Background
Highfill, Philip Henry was born on August 12, 1918 in Petersburg, Virginia, United States. Son of Philip Henry and Grace (Jones) Highfill.
( A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion wi...)
A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion with the publication of volumes 15 and 16 of the Biographical Dictionary, a series considered "a reference work of the first order" by Theatre and Performing Arts Collections. Among performers highlighted in these last volumes is Catherine Tofts, a gifted singer whose popular acclaim was captured in lines by Samuel Phillips: "How are we pleas’d when beauteous Tofts appears, / To steal our Souls through our attentive Ears?’ / Ravish’d we listen to th’ inchanting Song, / And catch the falling Accents from her Tongue." The first singer of English birth to master the form of Italian opera, Tofts frequently won leading roles over native Italian singers. Her salary£400 to £500 a seasonwas one of the highest in the theatre. Her popularity declined, however, as her demands for payment increaseda situation captured in an epigram Alexander Pope may have penned: "So bright is thy beauty, so charming thy song, / As had drawn both the beasts and their Orpheus along; / But such is thy avarice, and such is thy pride, / That the beasts must have starved, and the poets have died." John Vanbrugh, whose play The Relapse is ranked as one of the best comedies of the Restoration period, became a subordinate crown architect under Sir Christopher Wren in 1702. In 1703, Vanbrugh began plans for the Queen’s Theatre in the Haymarket, an enterprise endorsed by the Kit Cat Club (of which Vanbrugh was a member). Even though his lavish design was acoustically defective, restructuring helped correct the problem and the theatre eventually became the exclusive center for opera in London.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809318032/?tag=2022091-20
( Those featured in Volume 10 include Margaret Martyr, a ...)
Those featured in Volume 10 include Margaret Martyr, a singer, actress, and dancer whose “conjugal virtues were often impeached,” according to the July 1792 Thespian Magazine. The Dictionary describes this least constant of lovers as “of middling height, with a figure well-proportioned for breeches parts. Her black-haired, black-eyed beauty and clear soprano made her an immediate popular success in merry maids and tuneful minxes, the piquant and the pert, for a quarter century.”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809311305/?tag=2022091-20
( Like the works already published, these latest volumes ...)
Like the works already published, these latest volumes of the Biographical Dictionary deal with theatre people of every ilk, ranging from dressers and one-performance actors to trumpeter John Shore (inventor of the tuning fork) and the incomparable Sarah Siddons. Also prominent is Susanna Rowson, a novelist, actress, and early female playwright. Although born into a British military family, Rowson often wrote plays that dealt with patriotic American themes and spent much of her career on the American stage. The theatrical jewel of these volumes is the "divine Sarah" Siddons: "She raised the tragedy to the skies," wrote William Hazlitt, and "embodied to our imagination the fables of mythology, of the heroic and dignified mortals of elder time." She endured much tragedy herself, including a crippling debilitating illness and the deaths of five of her seven children. Siddons played major roles in both comedy and tragedy, not the least of which was a performance as Hamlet.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809315262/?tag=2022091-20
( Volume 8 discusses, among others, the careers of Charl...)
Volume 8 discusses, among others, the careers of Charles Incledon, the English Ballad-Singer,” boxing champion of England, Gentleman” John Jackson, and members of the famous Kemble family Charles, Maria Theresa, Frances, Henry, John Philip, Priscilla, Elizabeth, Roger, and Stephen.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080930919X/?tag=2022091-20
( Like the works already published, these latest volumes ...)
Like the works already published, these latest volumes of the Biographical Dictionary deal with theatre people of every ilk, ranging from dressers and one-performance actors to trumpeter John Shore (inventor of the tuning fork) and the incomparable Sarah Siddons. Also prominent is Susanna Rowson, a novelist, actress, and early female playwright. Although born into a British military family, Rowson often wrote plays that dealt with patriotic American themes and spent much of her career on the American stage. The theatrical jewel of these volumes is the "divine Sarah" Siddons: "She raised the tragedy to the skies," wrote William Hazlitt, and "embodied to our imagination the fables of mythology, of the heroic and dignified mortals of elder time." She endured much tragedy herself, including a crippling debilitating illness and the deaths of five of her seven children. Siddons played major roles in both comedy and tragedy, not the least of which was a performance as Hamlet.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809315254/?tag=2022091-20
( A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion wi...)
