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Name
Lovegrove, William
Birth date
1778
Death date
1816
Biography
William Lovegrove was born on 13 January 1778 in Shoreham, Sussex, the son of a plumber-engineer. Young Lovegrove did some amateur acting in London, playing Hamlet at some point in a private theatre in Tottenham Court Road. He gained more experience in Richmond in 1799 and then Dublin, Manchester, Plymouth, York, Margate, Worthing, Bath and Bristol before engaging at the Lyceum in London with the Drury Lane company. As a strolling player he had appeared in such roles as Jaques in “As You Like It”, Edgar in “King Lear” and Sir Anthony Absolute in “The Rivals”. His first appearance with the Drury Lane troupe was on 3 October 1810 as Lord Ogleby in “The Clandestine Marriage” (G0445). He acted at the Lyceum in 1811-12 and at the new Drury Lane in 1812-13, playing many supporting roles from his sizeable repertoire. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in June 1816. (BDA) [EAL]