James Rice Cassidy
THE FAMOUS ROLLICKING, RACY ,
IRISH ACTOR and COMEDIAN
(1862-1927)
Biography
This website is dedicated to a particular ancestor of mine James Rice Cassidy and his wife Lillian Clare Cheetham. He was my father's uncle (grandfather's brother). My dad, while he was alive, often spoke about him perhaps because he was such a colourful character!
James Rice Cassidy was born in Selkirk on the 25th May 1862. He was the eldest son of my great grandparent's James and Ellen Cassidy (nee Rice). In his early 20's he made the decision that working, as a plasterer alongside his dad was not for him. He left Scotland in the late 1880's and headed for England to pursue a career in the entertainment business. It was clear from the start that he was born to perform. He was a gifted comedian, character actor, vocalist and dancer. His debut as a professional actor took place in the land of his forefathers when he appeared in the play "The Eviction", by the Irish playwright Hubert O'Grady, at Belfast's Theatre Royal on 23rd April 1888 when he was 24 years old. The play was a great success and Cassidy went on to play the lead role of Dermot McMahon in among other place, Barnsley and Petersborough .
In the 1891 census he was living in Rochdale and still working as an actor.
In December of 1895 he married a twenty one year old Yorkshire lass Lillian Clare Cheetham in St Anne's R.C Church Leeds. On their marriage certificate he gave his occupation as "Comedian". Lillian was also an actress and together they formed their own theatre company. They were a double act and she was most definitely an equal partner in the business.
Lillian Clare as Renee Rubinoff and Rice Cassidy as Mickey Dolan, in a scene from "In Holy (!) Russia" a satirical melodrama written by Lillian.
The Princess Theatre Glasgow
For six nights from Monday 8th April 1907
THE NEW SENSATIONAL DRAMA
Doings of the Present Day in Russia
Mr J Rice Cassidy & Company
The Princess Theatre was orignally called Her Majesty's Theatre and was opened by Queen Victoria in 1878. The name change took place in 1880. The full title was the Royal Princess Theatre and it was situated at 121 Main Street Gorbals in the South Side of the City. Up until 1945 it was owned and run by Harry McElvie he offered it to James Bridie to house his Citizens' Company and from then on it became known as the Citzens Theatre.
In Rice Cassidy's time it was was well known for its productions of plays, melodramas and pantomimes. In 1906 just a few months before one of the first performances of "In Holy (!) Russia" the capacity of the theatre was 1439 seated and 162 standing. Since the Cassidy's usually played to full houses this was quite an audience!
The Glasgow Evening Times of Tuesday 9th April had this to say about "In Holy (!) Russia".
"Mr J Rice Cassidy's company presents the thrillling Russian Drama at the South Side House this week. The attractive title would no doubt be responsible to a great extent for the large audience which filled the theatre last night. Expectations ran high and they were fully justified by the many exciting incidents in which the piece abounds."
The story deals with the life of a young Russian lady who makes her escape from the Russian soldiery on her way to Siberia in company with her father and mother. She proceeds to Paris where she falls in with a band of Nihilists, who send her back to St Petersburg on private business. The journey to the capital affords room for many amusing incidents as the lady is without a passport and has to pass herself off as the wife of a gentleman travelling in the same direction.
In St Petersburg thrilling scenes are enacted, her last exploit being an attempt to blow up the Czar. However all ends most satisfactorily. As "Renee Rubinoff" in her dual role of Nihilist and charming American Mrs J Rice Cassidy is most successful.
From left to right Mr Arthur Stratton as Colonel Richard Forrest (Uncle Dick) Lillan Clare Cassidy as Renee Rubinoff. James Rice Cassidy as Mickey Dolan and Lillian Clare again as Renee Rubinoff.
Mr Arthur Stratton as "Colonel Richard Forrest" is well worth a note of praise, the acting of his part being all that could be desired. Mr J Rice Cassidy as "Micky Nolan" is also good, his humourous interludes being most warmly appreciated by the audience. The other parts are all in the hands of capable artistes. All over the piece is well worth a visit and the company should have a successful run while in the city.
James and Lillian toured all over Britain and Ireland performing in their own productions. Most of the plays were written by Lillian who was a gifted and witty playwright.
Their careers seemed to be going from strength to strength. Rice Cassidy was the son of a poor Irish plasterer making a name for himself in show business the classic rags to riches tale!
One of their biggest successes was "The God of War" by Charles Whitlock which they performed in theatres throughout Scotland and England from 1899 till 1909. The play was a satirical piece about the Cuban insurrection and Spanish American war of 1895. His character was Dandy Donovan an Irish American servant to Dolly Daly an American heiress, played of course by Lillian. In the play he sings his own composition called “The British Hero”.
The Glasgow Evening Times 7th of April 1901 referred to it as a “Sensational Cuban American Drama”.
In 1909 The God of War played to a packed house at the Metropole Theatre in Stockwell Street. The Glasgow Evening TImes on this ocassion refers to him as the "Famous Rollicking Racy Irish Comedian".
