George Clarke

George Clarke (born George O'Neill; 28 June 1840 - 3 October 1906) was an American stage actor with a career spanning five decades from the mid-1850s to 1906 (the year of his death). He was best known for his Shakespearean roles and plays of the Romantic era. Clarke was closely associated with Augustin Daly during two phases of his career. He joined Daly's company in 1869 when he established a reputation in leading roles, but left in 1874 after a disagreement between the two men. He joined with Daly again in 1887 and remained with the company, regularly performing in productions in New York and London, until Daly's death in 1899.

Biography

Early years

George O'Neill was born on 28 June 1840 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Irish emigrants from county Kildare in Ireland.

George's family moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he attended a school run by the Christian Brothers. His parents were strict Roman Catholics and wished for their son to be educated for the priesthood. George first attended a theatre when he was aged thirteen or fourteen, and found himself captivated by the experience. As he later explained: "It excited or aroused my particular Roman Catholic hysterical temperament into a condition that was very willing to accept any outlet; and as the theatre seemed the nearest thing to the pageantry of the church, I was at once attracted to the stage".

Theatre experience

Late in 1859 Clarke accepted a position with P. T. Barnum at the Barnum Museum on the corner of Broadway and Ann Street in New York, where he remained for three years playing a variety of small parts.

The Daly Company

In 1869 Clarke joined the Augustin Daly Company at Daly's Theatre in Twenty-fourth Street, New York, being managed by the playwright and theatre critic Augustin Daly. Clarke performed there as 'Charles Courtly' in London Assurance and 'Littleton Coke' in Old Heads and Young Hearts. In 1870 Clarke reprised those parts at Wallack's Theatre. He remained there for only part of the season, leaving to become manager of Lina Edwin's Theatre, opposite the New York Hotel.

In September 1872 Clarke returned to the company at Daly's Theatre in New York, playing alongside Clara Morris in Diamonds. During 1872 Clarke played the following roles: 'Flutter' in The Belle's Strategem, 'Goldfinch' in The Road to Ruin, 'Mirabel' in The Inconstant, 'Ford' in The Merry Wives of Windsor, 'Charles Surface' in Sheridan's The School for Scandal and 'Julio' in A Bold Stroke for a Husband. Clarke remained with Daly during the five month season from mid-January 1873, at his temporary theatre opposite the New York Hotel. The School for Scandal was followed by Moorcroft on 18 October, a new play written by Bronson Howard for Daly's company, in which Clarke played the role of 'Harrington Gawtry'. However, the reviews of Howard's play were scathing, gaining "the unanimous condemnation of the critics". The reviewer for the New York Tribune wrote: "A sillier play than 'Moorcroft' it has never been our misfortune to witness". After the failure of Moorcroft, Daly decided to revive The School for Scandal for two nights, beginning on 2 November.

It had been the custom in all first-class theatres that male actors in older comedies (such as The School for Scandal) should "wear no hair upon the face, so as to accord with the fashion of the period" (unless specifically required to do otherwise). Daly was a strong advocate of the custom, which he adopted as an iron-clad rule for his productions, and a notice detailing the instruction was posted in the green-room of the theatre. Clarke had grown a moustache for his part in Moorcroft and chose to disregard the directive for a play running for only two nights. On the evening of the opening of The School for Scandal Daly severely reprimanded Clarke for his refusal to follow instructions, which ended with Clarke refusing to appear on stage, telling Daly "that he might read the part himself" before leaving the theatre. Clarke inflamed the situation by allowing himself to be interviewed by newspaper reporters, in which he criticised Daly and "predicted his early downfall". A few months afterwards Clarke wrote a letter to Daly expressing his regret about the incident, but twelve years was to elapse before the actor once again worked for Daly.

Interregnum

After leaving Daly's company Clarke supported Clara Rousby at the Fourteenth Street Theatre and subsequent touring production (under the management of J. Grau and C. A. Chizzola). In May 1884 he played 'Inspector Byrnes' in The Pulse of New York at the Star Theatre. Clarke's acting skills were "well received in Daly's numerous Shakespearean revivals". Examples of his roles in Shakespeare plays were: "a swaggering and cringing Malvolio in Twelfth Night; a romantic Orlando in As You Like It; an impressive Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing; a gay, clever Biron in Love's Labour's Lost".

In New York in January 1889 Clarke played 'Captain Duretête' in The Inconstant. In March he performed in The Taming of the Shrew and Samson and Dalilah. In London Clarke played 'Joseph Surface' in The School for Scandal, followed by 'Biron' in Love's Labour's Lost.

In Clarke's last professional theatrical appearance, he was cast as 'Senator Bender' of Oregon in the comedy The Embassy Ball, a production by Daniel Frohman (with Lawrence D'Orsay in the lead role). The play opened in Providence, Rhode Island, in January 1906, after which it played in New York in Daly's Theatre from 5 March to 16 April 1906.

George Clarke died on 3 October 1906 "at his country residence" near Norfolk, Connecticut, aged 66.