Benjamin Johnson

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For other people of the same name, see Ben Johnson

Benjamin Johnson (c. 1665-1742) was an English actor.

He was first a scene painter, then acted in the provinces, and appeared in London in 1695 at Drury Lane after Betterton's defection. He was the original Captain Driver in Oronooko (1696), Captain Fireball in George Farquhar's Sir Harry Wildair (1701) and Sable in Steeles Funeral (1702); he was particularly well regarded as the First Gravedigger in Hamlet and as several characters in the plays of Ben Jonson. He also succeeded to Thomas Doggett's roles.

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.