Ira+Aldridge

Ira Aldridge (1807-67) was the first African-American to achieve stardom in theatre. Unfortunately, Aldridge had to leave the United States to become popular. He died in Poland after becoming a British citizen with quite a fortune.

Ira is believed to have been born in West Africa. He later lived in New york and attended their exclusive Afro-American Free School, No. 2. The school was located near the old park theater where he saw Edmund Kean perform Richard III, Othello, Hamlet, Lear and Shylock there in 1820.

The first theatre for blacks was built on Mercer street and Aldridge performed there. Even white people came to see the performances. By 1824, Aldridge scored a position with James Wallack. Ira went to England with Wallack. However, they parted ways after Wallack introduced Ira as his "servant". Aldridge remained in England working at the Coburg Theatre in London where he was presented as "The Celebrated Mr. Keene, Tragedian of Colour." When Edmund Kean was forced to retire in 1833, Aldridge replaced him in Othello. The audience liked him; but he was criticized for his vulgar accent and his "drawling" style. At twenty-six, it was thought by critics that Aldridge "has no genius, but is not without talent." His second performance of Othello was canceled.

He took up the life of the touring star traveling (as Salvini would do later in the century) to Brussels, Cologne, Leipzig, Berlin, Potsdam and Bonn using local casts who used German translations of the then fashionable Shakespeare while he performed in English. Leopold I of Belgium became his patron; Frederick IV of Prussia gave him the Prussian Gold Medal of the First Class for Art and Science. Critics raved: "After this Othello, it would be an anti-climax to have seen an ordinary Othello again." Jenny Lind called him the greatest Othello of them all.

He was apparently a unique actor. Relatively unschooled as an actor, he developed his own style in front of audiences. He must have been a commanding presence. But when he returned to London, the purists fretted that he had changed certain words to make them less offensive. And some of his business was thought to be too brutal; the Haymarket audience hissed him when he dragged Desdemona around by the hair before he smothered her.

===Aldridge had great success in Europe particularly in Germany. He also had toured through Serbia and Russia. Eventually, Aldridge had become fluent in Russian, and could actually perform in Russian on stage. Also in England, he played the role of King Lear for the very first time. After touring Russia again, he subsequently applied for British citizenship.===

=== As a successful and praised Black actor, Aldridge helped demolish many racial setbacks that was prevalent in early nineteenth century theater. He played roles as diverse as Hamlet, Macbeth and Shylock, and of course his reknown role as Othello. Hence it not be surprising that his name has been exalted next to great actors at the Shakespeare Memorial Theater, Stratford-upon-Avon. ===

While the pro-slavery London press attempted to destroy his career, Aldridge's stardom in Europe still prevailed, in such nations as France, Switzerland, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Austria, and Germany. He was celebrated in these nations and had respects paid to him. In addition to the accolades he received for his acting, still, many considered that his appeals for "respect to the African race" were a substantial contribution to the fight against slavery, and the goal of abolishment.



(1804?–67), actor. He was often called the first great African‐American actor, although he did virtually none of his performing in the States. Believed to have been born in Africa (although some sources say New York and give the year as late as 1807), he is said to have accepted menial jobs at New York theatres while performing leading roles in //Romeo and Juliet// and //Pizzaro// with a small Negro ensemble. Prejudice and the practice of having Negroes played by whites in blackface denied him opportunities at major theatres. Dissatisfied, he left America permanently in 1826, settling in England but playing across the Continent. Biography: //Ira Aldredge: The Negro Tragedian//, Herbert Marshall and M. Stock, 1968.- source - http://www.answers.com/topic/ira-aldridge