George C. Howard
| George C. Howard | |
|---|---|
Library of Congress
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| Born |
September 6, 1818 Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Died | January 18, 1887 (aged 68) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. |
| Resting place |
Mount Auburn Cemetery Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Occupation | Actor and Theater Manager |
| Years active | 1838 - 1886 |
George C. Howard (1818–1887) was a Nova Scotian-born American actor and showman who is credited with staging the first theatrical production of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
George Howard Cunnabell was born on January 6, 1818, at Halifax, Nova Scotia, the son of John Henry and Mary Ann (née Nevon) Cunnabell. Howard’s father was originally a carpenter who later operated a successful tallow and ship chandler business until it was consumed in a devastating fire and his contracts with the British Navy were lost to competitors.
Howard’s first performances were as a choirboy at Catholic services in Halifax and later in amateur theater. He tried his hand at several trades, the last being tailoring, before leaving for Boston in 1836 to pursue an acting career. He made his professional debut in 1838 as George Cunnabell Howard at the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and within a few years was playing major roles at the Boston Museum (theatre). He was the first there to play Claude Melnotte in Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s The Lady of Lyons; Sir Thomas Clifford in Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame; and Romeo and Orlando in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It.
In the mid-1840s he formed the company, Howard and Foxes, with the Fox troupe, a family of actors from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and toured throughout the Northeast. Caroline “Caddie” Emily Fox, the talented fifteen-year-old daughter of George and Emily Fox, married Howard on October 31, 1844. At one time or another, her brothers George L. Fox (1), James Augustus Fox and Charles K. Fox would perform with Howard over the following years.
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