Mathews, Charles

ACTOR, THEATRE MANAGER, PLAYWRIGHT (ENGLAND)
BORN 26 Dec 1803, Liverpool, Merseyside - DIED 24 Jun 1878, Manchester
BIRTH NAME Mathews, Charles James
GRAVE LOCATION London: Kensal Green Cemetery, Harrow Road, Kensal Green (027/2 (26484))

Son of the actor Charles Mathews (1776-1835) and his second wife the actress Anne Jackson. After he studied architecture he travelled and performed at amateur stages. He married Lucia Vestris and in 1835 he replaced his father for a short while at the management of the Adelphi Theatre in London. After that he went to the Olympic Theatre, where he acted in his own productions. After travelling to the USA he undertook the management of Covent Garden.

After his wife died in 1856 he married the actress Lizzy Davenport in 1858. In 1870 he started travelling extensively, performing in India, Australia and other countries. During his career, Mathews was especially successful in his own comedies. His last stage appearance was in "My Awful Dad". Charles Dickens (the Younger) was his biographer.

Family
• Wife: Vestris, Lucia Elisabeth (1838-1856)
• Wife: Davenport, Elizabeth (1858-1878)

Related persons
• was written about by Dickens, Charles Culliford Boz
• was a friend of Webster, Benjamin Nottingham

Events
4/3/1841Premiere of "London Assurance" by Dion Boucicault in London. It was Boucicaults second play but the first one that was performed. It was staged at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, London. Madame Vestris played Grace Harkaway, Charles Matthews played Dazzle and Luisa Nesbitt was Lady Gay Spanker. [Boucicault, Dion][Vestris, Lucia Elisabeth]

Images

The grave of Charles and Lizzie Mathews at Kensal Green Cemetery, London.
Picture by Androom (26 Jun 2009)

 

Sources
Paths of Glory, The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery, London, 1997
• Schöne, Günter, Bühnenstars, Florian Noetzel, Wilhelmshaven, 1998
London Assurance - Wikipedia


Mathias, Georges

Published: 01 Jan 2006
Last update: 20 Feb 2022