James H. Stoddart

James H. Stoddart
BornOctober 13, 1827
Barnsley, Yorkshire
DiedDecember 9, 1907
Sewaren, New Jersey
OccupationActor
Years active1830s-1905
SpouseMatilda Phillips
ChildrenThomas C. Stoddart, Mary C. Stoddart

James Henry Stoddart October 13, 1827 – December 9, 1907) was a popular American stage actor originally from Britain, active on the American stage from 1854 until 1905.

Stoddart was born in Yorkshire, the son of an actor at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow. After acting in Britain (starting as a youth), he came to Wallack's Theatre in New York in 1854 -- his first appearance was in a small role in A Phenomenon in a Smock Frock. After two seasons with Wallack's, he joined Laura Keene's company, and later returning to Wallack's. He played and had his longest term success with A.M. Palmer's Union Square Theater stock company, with which he was connected for 20 years. Generally a stock player, late in his career he also achieved stardom playing the role of Lachlan Campbell in the 1901 popular play The Bonnie Brier Bush. His autobiography, The Recollections of a Player, was published in 1902. He retired from the stage in 1905 due to illness.

Stoddart married actress Matilda Phillips in 1855. Stoddart died at his home in Sewaren, New Jersey on December 9, 1907.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

References

  1. ^ Fisher, James and Felicia Hardison Leone. Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism, p. 632 (2d ed. 2018)
  2. ^ (11 December 1907). Obituary - J.H. Stoddart, New York Tribune, p. 7.
  3. ^ (23 September 1902). J.H. Stoddart, Veteran Actor, in the "Bonnie Brier Bush", San Francisco Call, p.2.
  4. ^ (10 December 1907). Actor Stoddart Dead - Was Eighty Years Old - Last Appearance in 1905, Evening Star
  5. ^ (10 December 1907). James Henry Stoddart Dead, New York Sun, p. 5
  6. ^ (10 December 1907). Veteran Actor Stoddart Dead, The New York Times
  7. ^ (31 January 1896). J.H. Stoddart Honored, The New York Times
  8. ^ Butts, Ed (20 March 2021). The last curtain call: When a legendary actor gave his final performance at the Guelph Opera House, Guelph Today
  9. ^ White, Jr., Matthew (May 1895). A Favorite Actor of the Old School, Munsey's Magazine, pp. 173-75