Edward Askew Sothern (1 April 182620 January 1881) was an English actor known for his comic roles in Britain and America, particularly Lord Dundreary in Our American Cousin. He was also known for his many practical jokes. Life and career Early years Sothern was born in Liverpool, the son of a merchant. He began studying medicine, and his parents hoped that he would become a minister, but he decided against pursuing those professions. He worked as a clerk in the late 1840s and married Frances Emily "Fannie" Stewart (died 1882). He began acting as an amateur in 1848 under the stage name of Douglas Stewart. In 1849 he appeared in his first professional engagement at Saint Helier in Jersey, as Claude Melnotte in Bulwer Lytton's The Lady of Lyons. In the early 1850s, he played in various English companies without particular success in Portsmouth, Wolverhampton and Birmingham. Sothern travelled to America in 1852, first playing Dr. Pangloss in The Heir at Law in Boston, Massachusetts, with John Lacy's company at the National Theatre. He then played at the Howard Athenaeum in Boston and at Barnum's American Museum in New York. In 1854, he joined the company at Wallack's Theatre. In the early part of his career, Sothern's wife often performed with him. By 1856, he had begun using his own name, Sothern, on stage. He had become associated with Laura Keene's company in New York by 1856. He finally gained attention at Wallack's Theatre in New York starring as Armand in Camille. The critic Clement Scott noted that while Sothern was "as handsome a man as ever stood on the stage", he was not naturally suited to romantic roles. Our American Cousin As a result of his success in Camille, Sothern was given a part in Tom Taylor's Our American Cousin at Laura Keene's Theatre. This piece would later become famous as the play that Abraham Lincoln was watching when he was assassinated. Sothern's role was Lord Dundreary, a caricature of a brainless English nobleman. At first, he was reluctant to accept the role; it was so small and unimportant that he felt it beneath him and feared it might damage his reputation. He mentioned his qualms to his friend, Joseph Jefferson, who had been cast in the leading role of Asa Trenchard in the play. Jefferson supposedly responded with the famous line: "There are no small parts, only small