Sothern, Edward Askew

1826

1881

This popular actor, the son of a merchant and ship owner, was born in Liverpool on 1 April 1826. Using the stage name Douglas Stuart, he made his professional debut in 1849 at St Helier, Jersey, as Claude Melnotte in “The Lady of Lyons”. In engagements at St Helier, Weymouth and Birmingham, he acted a large number of roles, including Hamlet. In the early 1850s he went to America, playing in Boston, Washington, Baltimore and other cities. He then settled in Lester Wallack’s company in New York. During his four years with Wallack he changed his name from Stuart to Sothern. Subsequently he joined Laura Keene’s company, in which he acted many roles, mainly in light comedy, including Charles Surface, Bob Acres, Benedick, and Charles Courtley in “London Assurance”. At Laura Keene’s Theatre on 12 May 1858 he played the small part of Lord Dundreary (G0770, 771 [now known to be an engraving and catalogued as P0619], G1017, B0091) in Tom Taylor’s “Our American Cousin”, a role that eventually became his signature part. In that role he made his London debut on 11 November 1861 at the Haymarket Theatre. Although the production was not well received at first, it eventually caught on and ran 496 nights. Sothern developed his role into a series of monologues. The Dundreary whiskers became a fashion, as did the character’s attire. After a few more parts, in April 1864 Sothern acted the title role in “David Garrick”, which became another very popular character. Sothern continued to act in England, mainly in the provinces, until he returned to America in 1874. He reappeared at the Haymarket in London in May 1878. By 1880 his health and popularity had waned. He died in his house in Vere Street, Cavendish Square, on 21 January 1881. Sothern was a confirmed wag and prankster and good company. He had many aristocratic friends with whom he often shared his fine stable of horses. He became a member of the Garrick Club in 1864. He wrote “Stranger than Fiction” and “The Light that Lies in Woman’s Eyes”, plays that were seen in New York. His sons Lytton Edward Sothern (1856-1887) and Edward H. Sothern (1859-1933) were both actors in London for a while, and the latter became especially popular in romantic comedies in America. (DNB; see also Burnim and Wilton, “The Richard Bebb Collection in the Garrick Club”, Nos B0091, B0092).