William Cartwright (actor)

William Cartwright (died 17 December 1686) was an English actor of the seventeenth century, whose career spanned the Caroline era to the Restoration.

James Wright's Historia Histrionica (1699) maintains that the younger Cartwright was associated with the Salisbury Court Theatre — which may refer to his time with his father's troupe, or may indicate that he was with Queen Henrietta's Men in the 1637–42 period.

Cartwright made one major addition to Heywood's text: a passage in praise of Edward Alleyn, with whom his father had been associated.

He was one of the thirteen actors who were the original "sharers" (partners) in the King's Company when Thomas Killigrew organized that troupe.

The collection comprised 239 portraits, plus drawings, prints, books, and manuscripts; Cartwright also willed the College money (£400 of "broad old gold") and even personal effects ("two silver tankards, damask linen, an Indian quilt, and a Turkey carpet").

[6] The portrait collection included public figures like Sir Thomas Gresham, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Mary, Queen of Scots; Richard Burbage and Richard Perkins among other actors; and personal items — pictures of Cartwright, his father, and his first and third wives.