Garrick, David

Garrick, David (1717-79), actor, b. Hereford, England.

David Garrick grew up in Lichfield, Staffordshire and was taught by Samuel Johnson.

He went to London with Johnson to study Law, but became an actor instead.

The first part he played on the London stage was King Richard III in William Shakespeare's play.

Crowds flocked to see him and a poet, Alexander Pope, said, 'That young man never had his equal and he will never have a rival.'

In the next thirty-five years, he played more than ninety different parts, mainly at the Drury Lane Theatre, London. He was a great success in almost all of them, whether tragic or comical, and is remembered as one of the greatest actors of all time.

See Ian McIntyre Garrick