Joseph Coyne ( March â€" February ), sometimes billed as Joe Coyne,
was an American-born vaudevillian and musical comedy actor whose
career spanned nearly years, from -. A popular performer in the U.S.,
he achieved major stardom in the role of Prince Danilo in George
Edwardes' London adaptation of The Merry Widow, which led to other
leading roles in Edwardian musical comedy and many other productions
in London, New York, and Australia.The son of Irish immigrants James
P. Coyne of Queens County, and Margaret Downey of West Meath County,
Coyne was born in New York City, the middle of three children. His
father worked as a seaman and, later, a waiter, while his mother kept
house.Having shown talent for drawing "and the like," Coyne's parents
apprenticed him to a sculptor where his job was to keep the clay moist
for modeling, particularly over the weekends. But Coyne so loved the
theater that he'd sneak off to watch shows instead of keeping the clay
wet, and fled the job after breaking a statue that was supposed to be
under his care.Instead Coyne, having "of his own accord discovered
himself as a dancer," went to a casting call for boys who could dance,
and was one of six out of hundreds who was cast, thanks to his natural
talent. He made his stage debut in New York at as a performer in one
of The Kiralfy Brothers spectacular productions (Excelsior -). He
performed in Excelsior for its year-long run, and went on tour with
the show following that.
was an American-born vaudevillian and musical comedy actor whose
career spanned nearly years, from -. A popular performer in the U.S.,
he achieved major stardom in the role of Prince Danilo in George
Edwardes' London adaptation of The Merry Widow, which led to other
leading roles in Edwardian musical comedy and many other productions
in London, New York, and Australia.The son of Irish immigrants James
P. Coyne of Queens County, and Margaret Downey of West Meath County,
Coyne was born in New York City, the middle of three children. His
father worked as a seaman and, later, a waiter, while his mother kept
house.Having shown talent for drawing "and the like," Coyne's parents
apprenticed him to a sculptor where his job was to keep the clay moist
for modeling, particularly over the weekends. But Coyne so loved the
theater that he'd sneak off to watch shows instead of keeping the clay
wet, and fled the job after breaking a statue that was supposed to be
under his care.Instead Coyne, having "of his own accord discovered
himself as a dancer," went to a casting call for boys who could dance,
and was one of six out of hundreds who was cast, thanks to his natural
talent. He made his stage debut in New York at as a performer in one
of The Kiralfy Brothers spectacular productions (Excelsior -). He
performed in Excelsior for its year-long run, and went on tour with
the show following that.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.