Stage actor, born in Berlin, Germany. The son of English parents, he went to the USA (1872) and thereafter alternated between America and England, first attracting attention in light opera productions in London, then moving over to the New York theatre in 1883. One of the last in the fading style of romantic acting, his most famous roles were as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1887), Beau Brummel (1890), and Cyrano de Bergerac (1898). He struggled to bring new plays, including those of Shaw, to the American stage, but had more success with revivals.
Richard Mansfield (May 24, 1857-August 30, 1907) was an American actor who was born on May 24 1857, in Berlin best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas and for his portrayal of the dual title roles in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Life and career
Richard Mansfield spent his early days on Helgoland, an island in the North Sea, then under British sovereignty, but was educated in Derby, England, and studied painting in London.
Early career and D'Oyly Carte years
He first appeared on the stage at St Georges Hall, London, and then turned to light opera, joining Richard D'Oyly Carte's Comedy Opera Company in 1879 to appear as Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Mansfield created the role of Major General Stanley in the single copyright performance of The Pirates of Penzance in Paignton, England, in 1879.
He left the D'Oyly Carte organization in 1881, returned to London, and soon made his London debut in Offenbach's La Boulange. After several further engagements in London and following the death of his mother in Boston, Mansfield travelled to America in 1882, where he made his New York Stage debut as Dromez in a D'Oyly Carte production of Bucalossi's Les Manteaux Noirs, followed by the roles of Nick Vedder and Jan Vedder in Planquette's Rip Van Winkle (1882), another D'Oyly Carte production.
Mansfield then appeared in Baltimore as the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe in December 1882. Returning to New York, Mansfield then began to focus on the legitimate stage.
Later career
Mansfield was also a theatrical manager, producing Prince Karl and A Parisian Romance in Boston and New York in 1886.
Mansfield produced the play Richard III the next year, at the Globe Theatre. As a manager and producer of plays Mansfield was known for his lavish staging.
It is difficult to overstate Mansfield's popularity and the respect and admiration that he commanded as a Shakespearean actor. At the time of his death, The New York Times claimed that "As an interpreter of Shakespeare, he had no living equal in his later days, as witnessed by the princely grace, the tragic force of his Richard, his thrilling acting in the tent scene of "Caesar," the soldierly dignity and eloquence of his Prince Hal, and the pathos of the prayer in that play.
He continued to perform until just a few months before his death in New London, Connecticut, from liver cancer.
Trivia
Mansfield was preforming in Jekyll and Hyde in London during the time Jack the Ripper was murdering prostitutes.
User Comments Add a comment…