W. J. Hill

W.J.Hill

William Jones Hill (14 January 1834 – 13 April 1888), billed as W. J. Hill, was an English actor, singer and comedian.[1]

Hill began his career in New York in 1868.^[citation needed] Upon his return to England, he began in roles at the Royal Court Theatre in such works as The Wedding March (1873). He was later a member of the company at the Criterion Theatre.[2] He appeared in the dual roles of Phyllon and "Mr. L" in The Happy Land (1873)[3] and Ladle in "No Thoroughfare" at the Olympic Theatre in London in 1876.^[citation needed] In 1882, he starred as Rev. William Barlow in The Vicar of Bray.[4] He also played the role of Mr. Cattermole in The Private Secretary.[5]

Until two days before his death at the age of 54, he was playing the role of Irascible Fizzleton in Nita's First at the Novelty Theatre in London.[2]

Notes

1. Boase, Federic. Modern English Biography (volume 1 of 4) A-H (2018)
2. "Our Omnibus Box", in The Theater: A Monthly Review and Magazine, Clement Scott (ed.), Wyman & Sons, 1 May 1888, p. 281
3. Rees, Terence. "The Happy Land: its true and remarkable history" in W. S. Gilbert Society Journal, vol. 1, no. 8 (1994), pp. 228–37, The W. S. Society
4. Bright, Addison. "Our Play-Box", in The Theater: A Monthly Review and Magazine, Clement Scott (ed.), Wyman & Sons, 1 September 1882, p. 180
5. "The London Theatres", The Era, 5 April 1884, p. 6

References

• Wilkie-Collins information
• PictureHistory profile