Early Life
Forrest was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of Scottish and German descent. His father died and he was brought up by his mother, a German woman of humble origins. He was educated at the common schools in Philadelphia, and early evinced a taste for the theatre. Edmund Kean was at that time in the meridian of his fitful career; William A. Conway, Thomas Apthorpe Cooper, and Junius Booth were playing under the management of the actors William B. Wood and William Warren. Constant attendance at the performances of these artists fired Forrest's ambition and aroused his enthusiasm for the dramatic profession, to the deep grief of his pious mother. At an early age he had given pain to his parents by taking an humble part in a dramatic performance.
Read more about this topic: Edwin Forrest
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)