ashwell, OBE was a British actress and manager, known as the first to organize large-scale entertainment for troops at the front, which she did during World War I....
led to her divorce from her husband, Arthur Playfair
Arthur Playfair
Arthur Wyndham Playfair was an English actor and singer. Beginning in Victorian burlesque and comic operas, Playfair became known for his roles in Edwardian musical comedy and, later, in musical revues.-Biography:...
.
Robert Taber died in 1904 aged 39 from pleurisy
Pleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
at a refuge in the Adirondack Mountains
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
provided for him by Julia Marlowe
Julia Marlowe
Julia Marlowe was an English-born American actress known for her interpretations of William Shakespeare.-Life and career:...
as he had been made destitute by his illness.
External links
- http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=subjec&CISOROOT=all&CISOBOX1=Taber,%20RobertPortraits of Taber as Captain Absolute in Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
's The RivalsThe RivalsThe Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners in five acts. It was first performed on 17 January 1775.- Production :...
- University of LouisvilleUniversity of LouisvilleThe University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
Digital Collections] - http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FB0717FA3F5C11738DDDAB0894D8415B8885F0D3Review of Taber's performance in MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
October 2, 1898]