Ben DeBar

Benedict DeBar (1812–1877) was a prominent American actor-manager. He is associated with operating a major theater in St. Louis, and best known for portraying the role of Falstaff. He was also connected by marriage with the Booth family of actors. He was the stage manager for Noah Ludlow and Sol Smith (uncle of Sol Smith Russell) for their St. Charles Theater in New Orleans and, when they retired in 1843, he assumed ownership of their New Orleans and St. Louis theaters.

DeBar is credited for first presenting Emma Maddern, mother of actress Emily Stevens and community theater director Robert Stevens, as an actress. His estate was contested in St. Louis Probate Court by his widow—filed January 24, 1878)—who claimed that a power of attorney given to John G. Priest, executor – which deprived her of her right of dower involving a large amount of real estate claimed by Ben DeBar's creditors – was a forgery.