Hayden Coffin

Charles Hayden Coffin (22 April 1862 – 8 December 1935) was an English actor and singer known for his performances in many famous Edwardian musical comedies, particularly those produced by George Edwardes.

Hayden achieved fame as Harry Sherwood in Dorothy (1886), which became the longest-running piece of musical theatre in history up to that time; other similar roles followed. In 1893, he joined the company of George Edwardes and starred in a series of extraordinarily successful musical comedies, including A Gaiety Girl (1893), An Artist's Model (1895), The Geisha (1896), A Greek Slave (1898), San Toy (1899), A Country Girl (1903), Veronique (1904), The Girl Behind the Counter (1906), Tom Jones (1907) and The Quaker Girl (1910).

In his later years, Coffin found success in Shakespearean roles such as Feste in Twelfth Night (1912), and in musicals, a few films and other works, such as the classic comedy The School for Scandal (1929).

Coffin was born in Manchester. His parents were from Maine in the U.S., and his father was a dentist. Coffin passed the preliminary examinations to enter the College of Surgeons, but decided instead to become an actor. In 1883, he performed at St. George's Hall in London as Tom Gilroy in H. J. Byron's "Partners for Life" and as Vivid in "Monsieur Jacques"

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