Editing William Abbot (actor)

{{Short description|English actor and theatrical manager}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = William Abbot
| image         = William Abbot.jpg
| alt           = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption       = William Abbot
| birth_name    = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date    = 12 June 1790
| birth_place   = [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
| death_date    = 7 June 1843
| death_place   = [[New York City]], [[United States]]
| nationality   = 
| other_names   = 
| occupation    =  actor, [[Theater manager|theatrical manager]]
| years_active  = 
| known_for     = 
| notable_works = 
}}
'''William Abbot''' or '''Abbott''' (12 June 1790 – 1 June 1843) was an English [[actor]], and a [[theatrical manager]], both in England and the [[United States]].<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|id=10|first=Katharine|last=Cockin|title=Abbot, William}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bNpZAAAAcAAJ|title=Wemyss' Chronology of the American Stage, from 1752 to 1852|last=WEMYSS|first=Francis Courtney|date=1852|publisher=W. Taylor&Company|pages=19|language=en}}</ref>

==Life==
Abbot was born in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]] just outside [[London]], and made his first appearance on the stage at [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] in 1806, and his first [[London]] appearance in 1808, at the [[Haymarket Theatre]], in a benefit performance.<ref name="ODNB"/> There he appeared as Frederick in an 1809 production of ''[[Lovers' Vows]]''.<ref name=":0" />  At the [[Covent Garden Theatre]] in 1813, in light [[comedy]] and [[melodrama]], he made his first definite success.<ref name="ODNB"/> He was Pylades to [[William Charles Macready]]'s Orestes in [[Ambrose Philips]]'s ''Distressed Mother'' when Macready made his first appearance there, in 1816.  He created the parts of Appius Claudius in [[Sheridan Knowles]]'s ''[[Virginius (play)|Virginius]]'' (1820) and of Modus in his ''[[The Hunchback (play)|The Hunchback]]'' (1832).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In 1827 Abbot organized the company, including [[Harriet Smithson]], which acted [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] in [[Paris]]. His position was as stage manager; he performed at the [[Salle Favart]], but not to plaudits.<ref name="ODNB"/>  On his return to [[London]] he played Romeo to [[Fanny Kemble]]'s ''Juliet'' (1830).  Two of Abbot's melodramas, ''[[The Youthful Days of Frederick the Great]]'' (1817) and ''[[Swedish Patriotism]]'' (1819), were produced at Covent Garden.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Abbot also worked in America, where he first appeared as "Mr. Beverly" in an 1832 production of ''[[The Gamester (Moore)|The Gamester]]'' at the [[Park Theatre (Brooklyn)|Park Theatre]] in New York.<ref name=":0" /> Later he moved to [[Charleston, South Carolina]], where he created the [[New Charleston Theatre]] and operated it from 1837 through 1841. This theatre brought stars like [[Ellen Tree]] to the company there, but did not enjoy major success.<ref name="ODNB"/>

William Abbot probably died in New York on 7 June 1843,<ref name="ODNB"/><ref name=":0" /> although some sources say that he died in [[Baltimore, Maryland]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} He had married an actress, Elizabeth Bradshaw née Buloid.<ref name="ODNB"/>

==Selected roles==
* Ehterington in ''[[Debtor and Creditor (play)|Debtor and Creditor]]'' by [[James Kenney (dramatist)|James Kenney]] (1814)
*Albert in ''[[Adelaide (1814 play)|Adelaide]]'' by [[Richard Sheil]] (1816)
* Prince Royal in ''[[The Youthful Days of Frederick the Great]]'' by William Abbot (1817)
* Young Bowerscort in ''[[A Word to the Ladies]]'' by [[James Kenney (dramatist)|James Kenney]] (1818)
* Hafiz in ''[[Retribution (play)|Retribution]]'' by John Dillon (1818)
* King of Naples in ''[[Evadne (play)|Evadne]]'' by [[Richard Sheil]] (1819)
* Captain Albert in ''[[Swedish Patriotism]]''  by William Abbot (1819)
* Appius Claudius in ''[[Virginius (play)|Virginius]]'' by [[James Sheridan Knowles]] (1820)
* Montieth in ''[[Wallace (play)|Wallace]]'' by Charles Edward Walker (1820)
* Varney in ''[[Kenilworth (play)|Kenilworth]]'' by [[Alfred Bunn]] (1821)
* Dionysius in ''[[Damon and Pythias (1821 play)|Damon and Pythias]]'' by [[John Banim]] and [[Richard Sheil]] (1821)
* Count D'Alba in ''[[Julian (play)|Julian]]'' by [[Mary Russell Mitford]] (1823)
* Modus in ''[[The Hunchback (play)|The Hunchback]]'' by [[James Sheridan Knowles]] (1832)
* Clement Marot in ''[[Francis the First (play)|Francis the First]]'' by [[Fanny Kemble]] (1832)
* Lorenzo in ''[[The Wife (play)|The Wife]]'' by [[James Sheridan Knowles]] (1833)
* Charles I in ''[[Charles the First (play)|Charles the First]]'' by [[Mary Russell Mitford]] (1834)

== References ==
{{reflist}}
*''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume 1607–1896''.  Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963.

'''Attribution'''

{{EB1911|wstitle=Abbot, William|volume=1|page=23}}
{{DNB|wstitle=Abbot, William|first=Edward Dutton |last=Cook|volume=1}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbot, William}}
[[Category:1790 births]]
[[Category:1843 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century English businesspeople]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]
[[Category:English emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:19th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:English theatre managers and producers]]
[[Category:19th-century British theatre managers]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:People from Chelsea, London]]
[[Category:Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]


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