Taylor, Joseph

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

Taylor, Joseph (c.1585–1652), English actor, who joined the King's Men in 1619, by which time he was already well known, and took over many of Richard Burbage's parts. He also appeared as the handsome young lovers or dashing villains of Beaumont and Fletcher. It is unlikely that, as was once thought, he was coached by Shakespeare himself in the part of Hamlet, but he may well have seen Burbage act it, and he is certainly said to have appeared to advantage in the part. Other roles in which he gave excellent performances in revivals appear to have been Iago in Othello, Truewit and Face in Ben Jonson's Epicoene and The Alchemist, and Ferdinand in Webster's The Duchess of Malfi. With Lowin he became one of the chief business managers of the King's Men after the deaths of Condell and Heminge.

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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Taylor, Joseph." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Taylor, Joseph." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-TaylorJoseph.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Taylor, Joseph." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-TaylorJoseph.html

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