Richard Golden
American actor and comedian (1854-1909)
Richard Golden (1854–1909) was an American stage actor and comedian whose most famous role was "Old Jed Prouty" in his play of the same name. The play helped to create and nationalize the genre of Down East humor, and made Golden one of the celebrated comedians of his generation.
Born in Bangor, Maine, the son of an Irish immigrant and dry goods merchant, Golden joined a Mexican circus (Allie's Allied Shows) touring the U.S. at the age of 13. He later married actor and singer Dora Wiley, and initially toured with her as a member of the "Dora Wiley Opera Company". The company became stranded in Albany, New York in 1885 when it experienced financial difficulties and Golden contracted malaria. The couple's fortunes had turned by 1888 when Wiley sang "Home, Sweet, Home" in front of President Grover Cleveland at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, and, the following year, Golden impressed audiences in New York, and soon the country, for his portrayal of Old Jed Prouty in his original play of the same name. Wiley had a singing part in the production, and came to be known as "The Sweet Singer of Maine".
Golden's Old Jed Prouty, which he wrote with William Gill, premiered in New York's Union Square Theatre on May 14, 1889, and moved to the Harlem Opera House later that same year. Prouty was a comedic Maine yankee tavern keeper living in the coastal town of Bucksport, the birthplace of his wife Dora Wiley and not far from Golden's own home-town of Bangor. The play began touring nationally in 1890 to rave reviews.
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