Dennis Delane

Dennis Delane (died April 1750) was an Irish actor.^[1]

Beginnings in Dublin

Delane belonged to a good Irish family, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. His first appearance as an actor took place about 1728 at the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, then under the management of Elrington. Delane supported successfully a large round of characters in tragedy and comedy, his principal parts being Alexander in Lee's ‘Rival Queens’ and Young Bevil in the ‘Conscious Lovers’ of Richard Steele.

Move to London

High terms were offered him by Giffard for London, and he opened at Goodman's Fields in 1730, presumably November 24, as Chamont in the ‘Orphan.’ His success was conspicuous and immediate. During the four years in which he remained at Goodman's Fields he played in rapid succession Othello, Orestes, Oroonoko, Hotspur, Ghost in ‘Hamlet,’ Richard III, Brutus, Macbeth, Lear, Cato, and very many other roles. On September 25, 1735 he appeared as Alexander at Covent Garden, when he added to his repertory Antony, Lothario] Falstaff, King John, Jaffier, Richard II, Henry V, Volpone, Herod, &c. Six years later, December 28, 1741, he is found playing Richard III at Drury Lane, where subsequently he took Comus, Shylock, Hamlet, Bajazet, Faulconbridge, Silvio in John Fletcher's ‘Women Pleased,’ &c., and created the characters of Mahomet in James Miller's adaptation of Voltaire's tragedy (April 25, 1744), Osmond in Thomson's ‘Tancred and Sigismunda’ (March 18, 1745), and King Henry in Macklin's ‘King Henry the 7th, or the Popish Impostor’ (January 18, 1746).

Later years

On October 17, 1748 as Hotspur he returned to Covent Garden, where he remained until his death, which is mentioned in the ‘General Advertiser’ of April 3, 1750 as having taken place ‘on Saturday night,’ i.e. March 29, 1750.

References

Attribution  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Knight, John Joseph (1888). "Delane, Dennis". In Stephen, Leslie. Dictionary of National Biography. 14. London: Smith, Elder & Co.