Tom and Jerry, or Life in London, first staged in 1821 was one of several stage adaptations of Pierce Egan's popular book Life in London , published earlier in that year. Its most successful production at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End saw Tom and Jerry become the first play to have a continuous run of 100 performances in London.
The play depicts the adventures and misadventures of two young men in London, encountering both high- and low-life.
In 1821 a popular book was published, at first in monthly instalments beginning in January, with the title Life in London or, The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn, Esq. and his Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom in their Rambles and Sprees through the Metropolis. It was written by Pierce Egan and had coloured illustrations by Robert Cruikshank and his brother George. [1] There being little copyright protection at that time, several theatre proprietors hastened to present their own versions of the book. [2]
The first stage adaptation was produced at Astley's Theatre in September 1821, arranged by W. Barrymore, as Life in London, or Day and Night Scenes of Tom and Jerry in their Rambles and Sprees through the Metropolis. [1] [3] It was followed by a version adapted by Charles Dibdin the younger at the Olympic Theatre, on 12 November 1821, similarly titled Life in London. This version starred William Oxberry as the simple Jerry and John Baker as the bustling Tom. It was well received by an audience that included the Duke of Wellington and other celebrities, [4] and ran until 5 January of the following year. [2] The Morning Post judged it favourably: "It is replete with wit and bustle; and while it abounds with laughable incident, it affords an excellent moral, by exhibiting the ill effects of dissipation and bad company [and] drunkenness, quarrelling and duelling." [4]
The most successful version was written by W. T. Moncrieff, and produced under the title Tom and Jerry, or Life in London, at the Adelphi Theatre on 26 November 1821, described as a Burletta in three acts. The Cruikshank brothers designed the costumes and scenery; Benjamin Wrench and Watkins Burroughs starred in the title roles, with the comedian Robert Keeley in a supporting part. This version achieved the distinction of being the first stage work to have a run of 100 performances in London; [2] [n 1] it was played continuously until 30 March 1822. It was revived on 7 October 1822 and ran until 4 January 1823. [2] The piece contained numerous songs, with new words fitted to familiar tunes such as "Over the Hills and Far Away","Carnival of Venice" and "Zitti, Zitti—Piano, Piano" from The Barber of Seville . [5] Among the characters in the piece was Billy Waters, a caricature of a well-known street performer; the real Waters found his income devastated as a result of the portrayal of beggars making an easy and lucrative living. [1]
Moncrieff wrote in his introduction to the published text of the play that some puritanical religious figures denounced Tom and Jerry from the pulpit, and the less liberal elements of the press complained of its immorality. The official censor, the Lord Chamberlain, the Duke of Montrose, was called on to suppress the piece, but he came to see it one night and returned the next, bringing his Duchess. [6]
The Adelphi's version was immediately followed by a sequel, called Green in France, or Tom and Jerry's Tour, which ran from 6 January to 22 March 1823. The Olympic version was revived – this time under the title of Tom and Jerry – on 28 October 1822 and ran until 4 January 1823. [2] The success of the piece led to imitations, and during 1822 ten theatres in and around London were playing Tom and Jerry. [2] One of these adaptations was by Egan – author of the original book – but it was Moncrieff's version that became popular throughout Britain and, later, in the US, [7] where it was first played at the Park Theatre, New York, in 1823. According to the Oxford Companion to American Theatre, the play's combination of a tour of London interspersed with song and dance, gave rise to numerous similar, loosely constructed entertainments, and "planted the seeds for later musical comedy and revue". [8] Tom and Jerry was given in French in Paris in 1822. [7]
After the publication of Egan's book and the various theatrical adaptations, the term "Tom and Jerry" entered the English language. The Oxford English Dictionary cites examples of its use – to describe young men given to drinking, gambling, and riotous living – in the US, Australia and Britain throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and into the 21st. [9] In British usage a "Tom and Jerry shop" was a 19th-century term for a small tavern or alehouse – "especially one regarded as disreputable". [9] In American usage the phrase "Tom and Jerry" came to be applied from at latest the 1840s to an alcoholic drink resembling egg nog. [9] The use of the names for the popular cartoon cat and mouse is evidently unconnected with Egan's heroes: the names of the feline and rodent protagonists were chosen from suggestions by hundreds of MGM employees in a competition before the series was launched in 1940. [10]
Tom and Jerry are cat and mouse cartoon characters, Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse, that debuted in 1940. The names are derived from a humoristic novel originally created by Pierce Egan in 1821.
