Hermann Vezin
| Hermann Vezin | |
|---|---|
 Hermann Vezin in 1907 |
|
| Born | 1829 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | 1910 |
| Occupation | Stage actor, teacher, writer |
Hermann Vezin (1829 – 1910) was an American actor, teacher of elocution and writer. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania.
[edit] Biography
Vezin went to York, England and obtained an engagement there in 1850. His London début was made at the Princess's Theatre, London in 1852. He married the Australian actress Mrs Charles Young.
Most of Vezin's acting career took place in England. He played in Dr. Davey (1866); Man o' Airlie (1867); the successful The Turn of the Tide by F. C. Burnand (1869), Son of the Soil (1872); As You Like It (1875); W. S. Gilbert's Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith, which ran for one hundred and nineteen performances at the Haymarket Theatre (1876, also a revival in 1884);[1] and Olivia (1878).
The Illustrated London News review of Vezin in the title role of Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith noted that "Mr. Vezin is probably the most intellectual of our actors, and is the very man for creating an original part, such as that of Dan'l Druce" and described one scene as "an acting hit by Mr. Hermann Vezin which literally electrified the house."[2] He was one of W. S. Gilbert's favourite actors.[3] and, besides the aforementioned Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith, he also starred in Gilbert's Randall's Thumb, (1871),[3] and played Mousta in an 1882 revival of Broken Hearts alongside Gilbert himself as Florian (due to an accident incapacitating Kyrle Bellew).[4]
A benefit matinee was held for Vezin at the Haymarket Theatre on March 19, 1896. For this, George Grossmith gave a sketch, and play scenes featured Gerald du Maurier, Herbert Beerbohm Tree and Cyril Maude, among others.[5] Vezin continued to act, appearing in The Happy Life in 1897[6] and as Rowley in The School for Scandal opposite Herbert Beerbohm Tree in 1909.[7]
Mary Mannering was one of Vezin's elocution pupils.
[edit] References
- ^ Stedman, Jane W. (1996). W. S. Gilbert, A Classic Victorian & His Theatre. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816174-3. pp. 141-2
- ^ The Illustrated London News, September 16, 1876, p. 275, col. 1.
- ^ a b Stedman, Jane W. (1996). W. S. Gilbert, A Classic Victorian & His Theatre. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816174-3. p. 86
- ^ Stedman, Jane W. (1996). W. S. Gilbert, A Classic Victorian & His Theatre. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816174-3. pp. 190-91
- ^ Moss, Simon. Programme and description of 1896 benefit, Gilbert & Sullivan, a selling exhibition of memorabilia, Archive: Other items
- ^ "'The Happy Life,' by Louis N. Parker, to be Produced at the Duke of York's Theatre", The New York Times, December 5, 1897
- ^ Photographs of Vezin in The School for Scandal (1909) - National Portrait Gallery webite
[edit] External links
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