Betty, William Henry West

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | 700+ words | Copyright

Betty, William Henry West (1791–1874), Ulster-born child prodigy who as the Young Roscius took London by storm in 1804–5. He was first seen at Covent Garden as Achmet in John Brown's tragedy Barbarossa, and there and at Drury Lane he played such parts as Hamlet, Romeo, Richard III, Osman in Voltaire's Zaïre, Rolla in Sheridan's Pizarro, Frederick in Mrs Inchbald's Lovers' Vows, and Young Norval in Home's Douglas, in which character he was painted by Northcote and Opie. After a brief and hectic success, during which he was more popular than Mrs Siddons or John Philip Kemble, opinion turned against him, and he was hissed off the stage when he attempted Richard III. After three years at Cambridge he returned to the theatre, but without success. He was ignored, his father squandered his money, and the rest of his life was passed in obscurity.

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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Betty, William Henry West." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Betty, William Henry West." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-BettyWilliamHenryWest.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Betty, William Henry West." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-BettyWilliamHenryWest.html

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