Frederick Hobson Leslie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frederick Hobson Leslie (April 1, 1855–December 7, 1892), English actor and singer, was born at Woolwich. Leslie also wrote for theatre using the name A. C. Torr (Actor).
[edit] Career
Leslie made his first stage appearance in London as Colonel Hardy in Paul Pry in 1878. He had a good voice, and in 1882 he made a great hit as Rip Van Winkle in Planquette's opera of that name at the Comedy Theatre. In 1882 and 1883 he played in America. In 1885 he appeared at the Gaiety Theatre as Jonathan Wild in H. P. Stephens and W. Yardley's burlesque Little Jack Sheppard. Leslie's success in this part determined his subsequent career, and for some years he and Nelly Farren, with whom he played in perfect association, were the pillars of Gaiety burlesque. In 1887 his Miss Esmeralda was a success. Leslie's "Don Caesar de Bazan" in Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué (1889, a take off of Victor Hugo’s play Ruy Blas), was perhaps the most popular of his later parts, and he and Farren toured in this production and in Miss Esmeralda and Cinder Ellen up too Late in Australia (with Sidney Jones) and elsewhere.
Leslie was known for his versatility and entertaining personality. Whether he sang (he was a baritone), danced, whistled or "gagged," his performance was noted for its flow of high spirits and ludicrous charm. Under the pseudonym of "A. C. Torr", he was acknowledged on the programmes as part-author of his burlesques (including, for example, Cinder Ellen up too Late and Miss Esmeralda), and while on occasion he acted in more serious comedy, his fame rests on his connection with the burlesques.
[edit] References
- Vincent, W. T. Recollections of Fred Leslie (1894).
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
