Macready, William Charles

Macready, William Charles (1793–1873), actor and director. A great, if controversial, English tragedian, he was lauded for his forceful, albeit somewhat formal acting, and despised for his arrogance and explosive temper. His American debut came at the Park Theatre in 1826 in one of his greatest roles, Virginius, and prompted the Mirror to remark, “It is said there is no actor living who unites as much power and original genius with correct taste and cultivated talents as Macready. . . .His person is tall and commanding—his carriage noble—his face, though not technically a first rate stage face, is wonderfully expressive, and his voice peculiarly fine, deep and mellow.” He followed his Roman with his Damon, William Tell, Macbeth, and Coriolanus, adding Othello, King Lear, and Richelieu to his American repertory when he returned in 1843. From the start, elements of the press had attacked him personally, and his open contempt for American actors exacerbated matters. These problems came to a head on his third trip in 1848 when his rivalry with Edwin Forrest, as much a national and class rivalry as a personal one, exploded in May 1849 with the Astor Place Riots. Immediately thereafter he sailed for England, never to return. Mrs. John Drew, who acted with him, recalled, “Macready was a dreadful man to act with. . .[he was] a terribly nervous actor; any little thing which happened unexpectedly irritated him beyond endurance.” Biography: The Eminent Tragedian: William Charles Macready, Alan S. Downer, 1966.