"On Saturday 23rd of October 1909 it was standing room only at the Metropole Theatre in Stockwell Street Glasgow". The Evening Times goes on to say that the Tuesday night performance was, "An all round excellent production. Mr J Rice Cassidy's ditties and antics caused an abundance of merriment and he proves himself all over an excellent actor! The piece is splendidly staged."
The Professional Gazette and Advertiser had this to say about The God of War:
"On Monday night Mr J.R. Cassidy and Company opened a six night engagement at the Greenock Theatre Royal with what is described as the romantic Cuban-American Drama, entitled The God of War" This drama as its description denotes, deals with the Cuban insurrection and is well portrayed by a strong company of capable artistes. Mr Cassidy himself takes the part of Dandy Donovan and his eccentricities met with much approval by a good house. Miss Lillian Clare as Dolly Daly, is also an excellent conception and these with the others assist to form a good nights entertainment."
James and Lillian never stopped working and they often toured with two or three productions at a time which must have been utterly exhausting. The sheer volume of plays written and performed by them and their hard working company of actors is a testament to their dedication to their art.
J Rice Cassidy and Co. on tour Jan 29th 1903
(Click the theatre masks below to see a catalogue of their numerous successes as both writers and performers).
In 1913 the couple took the decision to try their luck in the USA. They arrived in New York on the 17th August 1913. They gave their destination on the S.S St Pauls passenger manifest as, "The Players Club 16 Gramery Park, New York". Founded by the famous American Shakespearian actor Edwin Booth the Player's was an exculsive club where actors could relax and mingle with the great and the good! Today this would be called "networking".
In London Rice Cassidy had made a success of playing the part of Timothy Boyle from the George A Birmingham play General John Regan. Initially it was only intended that he replace the actor Mr Leonard Boyne who had been taken ill but this became a full time role for James. At the request of Sir Charles Hawtrey he went on to play the character at the Hudson and Liberty Theatres, Broadway, New York.
General John Regan is a comedy play. Dr. O'Grady, general practitioner of a small Irish village has convinced a visiting American newspaper publisher that a resident of the village is none other than General John Regan, liberator of Bolivia. This harmless prank mushrooms into a major headache when the American spreads this so called fact to the rest of the world.
Whilst playing Timothy Doyle in New York, the celebrated theatrical producer Mr Charles Frohman (of Peter Pan fame) invited Rice Cassidy to take over the role of old Hardcastle in the play "She Stoops to Conquer" by Oliver Goldsmith. In New York he also made his film debut appearing for the Thomas Edison Company in five films the greatest of which was “The First Christmas”
On his return from the USA he played Conn in "The Shaughraun" written by another Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. The play is about a Fenian fugitive, Robert Ffolliott, fiancee of the rather lovely Arte O'Neil. A country squire, Kinchela, his rival for Arte's hand, tries to hunt Robert down and arrest him, with the help of a police informer, Harvey Duff.
Robert escapes various melodramatic cliff-hanger situations with the help of Conn the Shaughraun, an Irish word which in English means wanderer or errant person. The character of Conn a roguish but comedic poacher was tailor made for Cassidy.
Rice Cassidy was a contemporary of J. M. Barrie and his plays were performed in the same theatres as those of the famous Scottish Playwright. I do not know if he ever met the man himself but Cassidy toured with Barrie's Peter Pan for five years from 1921 till 1925. He played Smee with much verve and in his own indomitable fashion. His co-star was Mr Lionel Gadsden, a veteren of the Captain Hook role and said to have given the best performance ever of Hook.
How Rice Cassidy and his co star Lionel Gadsden might have looked as Mr Smee and Captain Hook
While playing the character of Smee James met with an extremely bizarre accident that could have lost him his life. It happened just after midnight on the 25th of March 1925. While travelling on the train from Leeds to Dublin with the Peter Pan Company he fell from the train on to the railroad track. The emergency chain was pulled and the train ground to a halt. James was found unconscious on the track and was rushed to Chester Royal Infirmary suffering from fractured ribs. When he regained consciousness he could not remember anything at all about the accident. He made a full recovery and continued to play Captain Cook's bumbling sidekick until just a year before his death in 1927.
He made one more venture onto the big screen when in 1922 he took the role of the Governor in the British movie "The Scarlet Letter" one of a series of short films entitled "Tense moments from great plays" starring Sybil Thorndike (pictured opposite) |
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Towards the end of his life he suffered from a chronic kidney condition. This took its toll on his health causing him to give up his beloved theatrical career. Eventually he suffered cardiac failure and passed away on the 11th May 1927 in St Pancreas hospital, London.
His long and distinguished career merited him obituaries in both the “Stage” and “Variety” newspapers as well as a mention in the “Who’s who” of both the British and American theatres.
Above is James Rice Cassidy's Obituary which appeared in the"The Stage" Newspaper 12th May 1927
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