American comedian, female impersonator, director, producer, writer, manager, lessee.
The son of Irish immigrants, John Francis Sheridan was born in Rhode Island (USA). He later established his reputation there as a Hebrew comedian and female impersonator, eventually finding international success as the Widow O’Brien in Fun on the Bristol; Or, A Night on the Sound (1890). Sheridan made his Australian debut in 1884 and toured the Antipodian region regularly over the next two decades, collaborating with local writers and composers (including Alfred Dampier, Pat Finn and F. W. Weierter) on works such as Cuckoo, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Cinderella, and Mrs Goldstein. He died in Newcastle, New South Wales, on Christmas Day 1908.
[Source: Australian Variety Theatre Archive]
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