Daniel H. Harkins

Daniel Howard Harkins (April 27, 1836 – December 7, 1902) was an American stage actor born in Boston, Massachusetts, whose performing career spanned nearly five decades and took him to stages across the United States and around the world. He also served as a Union officer during the American Civil War.

Harkins began acting in 1853 in Chicago at the theater operated by John Blake Rice. The following year he moved to Philadelphia, where he joined the stock company at the Walnut Street Theatre. By 1855 he had relocated to New York, becoming part of actress Laura Keene's company. He was performing at Niblo's Garden when the Civil War broke out in 1861. He enlisted in the Union Army on July 16 of that year and was appointed captain of Company D of the 1st Regiment New York Volunteer Cavalry. He was promoted to the rank of major in December 1862 and received his discharge on October 6, 1864.

Returning to the stage after the war, Harkins began working with James H. Hackett in 1866 and took on the role of stage manager at the New York Theatre. In August 1868, a dispute arose over the theatrical adaptation of the novel Foul Play. Producer Harry Palmer had secured the rights to the story, and Harkins had arranged with Palmer to stage the production at the New York Theatre, with financing provided by businessman J. T. Lloyd. A disagreement over royalty payments led Harkins to move the production to the Broadway Theatre. Lloyd, believing he had been cheated, obtained a warrant through a local judge, which a county sheriff attempted to serve on August 24. Six armed men entered the Broadway Theatre during a performance without initially identifying themselves as sheriff's officers, and in the confrontation that followed, two bystanders were shot. Harkins had already left the scene before the shooting occurred, and the production was ultimately shut down by court injunction.

In 1869, Harkins joined Augustin Daly's Fifth Avenue Theatre as both actor and stage manager, the same year he made his first credited Broadway appearance in Much Ado About Nothing. In 1872, Albert M. Palmer recruited him to manage the newly opened Union Square Theatre, but a dispute with Palmer brought Harkins back to Daly not long after. He eventually formed his own touring company, performing internationally before settling for a period in San Francisco, where he appeared at the California Theatre. In 1887 he returned to touring as part of Richard Mansfield's company.

Harkins's Broadway credits across his career included Man and Wife (1870), Saratoga (1870), Jezebel (1871), King Richard II (1875), Pique (1875), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1887), Rosemary (1896), The Only Way (1899), Sweet Nell of Old Drury (1900), and A Man and His Wife. His final Broadway appearance came on April 14, 1902, on the opening night of The Last Appeal at Wallack's Theatre. During the performance, Harkins struggled to recall his lines, causing significant disruption given the prominence of his role. He was eventually unable to continue, was led from the stage, and the performance was brought to an early close. It was the last time he appeared before an audience.

While serving in the cavalry, Harkins married Isabella Scofield, who remained his wife until her death on August 29, 1878. He died of a brain hemorrhage on December 7, 1902, at the home of his brother-in-law in San Francisco and was buried at the San Francisco National Cemetery at the Presidio.