George Washington Lafayette Fox was born on July 3, 1825 in Boston, Massachusetts, and was a son of George Howe and Emily (Wyatt) Fox, and brother of Charles Kemble Fox.
At the age of five he made his first appearance on the stage as one of the children in The Hunter of the Alps, at the Tremont Street Theatre, Boston, for the benefit of Charles Kean.
At the age of five George Fox made his first appearance on the stage as one of the children in The Hunter of the Alps, at the Tremont Street Theatre, Boston, for the benefit of Charles Kean. Later he secured a position as errand boy in a Boston department store but continued to act in various productions in the city. From 1846 to 1850 he was a member of the Howard-Fox dramatic company at Providence, Rhode Island. He first appeared in New York at the National Theatre, November 25, 1850, as Christopher Strap in A Pleasant Neighbor, and continued to appear at the same theatre until the summer of 1858.
During these years he essayed a variety of roles, including melodrama, farce, burlesque, and pantomime. He also acted as stage-manager. He was first billed as Lafayette Fox, then L. Fox, then G. W. Fox, and finally as G. L. Fox. On March 31, 1851, when Edwin Booth was seen for the first time in New York as Richard III at the National, Fox played Toby Twinkle in the afterpiece, All that Glitters is not Gold.
In July 1853, at a time when business was depressed at the theatre, Fox persuaded his manager to produce George Aiken’s version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It ran from that date, almost consecutively, until April 1854, and was still later revived. After leaving the National, Fox decided to become a manager as well as an actor and on August 7, 1858, with James W. Lingard, he leased tne Bowery Theatre. The two continued as lessees and managers of the house until August 6, 1859, when they gave it up to open the New Bowery on September 5, 1859. Then came a call for three months’ volunteers, and Fox left to serve as lieutenant in the 8th New York Infantry, which took part in the battle of Bull Run.
On July 26, 1861, he returned from military to theatrical life and met with a hearty reception. Due to a disagreement with his partner, however, Fox withdrew from the New Bowery and in April 1862 opened the theatre which had been Brougham’s Lyceum, Wallacks, and Mary Provost’s, calling the house George L. Fox’s Olympic. This venture was of short duration.
On May 17, 1862, he went back to the old Bowery Theatre as lessee, and here he was seen in many parts, assuming four and five roles in the course of an evening. Here also he made pantomime - a form of art which he later made famous - a great success. His managerial connection terminated May 11, 1867.
He next appeared at Mrs. John Wood’s Olympic Theatre (formerly Laura Keene’s), October 28, 1867, as Bottom in a gorgeous revival of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Theatregoers long remembered his impersonation of this role. Then on March 10, 1868, he was seen at this theatre for the first time in a pantomime called Humpty Dumpty, in which he won instant and prolonged success and played the part with which he is mainly identified. It has been stated that in the city of New York alone, he appeared in this part 1, 268 times. Still at the Olympic in 1870, he presented his inimitable travesty of Hamlet which ran for ten weeks. Edwin Booth greatly enjoyed watching Fox revel in this fun.
On April 6, 1874, Fox assumed managership of the house which had been Daly’s Theatre, changing the name to Fox’s Broadway Theatre, but in six weeks’ time he resolved to retire as a manager. He made his last appearance in Humpty Dumpty in every Clime at Booth’s Theatre, November 27, 1875.
Having shown signs of dementia, he was removed to an insane asylum. He recovered sufficiently to return to his Brooklyn home but soon after he suffered a paralytic stroke and was then taken to the home of his sister, Caroline Fox Howard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and there he died.
As a comic actor George Fox was exceedingly clever but in the annals of the American stage he stands as the peer of pantomimists. His best appearance was on stage at Mrs. John Wood’s Olympic Theatre (formerly Laura Keene’s), on October 28, 1867, as Bottom in a gorgeous revival of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Theatregoers long remembered his impersonation of this role. Then on March 10, 1868, he was seen at this theatre for the first time in a pantomime called Humpty Dumpty, in which he won instant and prolonged success and played the part with which he is mainly identified. It has been stated that in the city of New York alone, he appeared in this part 1, 268 times.
George Lafayette “Laff” Fox was married twice. His first wife was Caroline Gould; his second wife was Mattie Temple who acted with him.
1804–1855
1825–1868
1829–1908
1803–1897
1833–1875
1827–1900
1836–1844
