Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Vezin, Hermann
VEZIN, HERMANN (1829–1910), actor, born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., on 2 March 1829, was son of Charles Henri Vezin, merchant, of French origin, by his wife Emilie Kalisky. His great-great-grandfather, Pierre de Vezin, married in the seventeenth century Marie Charlotte de Chateauneuf, an actress at the French theatre at Hanover; Rouget de Lisle, composer of the ’Marseillaise,' was one of the great-grandsons of this union. Hermann Vezin was educated in Philadelphia, entering Pennsylvania University in 1845. Intended for the law, he graduated B.A. in 1847, proceeding M.A. in 1850. In 1848–9 he underwent in Berlin successful treatment for threatened eye-trouble.
In 1850 he came to England, and an introduction from Charles Kean secured him an engagement with John Langford Pritchard at the Theatre Royal, York. There he made his first appearance on the stage in the autumn of 1850, and played many minor Shakespearean parts in support of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean, William Creswick, and G. V. Brooke. In the following year he fulfilled engagements at Southampton, Ryde, Guildford, Reading, and at the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, where his roles included Young Norval in Home's 'Douglas,' Gaude Melnotte in 'The Lady of Lyons,' and Richelieu.
In 1852 Charles Kean engaged him for the Princess's Theatre in London, and he made his first appearance on the London stage on 14 April 1852, as the Earl of Pembroke in 'King John.' Minor parts in Shakespearean and modern plays followed- In royal command performances at Windsor Castle, Vezin appeared as Snare in the second part of 'King Henry IV' (7 Jan. 1853) and as the wounded officer in 'Macbeth' (4 Feb. 1853).
On the termination of his engagement at the Princess's in 1853 he returned for some four years to the provinces to play leading parts Uke Fazio in Milman's tragedy of that name, Lesurquea and Dubosc in 'The Courier of Lyons ' (which he repeated at the Gaiety on 4 July 1870), and Sir Giles Overreach in 'A New Way to Pay Old Debts.' In 1857 he crossed to America, where he remained two years. Returning to England in 1859, he undertook the management of the Surrey theatre for six weeks, opening there on 13 June 1859, as Macbeth. He improved his reputation in important parts like Hamlet, Richard III, Louis XI, Shylock, Othello, and King John.
After a further tour in the provinces he was engaged by Samuel Phelps for Sadler's Wells Theatre, where he opened, on 8 Sept. 1860, as Orlando in 'As You Like It.' He soon made there a great impression as Aufidius in 'Coriolanus,' and in various Shakespearean roles, including Bassanio, Mark Antony, and Romeo. At Windsor Castle, on 24 Jan. 1861, he played De Mauprat in Lytton's 'Richelieu,' in a command performance. He was Laertes (a favourite part) to the Hamlet of Charles Fechter [q. v.] at the Princess's Theatre on 1 April 1861, but he again supported Phelps at Sadler's Wells in June.
Vezin was now widely recognised as an actor of talent in both high tragedy and comedy. Engaged by Edmund Falconer for the Lyceum Theatre, he made a great success as Harry Kavanagh in Falconer's 'Peep o'Day' (9 Nov. 1861), playing the part for over 300 nights.
On 21 Feb. 1863, at St. Peter's church, Eaton Square, he was married to Mrs. Charles Young [see Vezin, Mrs. Jane Elizabeth, Suppl. II], a member of Phelps's company. After a 'starring' tour with his wife in the provinces he played at the Princess's Theatre on 2 Jan. 1864, Don Caesar in 'Donna Diana,' specially adapted for Vezin and his wife by Dr. Westland Marston from Moreto's Spanish play, 'Desden con el Deaden.' He then re-joined Fechter, this time at the Lyceum. Undertaking a three months' management of the Princess's Theatre, which proved an artistic success, he opened on 20 July 1867 as James Harebell in W. G. Wills's 'The Man o'Airlie.' The fine impersonation, which he repeated at the Haymarket in May 1876, placed him in the first rank of English actors.
For the next twenty years Vezin played almost continuously leading parts at the chief London theatres in new or old pieces of literary aims. At the recently opened Gaiety Theatre he, with Phelps, Charles Mathews, and John L. Toole, played Peregrine in the revival of George Colman's 'John Bull' on 22 Dec. 1873; supported Phelps during 1874 in a series of revivals of old comedies; was Jaques in 'As You Like It,' on 6 Feb. 1875, and Benedick in 'Much Ado about Nothing' on 26 April. His Jaques proved a singularly fine performance, full of subtle irony, humour, and poetry. Subsequently it largely contributed to the success of Marie Litton's revival of 'As You Like It' for a hundred nights at the Imperial Theatre (25 Feb. 1880), and Vezin repeated his triumph when the comedy was revived by Messrs. Hare and Kendal at the St. James's Theatre on 24 June 1885.
