James Cassius Williamson

James Cassius Williamson or J. C. Williamson (1845-1913) was an American-born actor and impresario.

Biography

James Cassius Williamson was born in Pennsylvania. He acted in amateur theatricals and joined a local theatre company as a call-boy at the age of 15, soon taking roles and eventually moving to New York where he played for several years at Wallack's Theatre and then other New York theatres. In 1871, he became the leading comedian at the California Theatre in San Francisco and the next year married comedian and actress Maggie Moore. The two found success touring in Australia, and then playing in London, the U.S. and elsewhere in a melodrama called Struck Oil.

In 1879, Williamson obtained the right to present H.M.S. Pinafore and then other Gilbert and Sullivan operas in Australia. He soon formed his Royal Comic Opera Company. After 1907, Williamson moved his family to Europe and, his old partners having left, he hired capable managers and changed the theatre company's name to J. C. Williamson Ltd. Williamson died in 1913, but he left a strong theatrical empire that became the largest theatrical firm in the world, with extensive film and property holdings. The company continued to produce seasons of Gilbert and Sullivan operas, operetta, musical comedy, straight plays, pantomimes and occasional musical revues, and later grand opera, ballet seasons, and concert tours by visiting celebrity singers and musicians, at the many theatres that it owned or leased throughout Australia and New Zealand. It also toured and presented shows in London and elsewhere. In 1976, the company closed and leased out its name.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

In 1914, the Williamson Company toured South Africa, presenting Williamson's self-penned Puss-in-Boots on tour in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.

The Williamson Company toured South Africa in 1915/1916, presenting Cinderella on tour in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._C._Williamson

Greyvenstein, Walter 1988. The history and development of children's theatre in English in South Africa. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.

Go to ESAT Bibliography