Herbert Gresham

Herbert Gresham (1852–1921) was an English-born actor, director, and choreographer whose career spanned several decades of American theatre. Born in London in 1852, he became a significant figure on the New York stage, working as a performer before transitioning into directing and choreography.

Gresham launched his American stage career as a member of Augustin Daly's theatre troupe, making his New York debut in 1883 playing Gabriel Gadforth in The Frolics of a Day. The following year he achieved considerable success in the role of the villain Marquis de Baccarat in William Gill's Adonis, Broadway's first hit musical, a part he continued to play for several seasons. His association with Daly's company proved long and productive, encompassing a wide range of classical and contemporary roles. Among the parts he performed with the troupe were Dandie Dinmont in Guy Mannering, Flutter in Hannah Cowley's The Belle's Stratagem, Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Meddle in Dion Boucicault and John Brougham's London Assurance, Speed in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Stephano in The Tempest, and Touchstone in As You Like It. He periodically left Daly's company to pursue outside engagements, including a 1891 appearance opposite Eddie Foy in Sinbad in Chicago, before returning to the troupe.

Through Daly's Theatre on Broadway, Gresham participated in several United States premieres. In 1892 he portrayed Little John in the American premiere of Alfred Tennyson's The Foresters. He later played Dick Cunningham in the U.S. premiere of Sidney Jones's musical The Geisha, and Sir John Garnett in the premiere of Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton's The Great Ruby in 1899. His Broadway appearances as a performer ran from 1896 to 1899 and also included the play Scarlet Sister Mary.

In 1898 Gresham expanded his work behind the scenes, choreographing the United States premiere of the musical A Runaway Girl, in which he simultaneously performed the role of Professor Tamarind. His first Broadway directing credit came in 1900 with Joseph Arthur's Lost River at Haverly's 14th Street Theatre. He subsequently formed an extensive working relationship with Broadway producers Klaw and Erlanger, directing numerous plays and musicals for them across an eighteen-year period and occasionally serving as choreographer as well. A particularly notable credit from this era was his direction of The Follies of 1907 for Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., the inaugural edition of what would become the celebrated Ziegfeld Follies series. He also directed the Ziegfeld Follies of 1908.

Among his other directing credits were The Messenger Boy (1901), The Billionaire (1902), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1903), The Ham Tree (1905), Fritz in Tammany Hall (1905), Lifting the Lid (1905), The Silver Star (1909), The Pink Lady (1911 and its 1912 revival), Miss Springtime (1916), The Riviera Girl (1917), The Rainbow Girl (1918), and La La Lucille (1919). Fritz in Tammany Hall and Lifting the Lid both carried dual credits for him as director and choreographer.

Gresham was married to stage actress Martha Ford, and the couple had two daughters. He died on February 23, 1921, in Mount Vernon, New York.