James A. Herne

James A. Herne (1839–1901), born James Ahearn, was an American playwright and actor. Considered by some critics to be the "American Ibsen," his controversial play Margaret Fleming is often credited with having begun modern drama in America. Herne was a Georgist and wrote Shore Acres to promote the political economy of Henry George.

Biography

Stage actor

James Ahearn was born February 1, 1839 in Cohoes, New York. His parents were poor Irish immigrants who removed him from school at age thirteen to work in a brush factory. Herne decided to become an actor the next year but was twenty before he could join a traveling troupe. He made his debut in 1859 as George in a production of Uncle Tom's Cabin in Troy, New York. He enjoyed modest success as a young actor, appearing in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. with the John Thompson Ford company in the early 1860s. He was the leading man for the Lucille Western Touring Company from 1865 to 1867. He was briefly married, in the early 1860s, to Lucille's sister Helen Western, an actress who later became romantically involved with John Wilkes Booth. Herne managed the Grand Opera House at 23rd and 8th Avenue in New York City for a season. During his work there, he suffered from severe diahrrea.