E. H. Sothern

(1859-1933) Edward Hugh Sothern was born in New Orleans. His first American stage appearance was at the Park Theatre, New York, in 1879. His first London appearance was at the Royalty Theatre in 1881, two years before returning to the United States. In 1900, he appeared in Hamlet, his first Shakespeare performance at the Garden Theatre in New York City. In 1904, Sothern first played with Julia Marlowe in Romeo & Juliet at the Illinois Theatre in Chicago. That same year,Read more

Sir Henry Irving

(1838-1905) Sir Henry Irving was the stage name of John Henry Brodribb, who was born in 1838 and raised in a working-class family. He was one of the most famous British actor-managers and dominated the late Victorian Stage (along with Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree). He was born in Somerset but lived in London from the age of ten. It was seeing Samuel Phelps (also a mentor to Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson) playing Hamlet that inspired Irving to take to the stage,Read more