Fisher, Clara (1811–1898)

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Fisher, Clara (1811–1898)

English-born American actress. Name variations: Clara Fisher Maeder. Born on July 14, 1811, probably in London, England; died in Metuchen, New Jersey, on November 12, 1898; fourth daughter and youngest of six children of Frederick George Fisher (proprietor of a library and later an auctioneer at Covent Garden, London); married James Gaspard Maeder (an Irish composer and music teacher), on December 6, 1834 (died 1876); children: seven, two of whom (Edward and Helen) died in infancy; four of the children—Frank Chickering, Amelia, James Gaspard, and Frederick George—were connected with the theater; the eldest daughter, Clara, married a physician and settled in England.

Made London debut at age six as Lord Flimnap in a children's adaptation of David Garrick's Lilliput (Drury Lane Theater); made New York debut as Albina Mandeville in The Will (September 11, 1827, Park Theater); appeared as the Singing Witch in Macbeth (May 10, 1849, Astor Place Opera House, on the occasion of the famous Astor Place riot); appeared as the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet (April 30, 1883, closing of the Booth Theater, New York); gave final performance at Ford's Theater, Baltimore (1889).

Encouraged by her father's interest in the theater, Clara Fisher was just six when she made her debut as Lord Flimnap in a children's adaptation of David Garrick's Lilliput at London's Drury Lane, a production that also included two of her sisters. In an afterpiece, she also performed excerpts from Shakespeare's Richard III and sang a comic song. Precocious and probably endearing, she subsequently became a famous child actress, touring Great Britain for a decade in children's parts and serious adult roles. She later admitted that she felt isolated and lonely in the regimented life of rehearsals and performances and hated being paraded around as a child prodigy.

Fisher came to America in 1827, accompanied by her mother and several of her siblings. Now an ingenue, she made her debut at the Park Theater, New York, as Albina Mandeville in The Will, a lackluster piece in which her rendition of a Scottish patriotic song, "Hurray for the Bonnets of Blue," was a high point. Audiences adored her, while the critics called her "fresh" and "captivating." For the next seven years, Fisher appeared in theaters in every major city in the country, playing to overflowing houses. Her repertoire encompassed a wide range of both male and female roles, including Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Clari in The Maid of Milan, Helen Worrett in Man and Wife, Gertrude in The Loan of a Lover, and Letitia Hardy in The Belle's Stratagem, in which she sang her famous song "Buy a Broom." Notable among her Shakespearean roles were Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Ophelia in Hamlet. During the height of Fisher's popularity, adoring fans named babies, ships, race horses, and even stage coaches after her.

After Fisher married James G. Maeder in 1834, she appeared less frequently, probably due in part to the births of her seven children. For a period following the depression of 1837, she left her home in Harlem and retired to Albany. However, she was playing the Singing Witch in William Macready's Macbeth, on the occasion of the Astor Place riot of May 10, 1849. The riot, the result of a long-standing feud between Macready, an English star, and his American counterpart Edwin Forrest, was further fueled by anti-English sentiment among the Irish residents of the Bowery area. The militia was eventually called in to quell the melee, with orders to shoot into the crowd. As a result, over 20 people were killed and 150 were wounded in the incident. Evidently, Fisher was ushered to safety before the shooting began.

During her many semi-retirements, Fisher taught dramatics and elocution. In 1850, she took up her career again, primarily playing elderly women. In her later years, she toured with a number of stock companies, including Louisa Lane Drew 's Arch Street Theater in Philadelphia, and the Boston Globe Theater. In April 1883, Fisher portrayed the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet in her final performance at the Booth Theater in New York. Her last appearance was with Augustin Daly's company at Ford's Theater in Baltimore, in 1889. The actress died at her daughter's home in Metuchen, New Jersey, on November 12, 1898.