He studied to follow his father's profession of miniature painting and continued to do so as late as 1821, exhibiting them at the Royal Academy.
He remained at this theatre almost continuously for nearly twenty years, then at the Haymarket until his retirement, playing leading parts, chiefly tragic.
His first wife, Elizabeth Pope (1744–1797), a favourite English actress of great versatility, was billed before her marriage as Miss Younge.
[3] His second wife, Maria Ann Campion (1775–1803), also a popular actress, was a member of an Irish family.
[1] His third wife, born Clara Maria Leigh (1768–1838), was the widow of the artist Francis Wheatley, and herself a skillful painter of figures and flowers, under the name of Mrs Pope.