BETTERTON, THOMAS (c. 1635-1710)

This article appears in Volume V03, Page 832 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: BER-BLA

BETTERTON, THOMAS (c. 1635-1710) , English actor, son of an under-cook to King Charles I., was born in London. He was apprenticed to John Holden; Sir William Davenant's publisher, and possibly later to a bookseller named Rhodes, who had been wardrobe-keeper to the theatre in Blackfriars. The latter obtained in 1659 a

licence

LICENCE (through the French from Lat. licentia, licere, to be lawful)

to set up a company of players at the Cockpit in Drury

Lane

; and on the reopening of this theatre in ,66o, Betterton made his first

appearance

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

on the stage. His talents at once brought him into prominence, and he was given leading parts. On the opening of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1661, Sir William Davenant, the patentee, engaged Betterton and all Rhodes's company to play in his Siege of Rhodes. Betterton, besides being a public favourite, was held in high esteem by Charles II., who sent him to Paris to examine stage improvements there. According to Cibber it was after his return that shifting scenes instead of tapestry were first used in an English theatre. In 1692, in an unfortunate speculation, Betterton and his friend Sir Francis

Watson

were ruined; but Betterton's affection for Sir Francis was so strong that he adopted the latter's daughter and educated her for the stage. In .1693, with the aid of friends, he erected the New Playhouse in the tennis court in Lincoln's Inn Fields. It was opened in 1695 with

Congreve

's Love for Love. But in a few years the -profits fell off; and Betterton, labouring under the infirmities of age and gout, determined to quit the stage. At his benefit performance, when the profits are said to have been over 500, he played Valentine in Love for Love. In 1710 he made his last

appearance

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

as Melantius in The Maid's Tragedy; he died on the 28th of April, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
In appearance he was athletic, slightly above middle height, with a tendency to stoutness; his voice was strong rather than melodious, but in recitation it was used with the greatest dexterity. Pepys,

Pope

, Steele and Cibber all bestow lavish praise on his acting. His repertory included a large number of Shakespearian roles, and although many of these were presented in the tasteless versions of Davenant,

Dryden

DRYDEN, JOHN (1631-1700)

, Shadweil and Nahum Tate, yet they could not hide the

great

GREAT

histrionic gifts which Betterton possessed, nor does his reputation rest on these performances alone. The blamelessness of his life was conspicuous in an age and a profession notorious for dissolute habits. Betterton was author of several adaptations which were popular in their day. In 1662 he had married Mary Saunderson (d. 1712), an admirable actress, whose Ophelia shared the honours with his Hamlet.
See Howe,

Thomas

Betterton (1891) : The Life and Times of

Thomas

Betterton (1886).

End of Article: BETTERTON, THOMAS (c. 1635-1710)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/BER_BLA/BETTERTON_THOMAS_c_1635_1710_.html">
BETTERTON, THOMAS (c. 1635-1710)
</a>

(Previous)
BETTERMENT (i.e. " making better," as opposed t...

(Next)
BETTIA

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email