William Kempe (c. 1560â€"c. 1603), commonly referred to as Will Kemp,
was an English actor and dancer specialising in comic roles and best
known for having been one of the original players in early dramas by
William Shakespeare. Roles associated with his name may include the
great comic creation, Falstaff, and his contemporaries considered him
the successor to the great clown of the previous generation, Richard
Tarlton.Kempe's success and influence was such that in December 1598
he was one of a core of five actor-shareholders in the Lord
Chamberlain's Men alongside Shakespeare and Richard Burbage, but in a
short time (possibly after a disagreement among the members of the
troupe) he parted company with the group. Despite his fame as a
performer and subsequent intent to continue his career, he appears to
have died unregarded and in poverty circa 1603.In a 1615 lawsuit
brought by Thomasina (née Heminges) Ostler, widow of William Ostler,
against her father, John Heminges, the recently deceased actor William
Kempe was referred to as a gentleman (Willelmo Kempe nuper de Londonia
generoso defuncto), and it has been suggested that he was a member of
the Kempe family of Olantigh, a property 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Wye
in Kent:
was an English actor and dancer specialising in comic roles and best
known for having been one of the original players in early dramas by
William Shakespeare. Roles associated with his name may include the
great comic creation, Falstaff, and his contemporaries considered him
the successor to the great clown of the previous generation, Richard
Tarlton.Kempe's success and influence was such that in December 1598
he was one of a core of five actor-shareholders in the Lord
Chamberlain's Men alongside Shakespeare and Richard Burbage, but in a
short time (possibly after a disagreement among the members of the
troupe) he parted company with the group. Despite his fame as a
performer and subsequent intent to continue his career, he appears to
have died unregarded and in poverty circa 1603.In a 1615 lawsuit
brought by Thomasina (née Heminges) Ostler, widow of William Ostler,
against her father, John Heminges, the recently deceased actor William
Kempe was referred to as a gentleman (Willelmo Kempe nuper de Londonia
generoso defuncto), and it has been suggested that he was a member of
the Kempe family of Olantigh, a property 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Wye
in Kent:
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