Charles W. Taylor


Charles Western Taylor, often billed as C. W. Taylor, was an american actor and dramatist in the mid-19th century. He is best known today for writing one of the first stage adaptations of Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Biography

Taylor was born in Walsall, England, about 1800 and first appeared on stage in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1819. He soon after debuted in New York in the Forest Rose. He long acted in parts at the National Theatre on Chatham Street in New York. He also acted for many years in Albany, New York, and also served as musical director of the Bowery Theatre in New York City under the direction of Thomas Hamblin.
Taylor wrote the first produced non-comedic stage adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin in the United States. It debuted on 23 August 1852, with Taylor playing Uncle Tom, but only ran for 11 nights after little success. Taylor's abbreviated play omitted key characters and had a happy ending where Tom gained his freedom.
His other stage adaptations included a version of the 1854 bestseller Hot Corn.
Taylor retired from the stage in 1860. He died in West Farms, New York, on April 11, 1874.

Plays (partial list)

The Water-Witch; or the Skimmer of the Seas The Goblet of Death; or, the Road to Ruin Uncle Tom's Cabin Little Katy or, The Hot Corn Girl Dred; or the Dismal Swamp The Drunkard's Warning The Lord if the Isles, or the Battle of Bannockburn