Meanwhile, under Chatterton's management of Drury Lane, he played Macbeth to the Lady Macbeth of Miss Genevieve Ward (4 Feb. 1876). At the Crystal Palace, on 13 Jan. 1876, he took the part of Œdipus in a translation of Sophocles' 'Œdipus at Colonos,' in which his declamatory powers showed to advantage. At the Haymarket Theatre on 11 Sept. 1876, he won further success by his creation of the title role of W. S. Gilbert's play, 'Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith' (revived at the Court in March 1884). At the opening of the Court Theatre, on 25 Jan. 1871, he had created Buckthorpe in Gilbert's comedy 'Randall's Thumb,' and returning to that theatre, under John Hare, on 30 March 1878, he gave a pathetic impersonation of Dr. Primrose in W. G. Wills's 'Olivia,' which he repeated at the Lyceum Theatre in Jan. 1897. At the Adelphi Theatre he supported Adelaide Neilson in 'The Crimson Cross' (27 Feb. 1879). At Sadler's Wells Theatre, late in 1880, he was seen as lago in 'Othello' and as Sir Peter Teazle in 'The School for Scandal,' subsequently alternating the parts of Macduff and Macbeth with Charles Warner [q. v. Suppl. II].
At Drury Lane Theatre on 14 May 1881 he played lago to the Othello of the American tragedian, John McCullough. At the Globe Theatre he created on 11 Nov. 1882 Edgar in Tennyson's 'The Promise of May.' At the Grand Theatre, Ishngton, on 7 May 1886 he played for the Shelley Society Count Francesco Cenci in a single private performance of Shelley's tragedy, 'The Cenci,' for which the Lord Chamberlain had refused his license (cf. Frederick James Furnivall, a Record, 1911, pp. lxxiii-v; Pall Mall Gazette, 1886). He joined Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre on 23 May 1888 as Coranto in the revival of A. C. Calmour's 'The Amber Heart.' At the same theatre, on 17 Jan. 1889, owing to Irving's illness, he filled that actor's place as Macbeth with marked success.
From this time onward Vezin's appearances in London were few. Much time was spent in touring the provinces, and he gave occasional dramatic recitals at the St. James's, St. George's, and Steinway Halls. He mainly devoted himself to teaching elocution. Among his latest appearances in London he played at the Opera Comique in 'Cousin jack' and ' Mrs. M.P.,' two adaptations by himself of German farces (12 Nov. and 1 Deo. 1891); at Drury Lane Theatre, from September to December 1896, he was the Warden of Coolgardie in Eustace Leigh and Cyril Dare's 'The Duchess of Coolgardie,' and Robespierre in George Grant and James Lisle's 'The Kiss of Delilah'; and at the Strand Theatre on 2 May 1900, he was Fergus Crampton in Bernard Shaw's 'You Never Can Tell.' His final engagement was with Sir Herbert Tree at His Majesty's Theatre, 7 April 1909, when he appeared as Rowley in 'The School for Scandal.' His health was then rapidly failing, and he relinquished his part before the ' run ' was over. After a career extending over nearly sixty years, he died at his residence, 10 Lancaster Place, Strand, on 12 June 1910; in accordance with his instructions his body was cremated at Golder's Green and his ashes scattered to the winds.
A distinguished elocutionist, Vezin was probably the most scholarly and intellectual actor of his generation, although he never reached the first place in the profession. He had a fine intellectual face, a firm mouth, and sharp, clear-cut features which he used expressively. His defect lay in a lack of emotional warmth and of personal magnetism and in the smallness of his stature (he was only five feet five and a half inches in height). He was an admirable instructor in elocution and acting, and many of his pupils attained prominence in their calling. A good engraved portrait appeared in the 'Theatre' for July 1883.
[Personal recollections; The Times, 14 June 1910; Athenæum, Jan. 1859, 18 June 1910; Henry Morley's The Journal of a London Playgoer, 1866; new edit. 1891; Dramatic List, 1879; Dramatic Year Book, 1892; Joseph Knight's Theatrical Notes, 1893; Hollingshead's Gaiety Chronicles, 1898 (with portrait); Pratt's People of the Period, 1897; Green Room Book, 1909.]