He was born on September 8, 1799 in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. His father was Alexander Placide, a popular acrobat, dancer, actor, and manager, of French birth and origin. His mother, Charlotte Sophia (Wrighten), was the daughter of James Wrighten, for many years prompter of the Drury Lane Theatre in London, and of the actress and singer known on the American stage as Mrs. Pownall.
Henry Placide was the second of their five children. His brother Thomas (1808 - 1877) was a popular comedian, and his three sisters all had stage careers: Caroline (1798 - 1881) was the wife successively of Leigh Waring and William R. Blake, Jane (1804 - 1835) was both actress and singer, Eliza (died 1874) appeared successively as Mrs. Asbury and Mrs. Mann.
Education
There is no information about his education.
Career
Henry made his first recorded appearance on the stage in Augusta, Georgia, August 23, 1808, at the age of nine. He first acted in New York at the Anthony Street Theatre as early as 1814, but his name then practically disappears from the records until September 2, 1823, when he appeared at the Park Theatre as Zekiel Homespun in The Heir at Law and Dr. Dablancoeur in Budget of Blunders. During that interval it is certain that he was acting in obscure regions, and there is one reference to his appearance in 1815-16 in the part of a monkey.
After his debut at the Park Theatre in 1823, except for brief intervals when he acted elsewhere for short periods (he attempted an engagement at the Haymarket Theatre in London in 1841, but it was an immediate failure), he was the centre of attraction in the New York theatrical world.
Among his roles were Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, Dr. Ollapod in The Poor Gentleman, Colonel Hardy in Paul Pry, and Captain Cuttle in Dombey and Son. He was the Sir Harcourt Courtly to Charlotte Cushman's Lady Gay Spanker at the first performance of London Assurance in the United States, October 11, 1841.
After leaving the Park Theatre, of which he had been for a brief period manager as well as leading actor, he joined the company at Burton's Theatre, and gave distinction to its performances by the contribution of his reputation and his art. He made extended tours, throughout the entire country.
After his last appearance, in 1865, he was compelled to retire because of ill health and failing eyesight. He made his home thenceforth in Babylon, New York, where he died.
Achievements
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
"He was not broadly funny like Burton or Holland, " says W. L. Keese, "but he was the owner of a rich vein of eccentric humor, and worked his possession effectually. He was an expert in the Gallic parts where the speech is a struggle between French and English, and indeed, since his departure they, too, have vanished from the stage. "
Joseph Jefferson in his Autobiography records a performance at the Baltimore Museum in 1853 of The School for Scandal, with Henry Placide as Sir Peter, Thomas Placide as Crabtree, and himself as Moses, referring to Henry Placide as "a finished artist, but somewhat cold and hard in his manner. "