E. H. Sothern

Edward Hugh Sothern was born on December 6, 1859, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and died on October 28, 1933, in New York City. An American actor whose Broadway career spanned from 1887 to 1926, he became one of the foremost Shakespearean performers of his era and also worked as a book writer for the stage.

Sothern came from a theatrical family. His father was the English actor E. A. Sothern, and his mother was Frances Emily Stewart, who died in 1882. He was educated in England at St Marylebone Grammar School. His siblings — Lytton Edward Sothern, George Evelyn Augustus T. Sothern, who performed under the name Sam Sothern, and Eva Mary Sothern — all pursued acting careers as well. Despite his father's encouragement toward other pursuits, Sothern made his first professional appearance in 1879, playing the cabman in an American revival of Brother Sam, a play originally written by John Oxenford in 1862 for his father, who took the lead role. After performing in Boston and touring the United States, Sothern traveled to England and made his London debut in 1881, appearing on a double bill as Mr. Sharpe in False Colours and Marshley Bittern in Out of the Hunt. He subsequently played Arthur Spoonbill in Fourteen Days and toured Britain with Charles Wyndham's company.

Returning to the United States in 1883, Sothern toured with John McCullough and then Helen Barry before settling in New York. In 1884 he appeared in The Fatal Letter as Eliphaz Tresham, in Whose Are They? as Melchizidec Flighty — a piece he wrote himself — and in Nita's First. The following year brought roles in Favette, Mona, In Chancery, and A Moral Climate. Charles and Daniel Frohman then hired him for the stock company of the old Lyceum Theatre in New York, where he remained a leading man for approximately twelve years. He scored a notable success there as the lovesick auctioneer in the romantic comedy The Highest Bidder in 1887. His portrayal of Rudolph Rassendyl in the first stage adaptation of Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda, which he first performed in 1895, established him as a star. In 1896 he married actress Virginia Harned.

After leaving the Lyceum, Sothern continued in romantic roles. In 1899 he played d'Artagnan in The King's Musketeer, and in 1900 he took on the role of Heinrich in The Sunken Bell — a production listed among his verified Broadway credits — as well as Sir Geoffrey Bloomfield in Drifting Apart. That same year he opened his long-anticipated production of Hamlet in New York, only to have it close during the first week after he was stabbed in the foot by Laertes' sword and developed blood poisoning. He later revived the production on tour, though the sets and costumes were destroyed by fire in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1901 he played the title role in Richard Lovelace and François Villon in If I Were King, followed in 1903 by the title role in Markheim and Robert, the King of Sicily, in The Proud Prince.

In 1904, Sothern began a celebrated partnership with actress Julia Marlowe, opening with their appearances as the title roles in Romeo and Juliet, as Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, and as the leads in Hamlet. The two toured extensively across the United States, expanding their repertoire in 1905 to include The Taming of the Shrew — among his verified Broadway credits — along with The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. Dissatisfied with their compensation under manager Charles Frohman, they moved to the management of the Shubert Brothers, under whom they received a percentage of profits. In 1906, alongside Marlowe, Sothern played the Duc d'Alençon in Percy MacKaye's Jeanne d'Arc, the title role in Sudermann's John the Baptist, and Heinrich again in The Sunken Bell. He was particularly admired in the roles of Benedick and Malvolio. The pair subsequently brought their company to London for a season, though they were unable to attract audiences there and returned to America. Back in New York, they presented Shakespeare at the Academy of Music at affordable prices.

After Marlowe and Sothern temporarily dissolved their joint company, Sothern played Raskolnikov in Laurence Irving's adaptation of Crime and Punishment, titled The Fool Hath Said in His Heart. He also starred in Hamlet and If I Were King, and performed in Our American Cousin — a verified Broadway credit — taking on the role of Lord Dundreary, which his father had made famous. Also in 1908, he played the title role in Paul Kester's adaptation of Don Quixote, written specifically for him, and in 1909 he played the title role in Richelieu.

Sothern and Marlowe reunited at the end of 1909 in Antony and Cleopatra at the New Theatre in New York, directed by Louis Calvert. In 1910 they toured in Macbeth, bringing the production to New York where it was well received, and they continued touring their Shakespearean repertoire, including special performances for children at schools. Sothern divorced Harned and married Marlowe in 1911. In 1914 he played the title character in Charlemagne, and the following year appeared as Jeffery Panton in The Two Virtues and as Dundreary in Lord Dundreary. In 1916 he played the title character in David Garrick, a role his father had originated, and appeared in the film The Chattel. He also appeared in the 1917 film The Man of Mystery. He wrote approximately a dozen plays in which he performed, though most are lost.

After further touring with Marlowe in Shakespeare, the two brought The Merchant of Venice to New York in 1921. Marlowe's health subsequently declined, and she retired in 1924. Sothern's final Broadway years included the role of Edmund de Verron in Accused in 1925 and Tiburtius in What Never Dies in 1926. Beginning in 1928, he lectured about Shakespeare on speaking tours, continuing on the lecture circuit until his death. He and Marlowe maintained homes in Luxor, Egypt, and Lausanne, Switzerland. Sothern died of pneumonia at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on October 28, 1933, at the age of 73, and was cremated.