Booth, Junius Brutus

Related Category: Theater: Biographies

1796–1852, Anglo-American actor. After experience in the provinces, he appeared at Covent Garden. In 1817, with his portrayal of Richard III, he established himself as a rival of Edmund Kean. In 1821 he emigrated to the United States, where he spent most of his remaining life. An imposing tragic actor with a full, rich voice and a rugged grandeur, Booth had an erratic personal life complicated by intemperate habits. His son Junius Brutus Booth, Jr. excelled as a theatrical manager, while Edwin Booth surpassed his father as an actor. A third son was the assassin of President Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth.

See S. Kimmel, The Mad Booths of Maryland (2d ed. 1969).