DEATH OF A FAMOUS ACTOR.

Evening Star, Issue 12762, 15 March 1906, Page 6

DEATH OF A FAMOUS ACTOR.

PASSING OF THE DOYEN OF THE AUSTRALASIAN SI AGE. I To-day's cables record the death at Sorrento (near Melbourne) of Mr George Cop- I pin, the father of the Australian stage. I He was the son of a Norwich surgeon, and was born in Sussex (Eng.) in 1819. Adopting the stage as a profession, when a mere boy he was thrown on his own resources, he came to the colonies on March 10, 1843, arriving at Sydney by the ship Tenvplar, and ; was the first actor of any standing in the | Old Country to appear on*" starring "terms I in the colonies. Shortly after arrival, he 1 arranged to appear at the Victoria Theatre, i Sydney, on sharing terms, and frequently j received £SO a .night as liis proportion of i the " house." To use his own quaint phraseology :' " He-made a little fortune by act- ; ing, but lost it in business through inex- ! perience, and left Sydney in debt." His ! next appearance was at Hobart on January.! 5, 1845, and after playing a successful star, engagement there he. commenced management at Launceston hi the following March. Encouraged by a prosperous season, he engaged (paying the entire expenses of transportation) his company to visit Australia Felix, as Victoria was then called, and on June 21 made his first managerial bow in what was at that date little better than a canvas town, and showed in a buildiug known as " The Iron Pot." the working expense of which were £47 weekly. We have before us a copy of the bill on that historic. occasion, when the foundation of; the drama in Victoria, 'with which Mr Coppin's name will ever'be associated, was practically laid. The piece de resistance was 'The Lady of Lvons,' in which he was supported by Mr and Mrs Charles Ypung (afterwards Mrs Herman Vezin), George H. Rogers, and seme of the Howson family. There was also a musical interlude, during which. Mrs Young danced a wreath dance, Mrs Rogers sang Bishop's flond 'Should he upbraid,' the Youngs danced the tarantella "in. the costume of the country; then the comedy of 'The Four Sisters' was performed; the Youngs danced an Irish jig, presumably in the costume of the country also, and the evening's entertainment wound up with the musical farce of ' The Turnpike Gate,' in which the actor-manager sustained the triple roles of Glavis, Captain Beauchamp, and Crack. Ihose were the halcyon days of stock companies, the members of which were remarkable for their versatility. Mr Coppin's next move was to Adelaide* where ho built a. theatre in five weeks, commencing management there on November 2, 1848. He also built a theatre at Port Adelaide. Again, to quote his own words: " I made a large fortune, but lost it in copper mining by the disco-very of gold in Victoria. I went through the Insolvent Court; returned to Melbourne; walked up to tie diggings without a sixpence in my pocket; walked back again within a, fortnight with blistered hands, a backache, and no gold; played a short star engagement, and "commenced management at Geelong. There made another fortune, the receipts on Mon-1 day night frequently paying the expenses of the entire week. Retired from management; revisited Adelaide, where I invited my creditors to dinner, and paid them 20s in the £l, sailing for England in January, 1854." White in the OJd Country he played at the London Haymarket and in the province.-?. During his Home visit he engagedthe late G. V. Brooke and Miss Avonia Jones to support him, and at Manchester arranged for the construction of a portable iron theatre, which was erected at Melbourne on the site of the Iron Pot. and named the Olympic. Its foundation stone was- laid on April 18, 1855, and it was opened in the following June by the Jacobs. Brooke and his- specially-selected company arrived early in the year (Mr Coppin having meanwhile paid a flying visit to England), and appeared at the Queen Theatre, where they literally coined money. A few months later, finding the Olympio too small to accommodate their patrons, the firm (by this time Brooke had been admitted to full partnership) launched out and purchased the lease of the Royal in Bourke street, besides securing a large freehold on the banks of the Yam, at Richmond, where to-day stands the prosperous and extensive suburb of Prahran. Here they spent upwards of £IOO,OOO in ornamenting and improving the place, which they named after the famous Cremorne Gardens in London, and where every form of outdoor amusement, including Richardson's show and firework displays on a lavish scale, were provided for the delectation of the cosmopolitan population of Melbourne of that day. The firm opened the Royal on Juno 9," 1856, with 'She Stoops to Conquer' and a concert, the evening's receipts totalling £478. A couple of weeks later they inaugurated the first season of opera in Australia, the artists being: In grand opera—Madame Anna Bishop. Madame Carandini, Mrs Fiddes, Mrs Guerin, Airs Hancock, Messrs Laglaizc, Coxdon, Lyall, E. Howson, and Gregg, with M. La,venue as conductor. For the interpretation of English opera these artists were employed: Sarah Flower (in the opinion of many competent judges the greatest songstress ever heard in Australia), Julia Hri--la-nd, Waiter. Sherwin (tenor), and Farquharson (basso),, with Lindley Norman as conductor. The repertoire included ' Norma,' 'La Sonnambula,' 'Martha,' ' Der Freisehutz,' ' Lucreziu Borgia,' 'Lucia di Lainmermoor,' the ' Mountain Syl»h, : the ' Bohemian Girl,' ' Masanioilo,' and ' Marituna.' The venture was an artistic' but not a financial success, resulting in a. loss of over £3,000. Brooke made one appearance at the Royal on his-' y,ay to Sydney. He appeared in ' The Serious Family' and ' To Oblige Benson' on July 2, the"receipts totalling £551. In the following August the regular dramatic season was opened with 'Love's Sacrifice,' the receipts being £356, and the week's expenses about £4OO. Cwmorne was opened to the public on November 3, and among other attractions it contained a well-equipped theatre, called the Pantheon. For a time it drew large crowds, but when the novelty wore off people would not be tempted to what was regarded us a " marine white elephant," and alter live years' expensive experience the firm dissolved on February 26, 1859, having made very heavy losses. He also built the Haymarket Theatre, which was optned in September, 1862. "Ruined again," was his caustic comment, "left absolutely penniless ; held a meeting of my creditors, and obtained a release." Brought Mr and Mrs Charles Xean to the colonies, and this importation proved an immense success, enabling him to meet his creditors at the social board—a favorite habit of his—and placiug under their covers cheques for 20s in the £. In 1864 he went to the United States with the Keans, returning to Melbourne in January, 1866, and reappearing at the Haymarket in the farcical comedy of ' Milky White,' which was always a trump card. Then for a time he imported a succession of changes, nearly all of which proved profitable. There* included the wellremembered glassblowers (who - were seen at the old Polytechnic in High street many years ago), the Skaters, Robert Heller the magician (who performed at the old Masonic Hall in Moray plaoe), Madame Celeste (who passed tlirough Dunedin on her way to fulfil her Australian engagement, and. who witnessed Eloise Juno's performance in 'Green Bushes'—her own favorite play), and Collins, the Irish comedian. He next joined Harwood, Stewart (father of Nellie and Dick of that ilk), and Jennings in the management of the Royal, but not relishing such divided control, he bought his partners out one by one, and ultimately became sole proprietor. He was " on his own"' for a year, and was prospering, wheu on© night (March 19, 1872) a fire broke out on the stage, and before the flames could be extinguished the. interior of the building was completely gut-ted, little more than the bare walls being left standing. He had not, however, a copper piece of insurance, and in consequence he was all Irat ruined for the third time. But having a very capable dramatic combination on his hands, Mr Coppin did not allow the grass to gTOw under his feet. He immediately installed them in St. George's Hall, and took a ninety-nine years' lease of the Royal site, on Which a new and more commodious structure was erected, its stage area being greater than that possessed by any similar building south of the Line. He formed the Royal Proprietary Company, Limited,' induced some of the best.men in Melbourne „to take up stock, and in 1872 saw it leased for a term of years by his old partners, and successively afterwards by J. C. Wifliam-