Pierce Egan (1772–1849) was a British journalist, sportswriter, and writer on popular culture. His popular book Life in London, published in 1821, was adapted into the stage play Tom and Jerry, or Life in London later that year, which became the first play to have a continuous run of 100 performances in London while at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End.
George Cruikshank or Cruickshank was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience.
Tom Cribb was an English bare-knuckle boxer of the 19th century. He was All England Champion from 1808-1822.
A Tom and Jerry is a traditional Christmastime cocktail in the United States, sometimes attributed to British writer and professional boxing journalist Pierce Egan in the 1820s. It is a variant of eggnog with brandy and rum added and served hot, usually in a mug or a bowl.
Tom and Jerry are fictional characters that starred in a series of early sound cartoons produced by the Van Beuren Studios, and distributed by RKO Pictures. The series lasted from 1931 to 1933.
William Terriss, born as William Charles James Lewin, was an English actor, known for his swashbuckling hero roles, such as Robin Hood, as well as parts in classic dramas and comedies. He was also a notable Shakespearean performer. He was the father of the Edwardian musical comedy star Ellaline Terriss and the film director Tom Terriss.
Puss Gets the Boot is a 1940 American animated short film and is the first short in what would become the Tom and Jerry cartoon series, though neither were yet referred to by these names. It was directed by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, and produced by Rudolf Ising. It was based on the Aesop's Fable, The Cat and the Mice. As was the practice of MGM shorts at the time, only Rudolf Ising is credited. It was released to theaters on February 10, 1940, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Jacco Macacco was a fighting ape or monkey who was exhibited in monkey-baiting matches at the Westminster Pit in London in the early 1820s. He achieved some measure of fame among the sporting community through his reputed prodigious record of victories against dogs, but was brought to wider attention by depiction in popular literature, artworks and by citation in speeches to Parliament by the animal welfare campaigner Richard Martin. Jacco's most famous fight, against the equally well-known bitch Puss, seems to have marked the end of his career: he may have died as a result of injuries received during the match or of an unrelated illness sometime afterwards. His ashes are claimed to be housed at the True Crime Museum in Hastings, East Sussex.
William Thomas Moncrieff commonly referred as W.T. Moncrieff was an English dramatist and author.
Frances "Fanny" Elizabeth Fitzwilliam was an English actress.
Robert Keeley was an English actor-manager, comedian and female impersonator of the nineteenth century. In 1823 he originated the role of 'Fritz' in Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein, the first known stage adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein.
Daniel Terry (1780?–1829) was an English actor and playwright, known also as a close associate of Sir Walter Scott.
Billy Waters was a black man who busked in London in the nineteenth century by singing, playing the violin and entertaining theatre goers with his "peculiar antics". He became famous when he appeared as a character in William Thomas Moncrieff's Tom and Jerry, or Life in London in 1821.
Harriet Waylett was an English actress and theatre manager.
John Reeve (1799–1838) was an English comic actor. His early career was based on mimicry: he became a popular favourite, able to continue in highly-paid work, despite drinking heavily and not learning his parts.
Life in London may refer to:
William Alexander Brown, also known as William Henry Brown (1790–1884), was an American playwright and theatrical producer. He is considered the first known black playwright in America.
Life in London – in full, Life in London; or, The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn, Esq., and his elegant friend, Corinthian Tom, accompanied by Bob Logic, the Oxonian, in their Rambles and Sprees through the Metropolis – is a book by the author and journalist Pierce Egan, first published in 1821. It depicts the progress through London of two young men and their associates, encountering both high- and low-life. The book has coloured illustrations by George and Robert Cruikshank, which were much admired at the time and subsequently.
Runs of several thousand performances were familiar in West End theatres in the 21st century. The closure of London theatres in the Covid-19 pandemic halted the continuous runs of eight shows that had been running for more than 4,000 performances. Such long runs were a phenomenon not seen before the late 20th century: in earlier years, much shorter runs were the norm, even for shows considered great successes.