John Lawrence Toole
| J. L. Toole | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
John Lawrence Toole 12 March 1832 St Mary Axe, City of London |
| Died | 30 July 1906 (aged 74) Brighton, Sussex |
| Years active | 1852 – 1893 |
John Lawrence (J. L.) Toole (12 March 1830 – 30 July 1906) was an English comic actor, actor-manager and theatrical producer. He was famous for his roles in farce and in serio-comic melodramas in a career that spanned more than four decades. He was so famous in his day that he was the first actor to have a West End theatre named after him.
Toole was born in London, the younger son of James Toole and his wife, Elizabeth. His father was a messenger for the East India Company and for some years an usher at the Old Bailey, who for many years in the 1840s acted as toastmaster in the City of London.
He was educated at the City of London School from 1841–45, and started work as a clerk in a wine merchant's office. In 1854, Toole married Susan Hale (née Caslake), a widow five years older than he. They had a son, Frank Lawrence, and a daughter, Florence Mabel, but both children died in their 20s.
Toole began his acting career by training as an amateur with the City Histrionic Club, beginning in 1850 and by performing in other amateur theatricals and in comic sketches. He earned good notices, particularly as Jacob Earwig in Boots at the Swan, and soon met Charles Dickens, who had heard of him and came to see him act. His last amateur role was as Simmons in The Spitalfields Weaver by Thomas Haynes Bayly at the Haymarket Theatre. Encouraged by Dickens, he made his professional stage debut in 1852 at the Queen's Theatre in Dublin, under the management of Charles Dillon, and by 1853 became the principal "low comedian" at the Theatre Royale in Edinburgh. His older brother, Francis, acted as his manager throughout his early career. During the next two years, he performed widely in Ireland and Scotland, gaining a reputation for sunny extemporaneous comedy, humorous expressions and a uniquely comic voice, freedom with his texts, and an engaging rapport with audiences.
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