William J. Le Moyne
| William J. Le Moyne | |
|---|---|
Circa 1890s
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| Born |
April 29, 1831 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. |
| Died | November 6, 1905 (aged 74) New York City, New York, U.S.A. |
| Occupation | Stage Actor |
| Years active | 1852–1901 |
William J. Le Moyne (1831–1905) was an American actor who is credited with playing Deacon Perry in the first stage adaption of Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.
William J. Le Moyne (sometimes spelled Lemoyne or LeMoyne) was born on April 29, 1831, in Boston, Massachusetts, where he began performing in amateur theater productions at around the age of fifteen. Le Moyne may have briefly supported himself as a silversmith before his professional stage debut on May 10, 1852, at Portland, Maine, playing an officer in The Lady of Lyons, a romantic drama by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Later that year Le Moyne joined the repertory company at Peale's Museum in Troy, New York, as a $6 a-week 'utility man' (bit player) that was later increased to $8 after he demonstrated an ability to play 'old man roles'. The company was largely made up of friends and family of its manager, George C. Howard and is remember for staging the first production of Uncle Tom's Cabin on September 27, 1852, at Peale's Museum. The play was an immediate hit and had a run of one hundred performances, remarkable at the time for a community the size of Troy. Le Moyne's tour with Uncle Tom's Cabin the following year paved the way for his one-day becoming an actor of national standing.
At the outbreak of the American Civil War Le Moyne enlisted as a first lieutenant with Company B of the 28th Massachusetts Volunteers under the command of fellow actor Lawrence Barrett. At some point Barrett resigned and Le Moyne assumed command only to witness over half his men killed or wounded in a string of Northern defeats in South Carolina and Virginia. In September 1862, Le Moyne himself was severely wounded during the Battle of South Mountain and was unable to return to military service. He was later granted by congress a retroactive promotion to the rank of captain dating back to the point he assumed command of company B.
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