Clara Fisher was a British prodigy who, at age six, began performing on the London stage in 1817. Ten years later she made her New York debut in 1827. Her acting career lasted for 72 years and in her later life she was commonly called "the oldest living actress".
The British stage
Clara Fisher was born in London England, on July 14, 1811. Her father was Frederick George Fisher, a librarian and well-known amateur actor. Her earliest memories were of attending concerts and plays with her family. At age five her father enrolled her in acting lessons. Her first performance was on December 10, 1817 at the
Drury Lane TheatreThe Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
as
Lord FlimnapTravels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
in the production of
David Garrick'sDavid Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
Lilliput, where she "astonished the audience with her great talent". After her success at Drury Lane, Clara moved on to successful engagements at
Covent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
. By her teens she had successfully performed
Richard IIIRichard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
,
ShylockShylock is a fictional character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.-In the play:In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who lends money to his Christian rival, Antonio, setting the security at a pound of Antonio's flesh...
,
DouglasDouglas is a blank verse tragedy by John Home. It was first performed in 1756 in EdinburghThe play was a big success in both Scotland and England for decades, attacting many notable actors of the period, such as Edmund Kean who made his debut in it. Peg Woffington played Lady Randolph, a part which...
, and
Dr. PanglossCandide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...
. She was hailed as Britain's "child wonder" and was regarded as the most successful child actor of her time.
The American stage
In 1827, at the age of sixteen, Clara Fisher, along with her family, emigrated to the United States. She made her debut on the American stage at the
Park TheatrePark Theatre or Park Theater may refer to:* Park Theatre , British Columbia* Park Theatre * Park Theatre , New York* Park Performing Arts Center, formerly Park Theater, in Union City, New Jersey...
to rave reviews. She was the "favorite Star" of every city where she performed. She "electrified" audiences with her portrayals of Ophelia, Viola,
CherubinoLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
and
SusannaLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
. She sparked a "Clara Fisher craze". Poems were written about her and her name was given to babies, hotels, stagecoaches, race horses, steamboats and almost anything else Americans could think of. Her plays were attended by the social and political elite of the time.
In December 1834, Fisher married James Gaspard Maeder (1809–1876), a composer and vocal coach who wrote an opera for her entitled
Peri, or the Enchanted Fountain. Together, they opened a theater in New Orleans and had seven children.
Fisher performed with most of the great actors of the time like
William Charles Macready-Life:He was born in London, and educated at Rugby.It was his intention to go up to Oxford, but in 1809 the embarrassed affairs of his father, the lessee of several provincial theatres, called him to share the responsibilities of theatrical management. On 7 June 1810 he made a successful first...
,
Edmund KeanEdmund Kean was an English actor, regarded in his time as the greatest ever.-Early life:Kean was born in London. His father was probably Edmund Kean, an architect’s clerk, and his mother was an actress, Anne Carey, daughter of the 18th century composer and playwright Henry Carey...
,
Edwin BoothEdwin Thomas Booth was a famous 19th century American actor who toured throughout America and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869 he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a spectacular theatre that was quite modern for its time...
(brother of
John Wilkes BoothJohn Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
),
John BroughamJohn Brougham was an Irish-American actor and dramatist.-Biography:He was born at Dublin. His father was an amateur painter, and died young. His mother was the daughter of a Huguenot, whom political adversity had forced into exile. John was the eldest of three children...
,
Joseph JeffersonJoseph Jefferson, commonly known as Joe Jefferson , was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous of all American comedians....
,
Laura KeeneLaura Keene was a British-born American stage actress and manager. In her twenty-year career, she became known as the first powerful female manager in New York.-Early life:...
and
Edwin ForrestEdwin Forrest was an American actor.-Early life:Forrest was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of Scottish and German descent. His father died and he was brought up by his mother, a German woman of humble origins. He was educated at the common schools in Philadelphia, and early evinced a taste...
. Due to her immense popularity and success she was able to earn a large fortune that allowed her to retire in 1844. Bad investments and extravagant tastes forced her to resume acting six years later.
Later years
Clara Fisher continued to act from 1850 to 1888. Though her popularity declined and she was forced to play the roles of older women, she was still given respect for the strength of her dramatic work and was often referred to as "the oldest living actress". After her second retirement she wrote her autobiography which she finished in 1897.
Clara Fisher died on November 12, 1898 at the home of her daughter in
Metuchen, New JerseyMetuchen is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, which is 8 miles northeast of New Brunswick, 18 miles southwest of Newark, 24 miles southwest of Jersey City, and 29 miles southwest of Manhattan, all part of the New York metropolitan area...
. She is buried at the Woodlawn Cemetery in New York.
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