15. John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was born into a celebrity family. His father was a prominent Shakespearean actor who migrated to the United States from England, bringing along his mistress, John’s mother. His elder brothers Edwin and Junius were noted actors in antebellum America, and John Wilkes followed in their footsteps. John first performed onstage in a production of Shakespeare’s Richard III in 1855. Within three years he was the most well-known actor in American theater, eclipsing his brothers not in acting ability, but in the eyes of his fans. He was called the most handsome man in America. Before the onset of the Civil War Booth was famous, wealthy, and an outspoken supporter of the south and slavery. As such he was a national celebrity, often decried in the North, and idolized in the South.
During the war he remained in the North, for the most part, continuing to appear in theaters performing both Shakespeare and more contemporary plays. Wherever he appeared he arrived at the theater to be greeted by stacks of fan mail, mostly from female fans. Booth’s first appearance at Ford’s Theater, in November 1863, was attended by Abraham Lincoln. The President sat in the same box in which Booth assassinated him in 1865. By then, Booth had parlayed his considerable celebrity into endorsements, including for an oil company in which he invested. At the time of the murder of the President, Booth was one of the most famous and celebrated men in America, easily recognizable throughout the North and South. Afterward, he was regarded in both regions as America’s most notorious and vile murderer.
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