Hermann Vezin
| Hermann Vezin | |
|---|---|
Hermann Vezin in 1907
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| Born |
March 2, 1829 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | June 12, 1910 (aged 81) London, England |
| Education |
University of Pennsylvania A.B. (1847), M.A. (1850) |
| Occupation | Stage actor, Elocution teacher, writer |
| Years active | 1850–1910 (60 years) |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Vezin |
Hermann Vezin (March 2, 1829 – June 12, 1910) was an American actor, teacher of elocution and writer. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania.
Vezin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Charles Henri Vezin, a merchant of French heritage, and his wife Emilie (née Kalinsky). His great-great-grandfather Pierre de Vezin was married to the seventeenth-century French actress Marie Charlotte de Châteauneuf. Rouget de Lisle, the composer of the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise," was one of his distant cousins. After studying law for several years, Vezin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with an A.B. in 1847 and later a master's degree in 1850.
Despite resistance from his family, Vezin was determined to work as an actor and departed America for the UK shortly after graduation. He made his first appearance at the York Theatre Royal in St. Leonard's Place, York, England. After playing minor roles in several provincial engagements, he began performing leading characters as Cardinal Richelieu, Sir Edward Mortimer, Claude Melnotte, and Young Norval. He made his London début in 1852 at the Princess's Theatre. On February 21, 1863, at St Peter's Church, Eaton Square, he married the former child actress, English-born Jane Elizabeth Thompson who, appearing as an adult under the name Mrs. Charles Young, had made a reputation as an actress both in Australia and in England. They appeared in many plays with together until her death in 1902. Together they had a son, the silent film actor, Arthur Vezin.
Apart from a brief professional tour of the United States in 1857–58, the majority of Vezin's acting career took place on the English stage. Though primarily an actor, in 1866 he collaborated with the playwrights W. G. Wills and James Albery to write the vaudeville inspired play Doctor Davey based on the 1842 play Le Docteur Robin by French writer Jules de Prémaray in which he also played the title role. The following year he starred as a troubled Scottish poet James Harebell in Wills' Man o' Airlie (1867) to overwhelmingly positive reviews. Vezin followed up with other successful showings, such as The Turn of the Tide by F. C. Burnand (1869), Son of the Soil (1872); As You Like It (1875); and W. S. Gilbert's Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith, which ran for one hundred and nineteen performances at the Haymarket Theatre (1876, also a revival in 1884); He acted with Charles Fechter, Samuel Phelps, Henry Irving, and in 1878 played Dr. Primrose alongside actress Ellen Terry in Wills' Olivia, Vicar of Wakefield (1878), a highly successful adaptation of Oliver Goldsmith's novel, The Vicar of Wakefield (1766).
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