A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion with the publication of volumes 15 and 16 of the Biographical Dictionary, a series considered "a reference work of the first order" by Theatre and Performing Arts Collections. Among performers highlighted in these last volumes is Catherine Tofts, a gifted singer whose popular acclaim was captured in lines by Samuel Phillips: "How are we pleas’d when beauteous Tofts appears, / To steal our Souls through our attentive Ears?’ / Ravish’d we listen to th’ inchanting Song, / And catch the falling Accents from her Tongue." The first singer of English birth to master the form of Italian opera, Tofts frequently won leading roles over native Italian singers. Her salary£400 to £500 a seasonwas one of the highest in the theatre. Her popularity declined, however, as her demands for payment increaseda situation captured in an epigram Alexander Pope may have penned: "So bright is thy beauty, so charming thy song, / As had drawn both the beasts and their Orpheus along; / But such is thy avarice, and such is thy pride, / That the beasts must have starved, and the poets have died." John Vanbrugh, whose play The Relapse is ranked as one of the best comedies of the Restoration period, became a subordinate crown architect under Sir Christopher Wren in 1702. In 1703, Vanbrugh began plans for the Queen’s Theatre in the Haymarket, an enterprise endorsed by the Kit Cat Club (of which Vanbrugh was a member). Even though his lavish design was acoustically defective, restructuring helped correct the problem and the theatre eventually became the exclusive center for opera in London.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809318024/?tag=2022091-20
( For this sumptuously illustrated catalog, Kalman A. Bur...)
For this sumptuously illustrated catalog, Kalman A. Burnimpicture editor and compiler of the iconographies published in the sixteen-volume Biographical Dictionaryhas selected more than 350 portraits from various editions of the John Bell publication Bell’s Shakespeare (including John Barker’s continuation of 17991800) and from Bell’s British Theatre (including George Cawthorn’s 1797 edition). Philip H. Highfill Jr. has furnished the introductory essay for the catalog. These are portraits of players in costume for their roles. Most are by James Roberts and Samuel De Wilde, who were among the leading painters of actors and actresses between 1770 and 1820. Richard Cosway, William Hamilton, Gilbert Stuart, and other painters also have work represented in the catalog. The beautifully detailed engraved plates are by James Thornthwaite, William Leney, Philippe Audinet, and others.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809321238/?tag=2022091-20
Highfill, Philip Henry was born on August 12, 1918 in Petersburg, Virginia, United States. Son of Philip Henry and Grace (Jones) Highfill.
Bachelor, Wake Forest College, 1942; postgraduate, Middlebury College, 1946; Master of Arts, U. North Carolina, 1948; Doctor of Philosophy, U. North Carolina, 1950.
Reporter, Daily Advance, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, 1942, 46; reporter, Shreveport (Louisiana) Times, 1942; instructor, U. Rochester, New York, 1950-1953; assistant professor, U. Rochester, New York, 1953-1955; associate professor, George Washington University, Washington, 1955-1961; professor, George Washington University, Washington, 1961-1989; professor emeritus, George Washington University, Washington, 1989. Consultant literature Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, 1964-1968.
( Volume 8 discusses, among others, the careers of Charl...)
( Like the works already published, these latest volumes ...)
( Like the works already published, these latest volumes ...)
( A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion wi...)
( A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion wi...)
( Those featured in Volume 10 include Margaret Martyr, a ...)
( Volume 7 includes such notables as the composers Handel...)
( For this sumptuously illustrated catalog, Kalman A. Bur...)
(Brand New. In Stock. Will be shipped from US. Excellent C...)
With United States Army, 1942-1946. Member Modern Language Association, South Atlantic Modern Language Association, Society for Theatre Research (England), American Society.Theatre Research (special award 1994), American Society for 18th Century Studies, Shakespeare Society American, American Handel Society (board directors 1986-1993), Literature Society Washington (vice president 1991, president 1992-1993), Wafflers Club, George Washington University Club, Cosmos Club (vice president 1979, president 1980, board directors 1976-1981).
Married Annabelle Hollowell (Molly),1943. Children: Mary Hollowell, Philip Henry III.