Booth, Edwin Thomas (1833–93), outstanding tragedian, and the first American actor to achieve a European reputation. Son of Junius Brutus
Booth senior, he made his first appearance at 16 in his father's company, playing Richard III at 18. Although at his best in tragedy he was, like his father, much admired as Sir Giles Overreach in
Massinger's A New Way to Pay Old Debts, which he played on his first visit to London in 1861. He was manager of the Winter Garden, 1863–7 (see
METROPOLITAN THEATRE), where in 1864 he played 100 consecutive performances of
Hamlet, a record unbroken until John
Barrymore's 101 in 1922. The same year saw a performance of
Julius Caesar, in which Edwin and his two brothers, John Wilkes and Junius Brutus junior, appeared together for the only time. After the destruction by fire of the Winter Garden in 1867 he built his own theatre (see
BOOTH's), which opened in 1869 with
Romeo and Juliet. The venture was not a success and Booth went bankrupt in 1873, though returning successfully to tour in the USA, England, and Germany. In 1881 he appeared at the
Lyceum in London by invitation of Henry
Irving, alternating with him the roles of Othello and Iago. In 1888 he presented his house in Gramercy Park to the newly founded
Players' Club, of which he became the first president. He was an unhappy man, his habitual melancholia aggravated by the madness of his father, second wife, and younger brother, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln.
