Famous Boy Players
- Christopher Beeston was perhaps the greatest success story among the child actors (at least in worldly terms). He continued his acting career into his maturity, became a theatre manager, and by the 1620s and '30s was arguably the most influential man in the world of London theatre.
- Nathan Field was another success story of the children's companies. In Bartholomew Fair, Jonson hailed him as the "best" of the young actors ("Which is your best actor, your Field?"). As an adult, Field acted with the King's Men, and wrote creditable plays as well.
- Solomon Pavy became one of the Children of the Chapel in 1600, at the age of ten. He acted in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels and The Poetaster. When he died prematurely in 1603, Jonson wrote an epitaph for him, praising Pavy's talent for playing old men.
- Alexander Cooke was the boy who is thought to have created many of Shakespeare's heroines on stage. He remained with the King's Men as an adult actor.
- Joseph Taylor graduated from the Children of the Chapel, via Lady Elizabeth's Men and the Duke of York's/Prince Charles' Men, to replace the late Richard Burbage as the leading man of the King's Men. He played Hamlet, Othello, and all the major Shakespearean roles.
- Stephen Hammerton was a prominent boy actor with the King's Men in the last decade of English Renaissance theatre, 1632–42.
- Hugh Clark was a noted boy player in the 1625–30 period.
- Charles Hart started out as a boy player with the King's Men, earning fame for his portrayal of the Duchess in Shirley's The Cardinal (1641). He became a leading man and a star of the stage during the Restoration.
- Theophilus Bird started as a boy player; like Hart he resumed his career as an adult actor when the theatres re-opened in 1660.
- Edward Kynaston was the last prominent boy actor; he worked during the Restoration.
Read more about this topic: Boy Player
Famous quotes containing the words famous, boy and/or players:
“To seduce a woman famous for strict morals, religious fervour and the happiness of her marriage: what could possibly be more prestigious?”
—Christopher Hampton (b. 1946)
“Until the end of the Middle Ages, and in many cases afterwards too, in order to obtain initiation in a trade of any sort whatever—whether that of courtier, soldier, administrator, merchant or workman—a boy did not amass the knowledge necessary to ply that trade before entering it, but threw himself into it; he then acquired the necessary knowledge.”
—Philippe Ariés (20th century)
“The whole idea of image is so confused. On the one hand, Madison Avenue is worried about the image of the players in a tennis tour. On the other hand, sports events are often sponsored by the makers of junk food, beer, and cigarettes. What’s the message when an athlete who works at keeping her body fit is sponsored by a sugar-filled snack that does more harm than good?”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)