BET'TERTON, THOMAS (1635-1710). An English actor. He was born in Westminster and apprenticed by his father to a bookseller, by whose formation of a theatrical troupe Betterton seems to have been introduced to his profession. In 1661 he became a member of Sir William Day enant's company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, and quickly became a favorite. The best contemporary judges, such as Addison, Cibber, etc., bear admiring witness to the dramatic power of his impersonations, which overcame the nat ural disadvantages of a low voice, small eyes, and an ungainly figure. The range of his repertory was wide, including many of Shakespeare's plays and a great variety of contemporary pieces. His Hamlet, to which Mrs. Saunderson, his future wife, played Ophelia, was considered especially fine. Charles II. thought so highly of him that, for the acting of Alvaro in Love and Honor, he is said to have lent him his coronation suit. Early in his career he was sent, by the King's wish, to Paris to study the French stage, with a view to improvement in the English, a visit which brought the young dramatist into contact with the work of Moliere. His private charac ter was highly estimable, cheerful, modest, and generous. After a retirement of many years, it became known that his circumstances were very straitencd, and it was determined to give him a public benefit. On April 7, 1709, the
spirited veteran (tben in his 74th year) ap peared with immense éclat at the Haymarket Theatre in the youthful part of Valentine, in Congreve's Love for Love. His last appearance was in a similar benefit three days before his death, as Melantius, in the Maid's Tragedy, of Beaumont and Fletcher. lle was buried in the cloister of Westminster Abbey; an event which Steele commemorates in the Tatler (No. 167). As a writer, Betterton published a number of comedies adapted from earlier plays. Mrs. Bet terton took almost the same rank among con temporary actresses that her husband did among actors. Consult: Howe, Thomas Bettcrton, Emi nent Actor Series (London, 1S91) ; The Life and 7'imes of that Excellent and Renowned Actor, Thomas Betterton, by the Author of the Lives of Mrs. Abingdon, etc. (London. MS) ; Doran, Annals of the English Stage, Vol. I. (London, 1SSS) ; Downes, Roseius Anglicanus (London, 1SS6) ; Genest, History of the English Stage, Vol. I. (Bath, 1832) ; and Galt, Lives of the Players (London, 1835).