James Cassius Williamson (1845 - 1913)

Born 26 Aug 1845 in Mercer, Pennsylvania, United States

Died 6 Jul 1913 at age 67 in Paris, France

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Biography

James Williamson is Notable.

James Cassius 'JC' Williamson, actor and theatrical manager, was born on 26 August 1845 in Mercer, Pennsylvania, United States of America, son of James Hezlep Williamson (1820-1857), a physician, and his wife Selina, née Campbell (d.1878). About 1856 the family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where James was educated and made a clandestine theatrical début in 1857.

In 1861 he worked for the theatrical company of Messres. Hurd and Perkins as call-boy, general assistant and a maker of scenery and props; the next year he joined the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Toronto, Canada, and then went to New York; becoming known as a dialect comedian.

In 1871 he moved to San Francisco, California; whereupon met comedienne Margaret Virginia Sullivan, whom he married in St Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco, on 2 February 1873.

Just three weeks later, on 23 February, they starred in Struck Oil, a sketchy script bought for $100 and rewritten by his friend Clay M Greene, and delighted audiences in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Williamsons visited Australia under contract to George Coppin. On 1 August 1874 Struck Oil opened at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne; having taken £7,000, they moved on to the Queen's Theatre, Sydney. After revisiting Melbourne and touring Adelaide they left in October 1875 wealthy and famous, to tour England, Europe and the United States until 1879. . . . more . . adb.anu.edu

The J C Williamson theatrical empire dominated the Australian theatre world. With his various theatrical productions and enterprises, including the J C Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company and J C Williamson and partners in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the company grew into J C Williamson Limited in 1910. Before closing under financial pressure in 1976, it had grown to be the largest theatrical firm in the world.

Australia's greatest theatrical impresario J C Williamson passed away in France on 6 July 1913 and is buried in his native America at the Oakwood Cemetery, Alton, Madison County, Illinois. ^[1] His name lives on in the Australian theatre and entertainment industry with the JC Williamson Award the country's lifetime achievement award in recognition of 'Individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the Australian live entertainment and performing arts industry and shaped the future of our industry for the better'.

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images accessed 13 November 2021, memorial page for James Cassius “J.C.” Williamson (26 Aug 1845–6 Jul 1913), Find a Grave Memorial ID Find A Grave: Memorial #5889637, citing Oakwood Cemetery, Alton, Madison County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by jbetschart (contributor 46507905)

See also

• Helen M. Van Der Poorten, Williamson, James Cassius (1845–1913), Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1976, accessed online 1 April 2018.

• J. C. Williamson from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from J C Williamson) first accessed online on the 13th of November, 2021 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._C._Williamson

• JC Williamson Award from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. first accessed online on the 13th of November, 2021 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JC_Williamson_Award