Thomas Weston (1737–1776) was an English actor, outstanding comedian and notable scrub.[1]
Life
Weston was the son of a cook. He made his first London appearance in about 1759, and from 1763 until his death,[2] he was considered to be the most amusing comedian on the English stage.[3]
Weston was considered as “Foote’s most faithful trouper and a gifted comedian.[2] Samuel Foote wrote for him the part of Jerry Sneak in The Mayor of Garratt. Abel Drugger in the Alchemist was one of his famous performances; and Garrick, who also played this part, praised him highly for it.[3] Georg Christoph Lichtenberg describes the craft and expertise skills of Weston’s playing of comic ‘business’ as scrub.[4]
He was in debt and so much addicted to liquor. He destroyed his inside by frequent intoxication. He died on 18 January 1776.[5]
References
- ↑ Conacher, D. J. (27 January 1995). Sources of Dramatic Theory: Volume 2, Voltaire to Hugo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-0-521-32695-7. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- 1 2 Kozar, Richard (1 April 2000). Summer Theatre in London, 1661-1820, and the Rise of the Haymarket Theatre. Vancouver, British Columbia: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-838-63811-8. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- 1 2 Chisholm 1911.
- ↑ Wilkie, Ian (20 April 2016). Performing in Comedy: A Student's Guide. Oxon: Routledge. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-317-42929-6. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ↑ Wilkinson, Tate (17 February 2009). Memoirs of His Own Life. Vancouver, British Columbia: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-838-63767-8. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Weston, Thomas". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 555.
- Knight, John Joseph (1899). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 60. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- Batty, Mark. "Weston, Thomas (1737–1776)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29135. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)