# Thomas Manders > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Thomas_Manders > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Thomas_Manders.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Manders > Source revision: 1352310954 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|English comedian and actor-manager}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} thumb|200px|right|Tom Manders in about 1838 '''Thomas Manders''' (22 December 1797–28 October 1859) was an [actor-manager](/source/actor-manager) and [low comedian](/source/Low_comedy) of the early 19th century. ==Early life and career== Tom Manders was born in [High Holborn](/source/High_Holborn) in London in 1797. He was originally intended for a commercial life, and for that purpose joined the [Bank of England](/source/Bank_of_England) in 1814 but was pensioned off in 1821 when his office was abolished by the withdrawal of one-pound notes. He married Louisa Powell (1801-1880) in 1820. A keen theatre-goer, he attended performances most evenings after work and having tried his hand as an amateur actor on numerous occasions decided to turn professional in 1822. On the recommendation of [Charles Kemble](/source/Charles_Kemble) he was taken on by John Saville Faucit but did not feel that his talents were being recognised under Faucit's management so instead Manders went out into the provinces.[https://books.google.com/books?id=l5QsAQAAMAAJ&dq=Thomas+Manders+comedian&pg=PA242 (Anon.), ''Actors by Daylight; or Pencilings in the Pit'', Vol. 1, j. Pattie (London) (c. 1838)] – p. 242 [Google Books](/source/Google_Books) ==Return to London== thumb|160px|right|As Sam Slap in ''The Rake's Progress'' (1833) He began a provincial career with his wife[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rogers/Genealogy/Obituaries.html#Manders Tom Mander - Theatrical Obituaries from 1844 - 1889] before unsuccessfully going into theatre management in [Devon](/source/Devon) for a period. He appeared in [Exeter](/source/Exeter), [Guernsey](/source/Guernsey), [Weymouth](/source/Weymouth%2C_Dorset) and [Margate](/source/Margate) as an actor. He was invited to appear at the [Theatre Royal](/source/Theatre_Royal%2C_Norwich) in [Norwich](/source/Norwich) by its manager George Smith. The sudden death of his father in 1829 forced Manders to return to London where he returned to the stage, this time rather more successfully, under the management of John Kemble Chapman at the City Theatre in [Milton Street](/source/Grub_Street), where he appeared as Justice Greedy in ''[A New Way to Pay Old Debts](/source/A_New_Way_to_Pay_Old_Debts)'' opposite [Edmund Kean](/source/Edmund_Kean) as Sir Giles Over-reach. After working in various minor theatres Manders went to the [Strand Theatre](/source/Royal_Strand_Theatre) under the management of [Harriet Waylett](/source/Harriet_Waylett) for whom he played Cupid in the [burletta](/source/burletta) ''Loves of the Devils''. He also played at the [Olympic Theatre](/source/Olympic_Theatre_(London)) and was at the [Queen's Theatre](/source/Scala_Theatre) for some sixteen years where he was a great favourite. He was the original Tom Stag, a noisy, good-humoured bailiff, in the [farce](/source/farce) ''Captain Stevens'' (1832).[https://books.google.com/books?id=aEcFAAAAQAAJ&dq=Thomas+Manders+Captain+Stevens&pg=PA173 Review of ''Captain Stevens''] - ''[The Lady's Magazine](/source/The_Lady's_Magazine)'' Vol. 1 No.1 ( July 1832) - [Google Books](/source/Google_Books) ==Later life== Manders went into management with John Kemble Chapman at the City Theatre where he became a great success playing the [low comedy](/source/low_comedy) roles. At the [Queen's Theatre](/source/Scala_Theatre) he played Sam Slap in ''The Rake's Progress'' (1833)[http://victorian.nuigalway.ie/modx/assets/docs/pdf/Vol32vRake.pdf ''The Rake's Progress'' on the Victorian Plays Project] and [Sarah Gamp](/source/Sarah_Gamp) in ''[Martin Chuzzlewit](/source/Martin_Chuzzlewit)'' (1844) in a production authorised by [Charles Dickens](/source/Charles_Dickens).[https://www.proquest.com/openview/dc6cdb1baf58cca712de24387dee7887/1?pq-origsite=gscholar Malcolm Morley, 'Martin Chuzzlewit in the Theatre'], ''[The Dickensian](/source/Dickens_Fellowship)'' Vol. 47 (Jan 1, 1951): 98 He became the landlord of the Sun Tavern in [Long Acre](/source/Long_Acre), a popular theatrical rendezvous, and the Marquis of Gransby in Knightsbridge. A "richly humorous actor of comic parts",Clarke, John M. ''London's Necropolis: A Guide to Brookwood Cemetery'', Sutton Publishing (2004), p. 213 {{ISBN|0-7509-3513-8}} he was considered by the author of ''Actors by Gaslight'' to be a worthy successor to the great comedian [John Reeve](/source/John_Reeve_(actor)), but and Manders disappeared into obscurity. His wife, Louisa Manders, suffered several accidents during her long career as an actress, including a fall from the flies at [Sadler's Wells Theatre](/source/Sadler's_Wells_Theatre) in 1834. Later she was famous for playing older women. [[File:Thomas Manders Grave Brookwood.jpg|thumb|160px|right|The grave of Thomas Manders in [Brookwood Cemetery](/source/Brookwood_Cemetery)]] Thomas Manders is buried with his wife in the Actors' Acre in [Brookwood Cemetery](/source/Brookwood_Cemetery). ==References== {{reflist}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Manders, Thomas}} Category:1797 births Category:1859 deaths Category:English actor-managers Category:19th-century English male actors Category:English impressionists (entertainers) Category:Male actors from London Category:Burials at Brookwood Cemetery --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Thomas Manders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Manders) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Manders?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.