Poster for a production of Boucicault's farce Contempt of Court, c. 1879. From the Library of Congress.

Dion Boucicault and Irene Vanbrugh depicted in a cartoon accompanying a review of a production of A. A. Milne's Mr. Pim Passes By --- Punch, 14 January 1920

Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot (born December 26, circa 1820 – died September 18, 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (773x1024, 453 KB) Poster advertising Boucicaults farce Contempt of Court, c. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (773x1024, 453 KB) Poster advertising Boucicaults farce Contempt of Court, c. ... A farce is a comedy written for the stage, or a film, which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely and extravagant - yet often possible - situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include puns and sexual innuendo, and a fast-paced... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Great Hall interior. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (689x667, 34 KB) A Dropper of unconsidered trifles. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (689x667, 34 KB) A Dropper of unconsidered trifles. ... Dame Irene Vanbrugh DBE (2 December 1872–30 November 1949), born Irene Barnes, was an English actress. ... A.A. Milne. ... Punch was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire published from 1841 to 1992 and from 1996 to 2002. ... December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Template:Unsourced A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is someone who writes dramatic literature or drama. ...

Though his mother is known, the identity of his father is questionable. His father may have been French; hence the most common spelling of "Boucicault", but Dion appears to have been raised Protestant. He was born and educated in Dublin, Ireland until he moved to London. He was enrolled at University College School at the age of thirteen and also studied for a year at the University of London. This article is about the city in Ireland. ... University College School, known generally as UCS, is a British independent school situated in Hampstead, northwest London. ... The University of London is a federation of colleges and institutes which together constitute one of the worlds largest universities. ...

After a year in London, England, Boursiquot/Boucicault left to pursue acting in Cheltenham. He joined Macready while still young, and made his first appearance upon the stage with Benjamin Webster at Bristol, England. Soon afterwards he began to write plays, occasionally in conjunction. London — containing the City of London — is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England and a major world city. With over seven million inhabitants (Londoners) in Greater London area, it is amongst the most densely populated areas in Western Europe. ... Cheltenham (or Cheltenham Spa) is a spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, England, near Gloucester and Cirencester. ... This article is about the English city of Bristol. ...

His first play, A Legend of the Devil's Dyke opened in Brighton in 1838. Three years later he found immediate success as a dramatist with London Assurance, produced at Covent Garden on March 4, 1841, with a cast that included such well-known actors as Charles Mathews, William Farren, Mrs Nesbitt, and Madame Vestris. He rapidly followed this with a number of other plays, among the most successful of the early ones being Old Heads and Young Hearts, Louis XI, and The Corsican Brothers, the last two plays being adaptations of French plays. Brighton is located on the south coast of England and together with its immediate neighbour Hove forms the city of Brighton & Hove. ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... A dramatist is an author of dramatic compositions, usually plays. ... Covent Garden is a district in central London and within the easterly bounds of the City of Westminster. ... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Charles Mathews (June 28, 1776 - June 28, 1835) was an English theatre manager and comic actor, well-known during his time for his gift for impersonation. ... William Farren (May 13, 1786 - September 24, 1861), English actor, was born, the son of an actor (b. ... Lucia Elizabeth Vestris (January, 1797 - August 8, 1856) was an English actress. ... The eye is an adaptation. ...

From 1853 to 1860 he resided in the United States, where he was always a popular favorite. Boucicault and his wife toured the nation and he wrote many successful plays there. 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ...

On his return to England he produced at the Adelphi Theater a dramatic adaptation of Gerald Griffin's novel, The Collegians, entitled The Colleen Bawn. This play, one of the most successful of those times, was performed in almost every city of the United Kingdom and the United States, and made its author a handsome fortune, which he lost in the management of various London theatres. It was followed by the anti-slavery play The Octoroon (1859), the popularity of which was almost as great. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... The Adelphi Theater (1934-1940 and 1944-1958), originally named the Craig Theater, opened on December 24, 1928. ... Gerald Griffin (December 12, 1803 - June 12, 1840) was an Irish dramatist, novelist and poet. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative in prose. ... The Octoroon is a play by Dion Boucicault, which opened in 1859. ... 1859 (MDCCCLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ...

After his return to England, Boucicault was asked by the noted American comedian Joseph Jefferson, who also starred in the production of Octoroon, to adapt Washington Irving's Rip van Winkle. He obliged and produced a version of the beloved American classic in 1866 that would make Jefferson one of the most famous and well-respected comedians of his age. A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... Jefferson as Rip van Winkle, 1869 Joseph Jefferson (February 20, 1829 - April 23, 1905) was an American actor. ... Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American author of the early 19th century. ... Rip Van Winkle is a short story by Washington Irving published in 1819, as well as the name of the storys fictional protagonist. ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

Boucicault's next marked success was at the "Princess's Theater" in 1864 with Arrah-na-Pogue, in which he played the part of a County Wicklow, Ireland carman. This, and his admirable creation of "Con" in his play The Shaughraun (first produced at Drury Lane in 1875), won him the reputation of being the best stage Irishman of his time. In 1875 he returned to New York City and finally made his home there, but he paid occasional visits to London, where his last appearance was made in his play, The Jilt, in 1885. The Streets of London and After Dark were two of his late successes as a dramatist. Wicklow (Cill Mhantáin in Irish) is a county on the east coast of Ireland, immediately south of Dublin. ... Drury Lane is a street in the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Boucicault was thrice married (per IMDB), his first wife being all but unknown; his second wife being Agnes Robertson (1833-1916), the adopted daughter of Charles Kean, and herself an actress of unusual ability who would bear Dion three children (Dion Jr., born in 1859; Aubrey, born in 1868; and Nina (1867-1960) who would all became distinguished in the profession). In 1885, Boucicault suddenly left Agnes to marry a young actress, named Louise Thorndyke, arousing scandal on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) [1] is an online database of information about actors, movies, television shows, television stars and video games. ... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Charles John Kean (January 18, 1811 _ January 22, 1868), was born at Waterford, Ireland, the son of the actor Edmund Kean. ...

Boucicault was an excellent actor, especially in pathetic parts. His uncanny ability to play these low-status roles earned him the nickname "Little Man Dion" in theatrical circles. His plays are for the most part adaptations, but are often very ingenious in construction, and have had great popularity.

He died around the age of 69 in New York City, presumably with Louise Thorndyke, whom he married on September 9, 1885, at his side. Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Selected works

• London Assurance (1841)
• Old Heads and Young Hearts (1844)
• The Corsican Brothers (1852)
• The Vampire (1852)
• Louis XI (1855)
• The Octoroon or Life in Louisiana (1859)
• The Colleen Bawn or The Brides of Garryowen (1860)
• Arrah-na-Pogue (1864)
• Rip van Winkle or The Sleep of Twenty Years (1866)
• After Dark: A Tale of London Life (1868)
• The Shaugraun (1874)
• The Jilt (1885)
• The Poor of New York (1857)

The Octoroon is a play by Dion Boucicault, which opened in 1859. ...

References

• This article incorporates public domain text from: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London, J.M. Dent & sons; New York, E.P. Dutton.
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Asimov's Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan, Patience, note 31

see also Dion Boucicault by Richard Fawkes, (Quartet books, 1979) The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature is a collection of biographies of writers by John W. Cousin, published around 1910. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Patience (operetta) This article refers to the operetta. ...

see also Dionysius Lardner (probably Boucicaut's natural father.) Dionysius Lardner (April 3, 1793 - April 29, 1859), Irish scientific writer, was born at Dublin. ...

External link

• Works by Dion Boucicault at Project Gutenberg