Francis Wilson (actor)
| Francis Wilson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
February 7, 1854 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 7, 1935 (aged 81) |
| Occupation | Stage actor, Producer, Writer[1] |
| Spouse(s) | (1)Mira Barrie, (2)Edna Bruns[2] |
Francis Wilson (February 2, 1854 – October 7, 1935) was an American actor, born in Philadelphia.[3]
Career
He began his career in a minstrel show with Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels, but by 1878 was playing at the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, and the next year appeared in M'liss with Annie Pixley. After several years in regular comedy, he took up some comic opera, appearing with the McCaull Comic Opera Company and making a great success in Erminie (1886). In 1889, leaving New York's Casino Theatre, he made his appearance as a star in The Oolah. Plays in which he starred subsequently include: The Lion Tamer (1891); The Little Corporal (1898); The Bachelor's Baby (1909), written by himself. He was the author of Joseph Jefferson: Reminiscences of a Fellow Player (1906), The Eugene Field I Knew (1898), "Francis Wilson's Life of Himself" Houghton Mifflin Company(1924), "John Wilkes Booth, Fact and Fiction of Lincoln's Assassination", Houghton Mifflin Company (1929), a book written with information from his close friend Edwin Booth, and several plays of which The Bachelor's Baby was the most successful.
Francis Wilson Playhouse
Francis Wilson Playhouse is the successor to the Clearwater Players, organized in 1930 as a community theater which presented productions in ad hoc venues around Clearwater, Florida for several years. In 1935, the first president of Actors Equity, Francis Wilson, a winter resident in Clearwater, convinced a friend, Mary Curtis Bok (later Zimbalist,) to contribute $5,000 for the construction of a permanent home for the Clearwater Players.
Mrs. Bok agreed to the contribution on the condition that the Theater would be named after Francis Wilson, who at that time was the premier actor of the New York stage. The bronze plaque of Mary Bok over the fireplace in the lobby is the only thanks she would accept.
The City of Clearwater leased the land the theater currently sits on for a term of 99 years for the rental sum of $1.00 per year, and the theater was built in 1936.
References
- ↑ Francis Wilson's Life of Himself, Houghton Mifflin Company (1924)
- ↑ Francis Wilson's Life of Himself, Houghton Mifflin Company (1924)
- ↑ "WILSON, Francis". The International Who's Who in the World: p. 1105. 1912.
Sources
- Clapp and Edgett, Players of the Present (New York, 1901)
- Kenrick, John. (2003) Who's Who in Musicals: Addendum 2003. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
- FrancisWilsonPlayhouse.org
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Thurston, H. T.; Moore, F., eds. (1905). "Wilson, Francis". New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Francis Wilson (actor). |
- Francis Wilson at the Internet Broadway Database
- Francis Wilson at Find a Grave
- Francis Wilson papers, 1875-1958, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts