Andrew Cherry

Cherry, Andrew, an actor and dramatist, was born in Limerick, 11th January 1762. He received a good education, and was apprenticed to his father's business — printing — in Dublin. The lad acquired a taste for the stage, and at fourteen joined a company of strolling players, to return, after a short interval, half-starved and penniless. After a few years' steady work, he married the daughter of Mr. Knipe, a theatrical manager, and joined his company. At Belfast he acquired considerable reputation, and in 1797 he won success at the Theatre Royal, Dublin. He then accepted engagements in England, and his performance at Bath was pronounced "as finished a picture of the scenic art as had ever been performed on their boards." In 1802 he appeared at Drury Lane, and in 1804 produced The Soldier's Daughter. Other pieces followed, and he continued to act at Drury Lane until it was burned, when he took a company to Wales, with Edmund Kean as leading actor. He died at Monmouth, 7th February 1812, aged 50.

Sources

39. Biographical Dictionary, Imperial: Edited by John F. Waller. 3 vols. London, N.D.

116. Dublin University Magazine (46). Dublin, 1833-'77.