Jerome Sykes

Jerome Sykes (June 24, 1868 - December 29, 1903)[2][3] was an American stage actor, singer and comedian. He was perhaps best known for his performances as Foxy Quiller in two theatrical productions. His brother Albert S Sykes was also an actor.

Jerome Sykes
Sykes as pictured in The Players Blue Book (1901)
Born
Jerome H. Sykes

(1868-06-24)June 24, 1868
Washington, D. C., US[1]
DiedDecember 29, 1903(1903-12-29) (aged 35)
Chicago, Illinois, US
Resting placeGreen-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian
Spouses
  • Agnes Sherwood
  • Jessie Wood
Edna Wallace Hopper and Sykes in Chris and the Wonderful Lamp.

Sykes was born in Washington, D.C.,[3] under the name of Henry Karl August Seitz and grew up in a house where part of the Library of Congress now stands.[4] He "was a member of a famous family of actors ..."[5]

Sykes' professional debut came in the 1884-1885 season[6] in a performance of The Mikado with the Ford Opera Company in Baltimore.[3] His biggest Broadway success was The Billionaire (1902-03) which had in its cast May Robson and Sallie Fisher and was the New York debut of Marie Doro.[7] His other Broadway credits included Foxy Quiller (In Corsica) (1900), Chris and the Wonderful Lamp (1900), and The Three Dragoons (1899).[8]

Sykes portrayed Constable Foxy Quiller in The Highwayman, which became popular enough that it resulted in a sequel, Foxy Quiller.[9]

During a party feted for Sykes and The Billionaire in Chicago, Sykes caught pneumonia, while wearing too few clothes in the dead of winter, and died at 35.[10] After his body was temporarily stored in a receiving tomb at Greenwood Cemetery, he was buried at St. James Episcopal Cemetery in St. James, New York, where his family had a summer residence for many years.[5]

Sykes was married twice, to Agnes Sherwood, who died in 1896 and to actress Jessie Wood.[11]

References
  1. The Washington Times; Sunday February 28 1904; STAGELAND FAVORITES WHO ARE NATIVES OF WASHINGTON
  2. American and British Theatrical Biography p.895 c.1979 by J. P. Wearing ISBN 0-8108-1201-0
  3. "Dead Actor a Favorite Here". Sioux City Journal. Iowa, Sioux City. December 31, 1903. p. 6. Retrieved October 18, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. ...see The Hatching Cat
  5. Fleming, Geoffrey K. (2006). St. James. Arcadia Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 9780738546100. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  6. Strang, Lewis Clinton (1900). Famous Stars of Light Opera. L.C. Page. pp. 154-167. Retrieved 18 October 2018. Jerome Sykes.
  7. Pictorial History of the American Theater: 1860-1985, p.69 c.1985 by Daniel Blum ISBN 0-517-562588
  8. "Jerome Sykes". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  9. Franceschina, John (2004). Harry B. Smith: Dean of American Librettists. Routledge. p. 130. ISBN 9781135949082. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  10. The Topeka State Journal December 30, 1903; JEROME SYKES IS DEAD, Comic Opera Star a Victim of Pneumonia
  11. THE HATCHING CAT, True and Unusual Animal Tales of Old New York...[Sir Oliver the Parrot, the Mascot of the Lambs]
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