Dion Boucicault

Dion Boucicault, professional name of Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot (1820-1890), Irish American playwright and actor, born in Dublin. His first play, London Assurance (1841), was followed by other successes, including Old Heads and Young Hearts (1844) and The Corsican Brothers (1852). From 1853 until 1876, when he took up permanent residence in New York City, Boucicault divided his time between England and the United States. He wrote more than 150 plays, many of which were translations or adaptations of novels. He is best known for his topical melodramas, among them The Poor of New York (1857). In the Octoroon (1859), he was the first playwright to treat blacks as serious characters. Also highly popular were his adaptation of Rip Van Winkle in 1865 and his many Irish dramas, including The Colleen Bawn (1860) and The Shaughraun (1874). A successful actor, he also ran a small school for young actors and wrote The Art of Acting, not published until 1917. Boucicault was active in efforts to instate an American dramatic copyright law, which was passed in 1856, and was also instrumental in establishing a royalty system for playwrights.