In the mid-nineteenth century Eddie was the most famous Shakespearean actor in all of the United States, but he wanted more; he wanted to be the most famous in the world.
Young Eddie, the son of a banker, was no different than most 14 year olds at the time, in that he had no idea what the hell he wanted to do. Jumping from apprenticeship to apprenticeship, nothing seemed like a good fit. Eddie was discovered the same way most actors today are, at a drug party. Eddie, high out of his gourd on nitrous oxide, the drug of choice for the affluent back then, launched into a soliloquy that so impressed some local thespians that they asked if he had ever acted before. When he told them that as a child he had played a girl in a melodrama, they gave him an audition on the spot. Eddie started his career acting in theaters across the southern and western U.S., the equivalent of doing commercials and B-movies today. During this time, he gained fame for his blackface caricature, which was said to be so good that it fooled African Americans, though to be fair, this was a time when slavery was still legal, so it wasn't like they could just tell him to fuck off. Eddie's big break came at age 23 when he started playing Shakespeare parts in New York City and Philadelphia, gaining widespread fame and accolades.
Having achieved fame in America, Eddie traveled to London where he garnered further acclaim. It was here that Eddie met William Macready, the most famous Shakespearean actor in all of England. The two got along well as friendly rivals. Eddie soon after returned to America so pleased with his trip that he married an English woman. Nine years later, now a man of 39, Eddie returned to England. Things did not go well a second time. The theatergoers in London did not like his take on Macbeth and hissed at him. Eddie took offense and, for god only knows what reason, blamed the hissing on the jealous machinations of Willy. Seeking revenge, Eddie traveled to Edinburgh, where Willy was playing Hamlet, rented a private box, and hissed at him. This act insulted the Englishman’s fragile pride, leading him to call Eddie, "without taste", which is an old timey way of saying he was a piece of shit. Eddie was forced to return to the U.S. as a reviled man.
The next four years were rough on Eddie. Pretty sick of England, he soon after separated from his wife due to becoming suspicious that she might be cheating on him, a thought that probably entered his head because he was cheating on her. Even worse, his rival Willy came to America to tour and prove once and for all who was the better actor. Incensed, Eddie stalked Willy across the country, appearing in the same plays just days after Willy left. Over time their rivalry began to represent the class warfare of the day, with Eddie representing the working class stiffs and Willy representing the gentile aristocracy, because nothing sounds more aristocratic than a fancy accent. The rich guffawed and dropped their monocles in shock at Eddie’s antics. The poor threw half a dead sheep onto the stage at Willy’s feet. Things finally came to a head when both men played Macbeth in New York City at two theaters very close to each other. Eddie’s fans, being the classiest, threw eggs and garbage at Willy on opening night and hissed and booed so loudly that no one was able to hear the play. Three nights later Willy again took the stage. This time Eddie’s fans started a riot and tried to burn down the theater. While Willy escaped in disguise, the city called out the state militia which started randomly shooting people, killing 30and injuring 210. This in turn led to a second riot the next day.
Disgusted at it all, Willy returned to England and soon after happily retired. Eddie became involved in an overly dramatic and heavily reported upon divorce. Highlights included Eddie beating his wife’s alleged lover with a whip and his wife claiming that what Eddie thought was cheating as actually being just amateur phrenology. The whole experience left Eddie decidedly sour. However, he stayed in the theater for years afterward, continuing to have success until he developed severe gout at age 59, causing him to suffer from an unsteady gait and lose the use of one of his hands. His career went downhill from there, after which he spent most of his time in his castle like mansion on the Hudson River, leading several philanthropic efforts and thinking up ways to avoid paying alimony owed to his ex-wife. He died of a stroke at the age of 66, which probably had nothing to do with him being a little high strung.
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Forrest_as_Damon.jpg