Forrest, Edwin

1806

1872

Edwin Forrest, who was regarded as the first great tragic actor of the American stage, was born on 9 March 1806 in Philadelphia, the son of impoverished immigrants. Supposedly he made his first appearance on the stage in 1817 at the Southwark Theatre, Philadelphia, when the desperate manager asked him to replace a sick actress in the female role of Rosina in “Rudolph; or, The Robber of Calabria”. His real debut, however, occurred in 1820 at the Walnut Street Theatre in that city as Young Norval in Home’s “Douglas”. He toured the Western circuit (which was comprised of western Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Ohio), performing noble heroes like Jaffeir in “Venice Preserv’d” and Tell in “William Tell”. In July 1826 he made his first New York appearance, as Othello at the Park Theatre, and also appeared in the same role in November at the Bowery Theatre. Forrest’s handsome face, deep and powerful voice and muscular build contributed to making him very popular with audiences, although more discriminating playgoers regarded his acting as often vulgar and melodramatic. In order to stimulate the writing of native drama and to find suitable roles for himself, beginning in 1828 Forrest offered prizes for new American plays. The first winner was John Augustus Stone’s “Metamora”; the noble savage became one of Forrest’s most popular roles. Among other prize-winning plays were Robert Conrad’s “Jack Cade” and three plays by Robert Montgomery Bird – “The Gladiator”, “Oraloossa” and “The Broker of Bogata”. Forrest, however, was accused of not paying the promised prize money to some of the playwrights. A tour to London brought favour in 1836, but when he returned in 1845 he found hostile audiences that evidently had been urged on by his rival actor William Macready. The antipathy between Forrest and Macready reached an unfortunate climax in May 1849 while Macready was performing at the Astor Place Opera House in New York. A mob of Forrest’s supporters stormed the theatre, the militia was summoned, and in the ensuing riot 22 people were killed and 36 were wounded. Though he remained the idol of the masses, Forrest’s reputation suffered. Soon after, he was involved in a sensational suit of divorce against his wife, the actress Catherine Sinclair. Thereafter he lived a lonely and embittered life in his Philadelphia mansion, acting infrequently. His last performance was at the Globe Theatre in Boston on 2 April 1872, when he acted Richelieu. Forrest died on 12 December 1872 in Philadelphia. He had been guilty, as William Winter put it, of ‘vanity, pride, self-assertion, and avarice of power.’ Winter also described him as ‘a vast animal, bewildered by a grain of genius.’ But his acting, sometimes leaning to ranting, was bold and strong, and he had been an important force in the American theatre. His major roles included King Lear, Hamlet and Macbeth. Thomas Sully’s portrait of him (G0232) shows him as a young man, soon after he returned from his visit to London; the artist gave it to the Garrick Club in 1840. See Richard Moody, “Edwin Forrest – First Star of the American Stage” (1960) and “The Astor Place Riot” (1958).