Blake was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, of Irish background, his parents being William Blake and Charlotte Herring. He was their eldest child, and was baptised on 5 Dec. 1802 at Halifax, Nova Scotia.[1]
When only seventeen years old he went on the stage at Halifax, N. S., taking the part of the Prince of Wales, in Richard III with a company of strolling players. His first appearance in New York was in 1824, at the old Chatham Theatre, as Frederick, in The Poor Gentleman, and in The Three Singles. While playing at the Tremont Theatre, Boston, in 1827, he received the first call before the curtain ever given to an actor in this country. In 1839 he visited England, making his first appearance there in the Haymarket Theatre, London. On 21 April 1863, while playing Sir Peter Teazle in The School for Scandal in the Boston Theatre he was suddenly taken ill, and died the next day.
Blake excelled in the portrayal of old men. One of his best characters was that of Jesse Rural in Old Heads and Young Hearts. He was, at different times, manager of the Pearl Street Theatre in Albany, N. Y.;[2] stage manager of the Tremont Theatre in Boston; joint manager of the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia; and stage manager of the Broadway Theatre in New York. He died at Boston, Massachusetts.[3]
Familyedit
His wife, Caroline Placide, widow of Leigh Waring, was an actress.[4] They had one son.
william, rufus, blake, 1805, april, 1863, canadian, stage, actor, contents, biography, family, works, referencesbiography, editblake, born, halifax, nova, scotia, irish, background, parents, being, william, blake, charlotte, herring, their, eldest, child, bapt. William Rufus Blake 1805 22 April 1863 was a Canadian stage actor William Rufus Blake Contents 1 Biography 2 Family 3 Works 4 ReferencesBiography editBlake was born in Halifax Nova Scotia of Irish background his parents being William Blake and Charlotte Herring He was their eldest child and was baptised on 5 Dec 1802 at Halifax Nova Scotia 1 When only seventeen years old he went on the stage at Halifax N S taking the part of the Prince of Wales in Richard III with a company of strolling players His first appearance in New York was in 1824 at the old Chatham Theatre as Frederick in The Poor Gentleman and in The Three Singles While playing at the Tremont Theatre Boston in 1827 he received the first call before the curtain ever given to an actor in this country In 1839 he visited England making his first appearance there in the Haymarket Theatre London On 21 April 1863 while playing Sir Peter Teazle in The School for Scandal in the Boston Theatre he was suddenly taken ill and died the next day Blake excelled in the portrayal of old men One of his best characters was that of Jesse Rural in Old Heads and Young Hearts He was at different times manager of the Pearl Street Theatre in Albany N Y 2 stage manager of the Tremont Theatre in Boston joint manager of the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia and stage manager of the Broadway Theatre in New York He died at Boston Massachusetts 3 Family editHis wife Caroline Placide widow of Leigh Waring was an actress 4 They had one son Works editHe was the author of several plays 5 Nero The Turned Head an adaptation of Theodore S Fay s novel Norman Leslie The Buggs a burlesqueReferences edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Rufus Blake Buggey S 1976 Blake William Rufus Dictionary of Canadian Biography Vol 9 University of Toronto Universite Laval Stone Henry Dickinson 1873 Personal Recollections of the Drama Albany N Y Charles van Benthuysen amp Sons p 43f Ireland Joseph N 1866 Records of the New York Stage from 1750 to 1860 Vol I New York T H Morrell pp 447 48 Wilson J G Fiske J eds 1900 Blake William Rufus Appletons Cyclopaedia of American Biography New York D Appleton Wilson J G Fiske J eds 1900 Blake William Rufus Appletons Cyclopaedia of American Biography New York D Appleton Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Rufus Blake amp oldid 1215228978, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
