Douglass, David

Douglass, David (d. 1786), manager and actor. The Englishman began his theatrical career when, at the last minute, he was selected to supervise a new company to play in Jamaica. By coincidence, a company led by Lewis Hallam Sr. was also playing on the island, so the troupes merged, Hallam died, and Douglass married Mrs. Hallam. The company came to New York in 1758, where it built a new playhouse, and soon was traveling up and down the coast playing in Philadelphia, Annapolis, Newport, and elsewhere. Douglass was not a distinguished actor (by consensus the best member of the troupe was Lewis Hallam Jr.), but he was a tactful politician and forceful businessman. His diplomacy was required because wherever he went he encountered puritanical opposition to the theatre, which he was able to overcome for a while. His business acumen helped him to arrange the construction of proper playhouses in the cities where his company played, including the Southwark in Philadelphia, the John Street in New York, and the Dock Street Theatre in Charleston. Douglass's company adopted the name The American Company as early as 1763. Under his aegis colonists were offered a large repertory of classics and new London successes, as well as the first professional mounting of a play by an American author, The Prince of Parthia (1767). He also brought to America such popular performers as Miss Cheer and John Henry. With the onset of the Revolution he returned to Jamaica, where he became a government official and died leaving an estate of £25,000.