I ' ; eon, Dampicr, Wn. Anderson, and latterly by Bland Holt. He retained to the day oi his death a large proprietary interest "ill the theatre, and under his sagacious management the investment proved a profitable one, paying as high as 20 pef cent, to its debenture-holders. In November-Decem/ ber, 1881, Mr Coppin, having appeared before the footlights for something like hall a century, look his farewell of active stage life in a series of a dozen performances, and was seen in 'Pygmalion and Galatea,' 'The Artful Dodger,' 'Milky White/ 'Paai Pry' (regarded by many as'liits most effective impersonation), 'The : Contested Election,' ' The Wandering Minstrel,' ' Tin Rivals,' and 'The Turnpike which he had first appeared in Melbourne in 1845). Sir Coppin visited Dunedin hi the early sixties, appearing, in a round of favorite characters at the old Royal, in Princes street, and was instrumental in introducing Mrs Vincent (Miss Cleveland, whose magnificent impersonation of 'Leah tae Forsakea* will hardly have been forgotten by old-time playgoers) to New Zealand,' besides other attractions. It was his boast tlyit he built sis of the principal theatres in. the colonies, and introduced over* 200 artists, many oi them of the first flight. He was a typical colonist—made monev fast, but always spent it among and for the benefit of the people who rallied to the support of his own enterprises. He had a finger in most of the industrial pies of Melbourne, and if he had been content to have kept his eggs in a few choice baskets he might in the evening of his life have enjoyed dignified leisure !ind a competence. But he was always seeking some fresh outlet for his activities, which concerned themselves with almost every phase of colonial life. He'tried politics, and gained a seat in tile Victoriau Legislative Council, but the game was not to his liking, and he soon retired from the Gilded Chamber of that colony. He was a prominent Freemason, having more than once filled the high office of Grand Master for Victoria, and was held in the higlieeb esteem by the craft throughout Australia. Besides being a director of several banking institutions in Melbourne, he was the founder of the postal savings bank in that State, the Old Colonists' Association, the Humane Society, the Dramatic and Musical Association, and the homes for distressed and disabled actors. He was also an enthusiastic and leading pisciculturist, and was the means of introducing the camel and the English thrush into Australia. Several members of his family belong to the theatrical profession, the best known to Dunedinitcs taing his daughter Lucy, who is a member of Mr Bland Holt's organisation. The deceased actor had turned eighty-seven years of age.