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Charles Macklin

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Actor

The Resume

    (circa September 26, 1690-July 11, 1797)
    Born in County Donegal, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
    Birth name was Charles McLaughlin
    Actor and playwright
    Best known for his portrayals of Shylock in ‘The Merchant of Venice’
    Wrote the plays ‘Love a la Mode’ (1759) and ‘The Man of the World’ (1781)

Why he might be annoying:

    He may have actually been born in 1699. Or perhaps 1710.
    He Anglicized his name when he appeared on the London stage.
    During an argument over a wig with fellow actor Thomas Hallam, he struck Hallam with his cane and killed him (1735).
    He retired from acting to run a tavern (1753), then resumed acting when the tavern failed.
    His second wife was almost the same age as his daughter from his first marriage.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He conducted his own defense for the Hallam killing and avoided serving time.
    He returned Shylock to Shakespeare’s original characterization after decades of Shylock being presented as a comic – even clown-like – caricature.
    He trained David Garrick in a naturalistic style of acting.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 83.33% Annoying