James Spiller (comedian)

On 9 January 1710 he was the original Corporal Cuttum in Aaron Hill's farce, ‘The Walking Statue;’ on 27 March the First Boatswain in Mrs. Centlivre's ‘A Bickerstaffe's Burying, or Work for the Upholders,’ in which Mrs. Spiller (Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson) appeared as Lucy.

He, however, played with Pinkethman at Greenwich during the summer of 1710, appearing as Polonius, Marplot in the ‘Busy Body,’ Higgen in the ‘Royal Merchant,’ Brass in the ‘Confederacy,’ Coupler, and Bustopha in Beaumont and Fletcher's ‘Fair Maid of the Mill.’ He was in 1711–12 back at Drury Lane, where he played Captain Anvil in Brome's ‘Northern Lass,’ and was on 5 June 1712 the original Ananias in Hamilton's ‘Petticoat Plotter.’ On 6 January 1713 he was the first Smart in Taverner's ‘Female Advocates,’ on the 29th the original first soldier in Charles Shadwell's ‘Humours of the Army,’ and Foist (a lawyer) in the ‘Apparition, or the Sham Wedding,’ on 25 November.

He was on 3 February 1715 the original Roger in Christopher Bullock's ‘Slip,’ taken from Middleton's ‘A Mad World, my Masters,’ and on the 16th Crispin in Molloy's ‘Perplexed Couple.’ He played Harlequin in the ‘Emperor of the Moon,’ Don Lewis in ‘Love makes a Man,’ and the False Count in Mrs. Behn's piece so named, and was on 14 June the original Captain Debonair in Griffin's ‘Love in a Sack.’ In the following season he played Gomez in the ‘Spanish Friar,’ Spitfire in the ‘Wife's Relief,’ Sir W. Belfond in the ‘Squire of Alsatia,’ Appetite in the ‘Sea Voyage,’ Blunderbuss in the ‘Woman Captain’ (his wife being Phillis), and Petro in the ‘Feigned Courtesans,’ to Mrs. Spiller's Laura Lucretia.

Spiller was in the habit, for his benefit, of giving various entertainments, and on 13 April 1717 he announced ‘a new comi-tragi-mechanical prologue in the gay style, written and to be spoken by Spiller.’ The characters subsequently assigned to Spiller included, with many others, Hob in the ‘Country Wake,’ Bottom, Ben in ‘Love for Love,’ Hector in the ‘Gamester,’ Lord Froth in the ‘Double Dealer,’ Flip in the ‘Fair Quaker,’ First Murderer in ‘Macbeth’ and in ‘Richard III,’ Sexton in ‘Hamlet,’ Iachimo in the ‘Injured Princess’ [‘Cymbeline’], Moneytrap in the ‘Confederacy,’ Gentleman Usher in ‘Lear,’ Pistol in the ‘Merry Wives of Windsor,’ Pandarus in ‘Troilus and Cressida,’ Francis in ‘King Henry IV,’ pt.

i., Mad Englishman in the ‘Pilgrim,’ Sham Doctor in the ‘Anatomist,’ Dr. Caius, Daniel in ‘Oronooko,’ Foigard in the ‘Beaux' Stratagem,’ Marplot, Fourbin in the ‘Soldiers' Fortune,’ Brush in ‘Love and a Bottle,’ Sir Politick Wouldbe in ‘Volpone,’ and Spruce in the ‘Fortune-hunters.’ His original characters were fairly numerous, but not as a rule important.

Its original title, the ‘Bull and Butcher,’ was changed about three months before his death into the ‘Spiller's Head,’ a sign presenting the actor's portrait having been painted and given to the proprietor by a Mr. Legar.

Spiller is credited with ‘performing all his parts excellently well in an unfashionable theatre, and to thin audiences.’ He had remarkable skill in transforming himself into whatever character he represented, and one night, as Stockwell in the ‘Artful Husband,’ is said to have completely deceived his special patron the Duke of Argyll, who, taking him for a new hand, recommended him to Rich as deserving encouragement.

According to Louis Riccoboni, the historian of the stage, Spiller ‘acted the old man in a comedy taken from Crispin Medicine [sic] with such a nice degree of perfection as one could expect in no player who had not had forty years' experience.

… I made no doubt of his being an old comedian, who, instructed by long practice and assisted by the weight of years, had performed the part so naturally; but how great was my surprise when I learnt that he was a young man about the age of twenty-six!