Richard Golden (1854â€"1909) was an American stage actor and comedian
whose most famous role was "Old Jed Prouty" in his play of the same
name. The play helped to create and nationalize the genre of Down East
humor, and made Golden one of the celebrated comedians of his
generation.Born in Bangor, Maine, the son of an Irish immigrant and
dry goods merchant, Golden joined a Mexican circus (Allie's Allied
Shows) touring the U.S. at the age of 13. He later married actor and
singer Dora Wiley, and initially toured with her as a member of the
"Dora Wiley Opera Company". The company became stranded in Albany, New
York in 1885 when it experienced financial difficulties and Golden
contracted malaria. The couple's fortunes had turned by 1888 when
Wiley sang "Home, Sweet, Home" in front of President Grover Cleveland
at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, and, the following year,
Golden impressed audiences in New York, and soon the country, for his
portrayal of Old Jed Prouty in his original play of the same name.
Wiley had a singing part in the production, and came to be known as
"The Sweet Singer of Maine".Golden's Old Jed Prouty, which he wrote
with William Gill, premiered in New York's Union Square Theatre on May
14, 1889, and moved to the Harlem Opera House later that same year.
Prouty was a comedic Maine yankee tavern keeper living in the coastal
town of Bucksport, the birthplace of his wife Dora Wiley and not far
from Golden's own home-town of Bangor. The play began touring
nationally in 1890 to rave reviews. Golden would go on to other plays
and other parts, but would continually revive Prouty in the course of
his career, ultimately playing it over 3,000 times in venues all over
the eastern half of the U.S.Wiley divorced Golden in 1892, married her
(much younger) business manager, and returned to her home in Bangor.
With Dora gone, Golden shut down Old Jed Prouty by 1893 and joined the
Pauline Hall Opera Company at the Tremont Theatre in Boston. By 1895
Golden was broke, and appeared in debtor's court declaring he had "not
a cent in the world". The following year (1894) found Golden in the
alcoholic's ward at Bellevue Hospital, but by the end of the year he
had returned to the stage with a revival of Jed Prouty. Through the
rest of the 1890s newspapers alternately reported him "critically ill"
(usually in a hotel room), and drawing huge and appreciative crowds in
a variety of comic roles. By the end of the decade he was one of the
most celebrated stars of American comic opera. Around 1908 he also
took a part in the London production of The Dollar Princess, a German
light opera.
whose most famous role was "Old Jed Prouty" in his play of the same
name. The play helped to create and nationalize the genre of Down East
humor, and made Golden one of the celebrated comedians of his
generation.Born in Bangor, Maine, the son of an Irish immigrant and
dry goods merchant, Golden joined a Mexican circus (Allie's Allied
Shows) touring the U.S. at the age of 13. He later married actor and
singer Dora Wiley, and initially toured with her as a member of the
"Dora Wiley Opera Company". The company became stranded in Albany, New
York in 1885 when it experienced financial difficulties and Golden
contracted malaria. The couple's fortunes had turned by 1888 when
Wiley sang "Home, Sweet, Home" in front of President Grover Cleveland
at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, and, the following year,
Golden impressed audiences in New York, and soon the country, for his
portrayal of Old Jed Prouty in his original play of the same name.
Wiley had a singing part in the production, and came to be known as
"The Sweet Singer of Maine".Golden's Old Jed Prouty, which he wrote
with William Gill, premiered in New York's Union Square Theatre on May
14, 1889, and moved to the Harlem Opera House later that same year.
Prouty was a comedic Maine yankee tavern keeper living in the coastal
town of Bucksport, the birthplace of his wife Dora Wiley and not far
from Golden's own home-town of Bangor. The play began touring
nationally in 1890 to rave reviews. Golden would go on to other plays
and other parts, but would continually revive Prouty in the course of
his career, ultimately playing it over 3,000 times in venues all over
the eastern half of the U.S.Wiley divorced Golden in 1892, married her
(much younger) business manager, and returned to her home in Bangor.
With Dora gone, Golden shut down Old Jed Prouty by 1893 and joined the
Pauline Hall Opera Company at the Tremont Theatre in Boston. By 1895
Golden was broke, and appeared in debtor's court declaring he had "not
a cent in the world". The following year (1894) found Golden in the
alcoholic's ward at Bellevue Hospital, but by the end of the year he
had returned to the stage with a revival of Jed Prouty. Through the
rest of the 1890s newspapers alternately reported him "critically ill"
(usually in a hotel room), and drawing huge and appreciative crowds in
a variety of comic roles. By the end of the decade he was one of the
most celebrated stars of American comic opera. Around 1908 he also
took a part in the London production of The Dollar Princess, a German
light opera.
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