Kemble, John Philip

Kemble, John Philip (1757–1823), English actor, eldest son of Roger Kemble (1722–1802) and his wife Sarah Ward, strolling players. He appeared on the stage as a child with his parents, but was then sent to Douai to study for the priesthood. He returned to the theatre, however, and after acting in the provinces for several years made his London début in 1783 at Drury Lane as Hamlet, in which character he was painted by Lawrence. He gave an unusual rendering of the part which at first puzzled but finally captivated the audience by its gentleness and grace. During his long career he steadily improved, playing all the great tragic parts of the current repertory—Wolsey in Henry VIII, Brutus in Julius Caesar, the title-role in The Stranger, an adaptation of Kotzebue's Menschenhaβ und Reue, Rolla in Sheridan's Pizarro, Addison's Cato, and above all Shakespeare's Coriolanus, the part in which he took leave of the stage in 1817. He managed both Drury Lane and Covent Garden, where his raising of the prices of admission after the disastrous fire of 1808 caused the famous OP (Old Prices) riots. Financially his managements were not a success and as an actor he was limited in his choice of parts, being unfit, by reason of a harsh voice and stiff gestures, for any form of comedy. Nor was he good in romantic parts, in spite of his handsome presence. Even in tragedy, in which he excelled, he eschewed sudden bursts of pathos or passion, achieving his effects by a studied and sustained intensity of feeling. More respected than loved, he was nevertheless much admired, and exercised a salutary influence on the theatre of his time.

He married in 1787 the actress Priscilla Hopkins (1755–1845), who, in her early years, had been a member of Garrick's company. John Philip's brothers Charles (above) and Stephen (below) were also on the stage, as were his brother Henry and his four sisters: the eldest became famous as Mrs Siddons; Frances and Ann had unremarkable careers; Elizabeth emigrated with her husband to America, and became well known there as Mrs Whitlock (1761–1836). Descendants of Roger and Sarah Kemble are still to be found in the theatrical and literary worlds of England and the United States.