Background
Forbes-Robertson, Johnston was born on January 16, 1853 in London, England. Son of John and Frances Forbes-Robertson.
Forbes-Robertson, Johnston was born on January 16, 1853 in London, England. Son of John and Frances Forbes-Robertson.
Educated Charterhouse, England. Studied painting art schools in France and Royal Academy School, London.
Debut as Chastelard, in “Mary Stuart,” London, 1874. Appeared with the Bancrofts, Mme. Modjeska, Irving, Mary Anderson, Sir John Hare, 1880-1895.
Opened Lyceum Theatre, London, under own management, 1895. First toured America with Mary Anderson, 1885. Again in 1889, 1902, 1905, 1909-1910.
Played with Henry Irving, in “Much Ado About Nothing,” 1882, and commissioned by him to paint the church scene now in The Players, New York. With Mary Anderson, in “The Winter’s Tale,” 1885. With Irving, in “Henry VIII,” 1889.
With Hare, in revival of “Diplomacy,” 1893. Last appeared with Irving in “King Arthur,” 1895. Produced several plays in the Lyceum, London, 1895, ending with “Hamlet,” with which and “Macbeth,” toured Germany and Holland.
Produced “Cæsar” and “Cleopatra,” 1906, and revived “Merchant of Venice,” “Othello,” and “Hamlet”. Appeared “Passing of the Third Floor Back,” London and America, 1908-1911. Home: London, England.
Married Gertrude Elliott, December 22, 1900.