in the 1870s Williamson was born in
Mercer, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a doctor, James Hezlep Williamson, and his wife Selina. About 1856, the family moved to
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where young James appeared in amateur theatricals beginning in 1857. That year, his father died in an accident.
Early career In 1861, Williamson worked for the local theatre company of Messrs. Hurd and Perkins as call-boy, general assistant and scenery and props maker. There he made his official stage debut. He later recalled: "I used to act in amateur theatricals, and when I was sixteen I got an engagement with a company at the Milwaukee theatre. I was full of energy and enthusiasm, and did pretty well everything. My mornings were spent in learning fencing and dancing. In the afternoon I'd look after the box office, and at evening help the stage manager and take my part – sometimes three or four parts." The next year, he joined the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Toronto, Canada and then moved on to New York where he found work as a dialect comedian and then played for several years at
Wallack's Theatre. From his seven-year apprenticeship there, Williamson emerged with a thorough knowledge of acting, play production and stage management. He then played in a musical comedy at the Theatre Comique in New York under the management of
W. H. Lingard. Although Williamson was not a good singer, his talent for comedy carried him. In 1871, Williamson was engaged as leading comedian at the California Theatre, in San Francisco, where he met comedian and singer Margaret Virginia Sullivan (known as
Maggie Moore) in 1872, whom he married at St. Mary's Cathedral on 2 February 1873. Later that month, they starred together in a
melodrama called
Struck Oil in
Salt Lake City, Utah. Williamson purchased the script for $100 and had it rewritten by his friend
Clay M. Greene.
Visiting, and then moving to, Australia and La Mascotte'', 1907 The Williamsons then visited Australia, travelling on the S.S.
Mikado. In 1874, they opened a season at the
Theatre Royal, Melbourne, beginning with
Struck Oil, which was an instant success. Its run of 43 nights was the longest yet known in the colonial theatre. It proved equally popular around the rest of the country. What was meant to be a 12-week tour of Australia ended up lasting for fifteen months (including
Struck Oil and other pieces) and netting Williamson £15,000. Williamson used this money to launch his career as a theatre manager, and Maggie Moore became one of the most popular performers on the Australian stage. Williamson and Moore played seasons in Australia and toured extensively with several pieces, including
Struck Oil, to India, the US, Europe, Britain and elsewhere. Everywhere they went,
Struck Oil was a great success. When they opened the play at the
Adelphi Theatre in London at Easter in 1876,
The Graphic wrote, "
Struck Oil is but a poor play; but the acting of Mr. Williamson in the part of Stofel, the Pennsylvanian Dutchman, exhibits genuine humour and pathos." Williamson and Moore later had a bitter divorce, and he tried unsuccessfully to stop her from appearing in the play, which she continued to revive throughout her career; she starred in the 1919 film version in her late 60s. In 1879, Williamson acquired a one-year exclusive right to perform
H.M.S. Pinafore in Australia and New Zealand for £300. They began their 1879–80 Australian season with
Struck Oil and staged the first legitimate Australian production of
Pinafore at the Theatre Royal, Sydney in November with great success, with the Williamsons playing Sir Joseph Porter and Josephine. Praising the production, Williamson and Moore, the
Sydney Morning Herald noted that the production, though "abounding in fun", was dignified and precise, especially compared with a previous "boisterous" unauthorised production, and that many numbers were encored and the laughter and applause from the "immense audience ... was liberally bestowed". In early 1880, Williamson formed his Royal Comic Opera Company. Williamson then acquired the Australian performing rights from the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company for
The Pirates of Penzance for £1,000 and opened that work at the
Theatre Royal, Sydney in 1881. Between their appearances in Gilbert and Sullivan operas, James and Maggie Williamson continued to play engagements of
Struck Oil along with similar popular favourites,
The Danites,
Arrah-na-Pogue,
The Colleen Bawn and
Rip Van Winkle.
The beginning of the J. C. Williamson Ltd. theatrical empire In July 1882, Williamson began the leasing the Melbourne
Theatre Royal, which was newly renovated, introducing modern technical facilities and lavish sets. This transaction marked the beginning of Williamson's long career as Australia's foremost theatrical manager. After a tour of New Zealand that year, Williamson entered into partnership with
Arthur Garner and
George Musgrove ("W. G. and M."). This triumvirate was often criticised for creating a monopoly, crushing the old repertory system and discouraging local actors, but it brought to Australia such artists as
Dion Boucicault, as well as employing new and local talent such as
Nellie Stewart and
Howard Vernon. In December 1886, they opened the luxurious new
Princess's Theatre in Melbourne with Gilbert and Sullivan's
The Mikado. By 1890, Williamson had hired
Henry Bracy as a leading
tenor and a stage manager. Bracy subsequently directed numerous comic opera productions for Williamson, also becoming Williamson's chief advisor on casting, working for the company until 1914. The W. G. and M. partnership was dissolved on 4 March 1890. Williamson and Garner formed Williamson, Garner & Co. Musgrove took the Sydney
Theatre Royal, while Williamson and Garner held Melbourne's
Theatre Royal and
Princess Theatre, and Adelaide's
Theatre Royal. They had a major success when they brought
Sarah Bernhardt to Australia in 1891. At the end of the year Williamson bought Garner out, but Maggie Moore left him for the actor
Harry R. Roberts, making extensive financial claims upon him. Musgrove rejoined Williamson in 1892, when they produced the
pantomime Little Red Riding Hood, which opened a new "
Lyceum" theatre on
Pitt Street, Sydney. In 1896, they broke box-office records with an original Australian pantomime,
Djin Djin. Williamson married Mary Alice Weir, a dancer, in 1899, and his partnership with Musgrove dissolved that year unpleasantly. Among other ventures, in 1900 Williamson leased
Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne, and began a series of extensive renovations and expansions to the theatre that became the flagship venue for Williamson in years to come. He also leased
Her Majesty's Theatre in Sydney, and in 1902 mounted the biggest production in its history,
Ben-Hur, at a cost of £14,000. With a running time of nearly four hours, the production contained huge choral numbers, marches and a spectacular chariot race, with horses galloping on a treadmill in front of a moving backdrop. The play had premiered on Broadway in 1899 and toured internationally; the Australian version remained popular for years. A
bubonic plague outbreak temporarily closed the theatre soon afterwards, and it was burnt down with huge losses. But Williamson organised a
Shakespeare company at the
Theatre Royal and rebuilt the theatre in 1903. The next year he entered partnership with George Tallis, his Melbourne manager, and with
Gustave Ramaciotti as legal adviser. Visually sensational shows were now 'the Firm's' speciality, and the organisation had grown to employ 650 people.
Williamson's later years From 1907, Williamson reduced his managerial work and spent more time with his wife and their daughters Marjorie and Aimée, moving the family to France and spending most of his time in Europe. He also became involved in raising racehorses. In 1910, the company was renamed
J. C. Williamson Ltd., with Ramaciotti as managing director. The company achieved outstanding successes with tours by
H. B. Irving and
Nellie Melba; the latter and Williamson earned £46,000 profit each from her tour. Williamson successfully opposed an application by Australian actors to form a union in 1913. In February 1913, Williamson performed in a benefit in Sydney for the widows of Captain
Robert Scott's Antarctic expedition. Returning to his family in France via the United States, his heart condition worsened, and he died in Paris on 6 July 1913 at the age of 67. He was buried, contrary to his wishes, in the Williamson section of Oak Woods cemetery, Chicago, Illinois. He left an elaborately divided estate, valued for probate at £193,010. ==World War I and beyond==