John Bernard
John Bernard was an influential early dramatist and comedian who emigrated from England to the United States, where he made significant contributions to theater in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Born in Portsmouth to an Irish naval officer, Bernard's passion for the stage began in school performances. After running away to join a traveling theater troupe at seventeen, he quickly gained recognition for his comedic talents. He eventually moved to America in 1797, where he found acclaim as a performer, particularly in cities like Philadelphia, Boston, and Albany.
Despite his enthusiasm and talent, Bernard faced challenges in establishing a lasting theater career and returned to England in 1819. He is noted for his two plays, though they did not secure him enduring literary fame. Posthumously, his memoirs, particularly "Retrospections of the Stage" and "Retrospections of America," provided valuable insights into his experiences and observations on theater life and American society, including notable encounters with historical figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Bernard's works contribute a unique perspective on early American culture and the complexities of the era, including reflections on slavery.
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Subject Terms
John Bernard
Nonfiction Writer and Playwright
- Born: 1756
- Birthplace: Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
- Died: November 29, 1828
Biography
One of the first important dramatists to emigrate to the newly established United States, John Bernard made his mark as a comedian, a manager of theaters, and—posthumously—as a memoirist. Born in Portsmouth, England, to an Irish naval lieutenant serving in the British fleet, Bernard first discovered his love of the theater in school performance of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Resisting parental attempts to place him in the local solicitor’s office, he ran away at the age of seventeen and joined a traveling group. By nineteen he had married a fellow player who was six years older than he. Bernard traveled to Bath and to Ireland, earning notice all the while, and eventually played in Covent Garden. By 1792, Bernard had lost his wife; subsequent attempts to establish his own touring group failed, and by 1797 he was lured to the New World by a theater manager in Philadelphia.
Bernard had remarried, and with his new wife accompanying him, Bernard debuted to great acclaim in New York. He traveled and soon was admired as a comic actor first in Philadelphia and then in Boston, where he would remain for several years, eventually relocating in Albany, New York. For the greater part of his remaining career, Bernard remained in America, making only occasional trips to England and Canada. Although he retained his British citizenship, Bernard liked Americans and they liked him; rather than contributing to the automatic condescension that many of his countrymen leveled against Americans, Bernard enjoyed the energy of the new republic. During his first few years in the United States, Bernard’s second wife died, and on one trip home to England he married a third time. Despite his dedication to the stage, however, he was unable to maintain a successful theater career, and by 1819 he had returned to England, where he lived in reduced circumstances until his death.
Despite his love for the theater and his fleeting prominence as an actor and theater manager, Bernard’s two plays (The Whimsical Ladies in 1786 and The British Sailor in 1789) did little to earn him lasting literary fame. However, Bernard’s son and daughter- in-law published his two books of memoirs posthumously; the first, Retrospections of the Stage, published in 1830, was notable not only for its account of the author’s immigration to the United States but also because of its unrestrained recounting of theater lore and backstage life.
Bernard’s second memoir, Retrospections of America, 1797-1811, however, although not published until 1887, is the more interesting work, for it is more focused on the community, the culture, and the society of the colonies. The book includes discussions of the author’s meetings with founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, among others, and also includes commentaries on slavery and its role in the growing nation.