Background
James William Wallack was born in London, England, but was brought to America in 1819 for a stay of several years. He was the son of Henry John and Fanny (Jones) Wallack.
James William Wallack was born in London, England, but was brought to America in 1819 for a stay of several years. He was the son of Henry John and Fanny (Jones) Wallack.
He attended private schools in New York and in England.
At the age of four he made his first stage appearance in Philadelphia, playing the part of Cora's child with his uncle, James William Wallack, in Pizarro. When the latter seized him with well-simulated anger, he spoiled the scene by screaming and begging "Uncle Jim" not to hurt him, while the house rocked with laughter. At fourteen he became call boy at the Bowery Theatre, New York, where he also played small parts. At seventeen, after several seasons with provincial touring companies in England, he joined his father, then stage manager at Covent Garden Theatre, London. Two years later he was engaged for the National Theatre, New York, and there in three years rose from "walking gentleman" to leading juvenile. When his uncle, the elder James William, opened there in 1837 in The Rivals, young James played Fag. Later he was engaged for the Bowery Theatre, and soon began playing leads in tragedy and comedy. He played Othello at the Haymarket, London (1851), Macbeth in Philadelphia (1852), and later toured America with great success. In 1853 and 1855 he made two losing ventures as a manager in London and Paris. Thereafter he remained in the United States, where his earnings were large. He was at his best in tragedy or romantic and somber drama, especially in parts where a rugged physique and a deep, powerful, but flexible voice could be displayed to advantage. Macbeth, Othello, Hotspur, Iago, Richard III, and Leon de Bourbon in The Man in the Iron Mask were favorite parts with his public, and he is declared to have been the only American who made a success with Byron's Werner. In 1861 he and Mrs. Wallack for a few weeks played with Edwin L. Davenport, and then for three years divided honors in a Shakespearean repertoire. In 1865 he joined the stock company of his cousin Lester Wallack at the latter's theatre in New York. On December 27, 1867, he appeared for the first time in the rôle of Fagin in Oliver Twist. He was not anxious to play the part, studied it carelessly, did little rehearsing, and went to the theatre with only a vague notion of what he was going to do. But once into the part, his natural genius inspired him, and the character became the talk of New York. Here also he scored heavily in the eccentric character of Johnson in The Lancashire Lass, one of his phrases, "a party by the name of Johnson, " becoming a catchword of the day. At Booth's Theatre in the winter of 1872-73 he made a deep impression as Matthias in The Bells and displayed his old versatile genius as Mercutio, Jaques, and other classic characters. But he had contracted tuberculosis and was compelled to retire in mid-season. He died a few months later on a train near Aiken, S. C. , whither he had gone in search of health.
Sometime before 1844 he was married at New Orleans to Mrs. Ann Duff (Waring) Sefton, a notable tragic actress, who thereafter appeared with him in many plays. His two children by her both died young.
