Ira Frederick Aldridge

• Born: July 24, 1807
• Birthplace: New York, New York
• Died: August 7, 1867
• Place of death: Łódź, Poland

Actor, singer, and activist

Aldridge was the first African American who made a career in acting, was accepted on the stage in white roles, and earned recognition throughout Europe from heads of state. He also was the first actor of African descent honored at the Shakespeare Memorial Theater in Stratford-upon-Avon. He influenced countless others to follow in his footsteps and opened doors for other black actors. Through his career, Aldridge served as ambassador for his African heritage.

Areas of achievement: Entertainment: minstrelsy; Theater

Early Life

Ira Frederick Aldridge (I-ruh FREH-deh-rihk AHL-drihdj) was born in New York City in 1807, the son of a straw vendor and preacher, Daniel, and his wife, Lurranah, both free African Americans. Aldridge had one older brother, Joshua, of whom little is known. As a child, Aldridge attended the African Free School, where he learned arithmetic, English grammar, geography, and drawing. At New York’s Park Theater, he saw performances by some of the greatest actors of the time, which inspired his fascination with the theater.

Aldridge’s mother died in 1818, when he was barely eleven years old, and his father’s hasty remarriage prompted him to leave home and fend for himself. He worked backstage at the Chatham Theater and later became a personal assistant to the famous actors (and brothers) James and Henry Wallack. This work allowed young Aldridge to observe the acting profession and theatrical production process first hand. Around 1820, he seized the opportunity to act onstage when the free African Americans in New York City started their own theater, called the African Grove, the first legitimate theater in America run by African Americans. It became famous for all-black productions of Shakespearean plays and featured the great African American performer James Hewlett, who probably had a profound effect on the young boy. Aldridge began his acting career portraying Rolla (a Peruvian character) in Pizarro, a play adapted by Richard Sheridan from the German original by August von Kotzebue. The African Grove survived only two years but marked an important historical achievement for African Americans and made a lasting impression on Aldridge.

Once the theater closed, Aldridge was unable to find leading roles because of his race, so he decided to leave his native country behind for an uncertain career abroad. His friendship with the Wallacks served him well, as he was allowed to travel to England as James’s assistant (or “servant”) and ventured forth looking for acting jobs with a letter of reference from Henry. He landed in Liverpool in 1824 and never returned home.

Life’s Work

Evidence suggests Aldridge studied Latin and possibly acting at London’s Glasgow University for about eighteen months after arriving in England. In October, 1825, at the age of eighteen, he made his London debut with top billing as Oroonoko in A Slave’s Revenge (an adaptation of Thomas Southerne’s 1695 play Oroonoko) at the Royal Coburg Theatre. After the first week, he performed in four more plays, billing himself as Mr. Keene, the African Tragedian, possibly capitalizing on actor Edmund Kean’s famous name to draw audiences. Critics recognized his considerable talent but viewed him more as a theatrical novelty than a serious actor.

After his London debut, Aldridge toured British provinces such as Manchester, Edinburgh, and Liverpool for seven years playing a repertoire that included Othello, Oroonoko, The Padlock, and The Revenge. Because it was traditional for a drama performed in a minor theater to include some kind of musical entertainment, he also sang at the end of his performances. Aldridge became famous for the slave song“Opossum Up a Gum Tree” (in traditional minstrel style), but he sometimes sang antislavery songs while accompanying himself on the guitar. Acting in musicals, such as The Padlock, gave him further opportunity to sing. On the last night of engagements, he began a tradition of delivering great oratories denouncing the practice of slavery in his native country.

By 1831, Aldridge had dropped the name Keene and began billing himself as “The African Roscius” (after the famous slave-turned-actor from the ancient Roman period), a moniker that stayed with him until his death. Having exhausted every black part in plays of the time, including some parts written expressly for him, Aldridge took the revolutionary step of portraying white characters alongside white actors, beginning with Rolla in Pizarro (which he had performed previously with an all-black cast at the African Grove). He also wrote plays for himself, but none of these have survived.

Aldridge returned to London in 1833 to perform at the Covent Garden Theatre, and for two days he took over the role of Shakespeare’s Othello from the great Kean, who had fallen ill. Major London theaters, however, still refused to engage him, so he spent the next nineteen years touring the provinces. Although he continued to perform Othello and The Padlock, he added Fabian in The Black Doctor (a Romantic drama that he adapted himself), a Creole who marries a white aristocratic woman, to his repertoire along with the lead role in Macbeth and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (wearing whiteface makeup and wigs). Aldridge also played Othello at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace, in 1851. In 1852, he embarked on his first continental tour of the best theaters in Austria, Germany, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland. When he toured Russia in 1858, he added King Lear to his résumé. Although his dream of playing leading roles in London’s finest metropolitan theaters eluded him (with the exception of his brief stand-in for Kean), he was warmly received throughout Europe and received accolades and awards from many heads of state. Aldridge spent his final years touring the continent with occasional trips back to England. He died in 1867 at the age of sixty while preparing for a performance in Łód, Poland.

Aldridge married twice, both times to white women, and fathered five children. He became a naturalized British citizen in 1863.

Significance

Aldridge was internationally celebrated as an actor of tremendous talent. He played leading roles in some of Great Britain’s and continental Europe’s most prestigious theaters and was so praised for his interpretations of Othello that Aldridge is one of very few distinguished Shakespearean actors, and the only one of African descent, to be honored at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Bibliography

Lindfors, Bernth, ed. Ira Aldridge: The African Roscius. Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press, 2007. Lindfors compiled a definitive collection of articles about Aldridge and arranged them into two main sections, Life and Career. He offers information about the actor’s life prior to moving to England along with critical essays that examine Aldridge’s contributions from a contemporary perspective and chronicle his performance history.

Marshall, Herbert, and Mildred Stock. Ira Aldridge: The Negro Tragedian. London: Rockliff, 1958. In an exhaustive study of all available documents regarding the actor, including interviews with his last surviving daughter, Amanda, this book offers a detailed chronology of his career with some attention paid to his family life, as well. As the most authoritative treatise about the subject, this book is acknowledged as the foundation for any research on Aldridge.

Thompson, Ayanna, ed. Colorblind Shakespeare: New Perspectives on Race and Performance. New York: Routledge, 2006. An interesting collection of essays regarding the political and social impact of one race portraying another on stage, Thompson’s book offers several interesting perspectives on Aldridge’s acting career with particular attention to his impact on racial issues of his time. It also contains articles about other prominent African theater artists.