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WILLIAM FARREN (1786-1861)

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Originally appearing in Volume V10, Page 189 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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WILLIAM See also:FARREN (1786-1861)  , See also:English actor, was See also:born on the 13th of May 1786, the son of an actor (b . 1725) of the same name, who played leading roles from 1784 to 1795 at Covent See also:Garden . His first See also:appearance on the See also:stage was at See also:Plymouth at the See also:Theatre Royal, then under the management of his See also:brother, in Love d la mode . His first See also:London appearance was in 1818 at Covent Garden as See also:Sir See also:Peter Teazle, a See also:part with which his name is always associated . He played at Covent Garden every See also:winter until 1828, and began in 1824 a See also:series of summer engagements at the Haymarket which also lasted some years . At these two theatres he played an immense variety of See also:comedy characters . From 1828 until 1837 he was at See also:Drury See also:Lane, where he essayed a wider range, including Polonius and See also:Caesar . He was again at Covent Garden for a few years, and next joined See also:Benjamin See also:Webster at the Haymarket, as stage-manager as well as actor . In 1843 at the See also:close of his performance of the See also:title-part in See also:Mark See also:Lemon's Old See also:Parr, he was stricken with See also:paralysis on the stage . He was, however, able to reappear the following See also:year, and he remained at the Haymarket ten years more, though his acting never again reached its former level . For a See also:time he managed the Strand, and, 1850-1853, was lessee of the Olympic . During his later years he confined himself to old men parts, in which he was unrivalled .

In 1855 he made his final appearance at the Haymarket, as See also:

Lord Ogleby in a See also:scene from the Clandestine See also:Marriage . He died in London on the 24th of See also:September 1861 . In 1825 he had married the actress Mrs See also:Faucit, See also:mother of See also:Miss See also:Helena Saville Faucit (See also:Lady See also:Martin), and he See also:left two sons, See also:Henry (1826–186o) and See also:William (1825-1908), both actors . The former was the See also:father of Ellen [Nellie] See also:Farren (1848-1904), See also:long famous for boy's parts in Gaiety musical burlesques, in the days of See also:Edward See also:Terry and Fred See also:Leslie . As See also:Jack See also:Sheppard, and in similar roles, she had a unique position at the Gaiety, and was an unrivalled public favourite . From 1892 her See also:health failed, and her retirement, coupled with Fred Leslie's See also:death, brought to an end the type of Gaiety See also:burlesque associated with them .

End of Article: WILLIAM FARREN (1786-1861)
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