Fred Sullivan

Who was Fred Sullivan?

Frederic Sullivan was an English actor and singer. He is best remembered as the creator of the role of the Learned Judge in Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury, providing a model for the comic roles in the later Savoy Operas composed by his brother Arthur Sullivan.

By 1870, Sullivan had abandoned architecture for a career on stage. In 1871, he first performed the role of Mr. Cox in a revival of his brother's first comic opera, Cox and Box, and later that year created the role of Apollo in the first Gilbert and Sullivan opera, Thespis. He then remained with the Gaiety Theatre company, playing in Jacques Offenbach pieces, among others. In 1874 he played in comic operas on tour and in other London theatres.

In 1875, he created the role of the Learned Judge in Trial by Jury, also playing in the accompanying Offenbach piece, La Périchole, and earning enthusiastic reviews. He then toured in Trial, and French operettas, returning to London for the revival of Trial. By early 1876, Sullivan's health was deteriorating, and he was forced to stop performing in October 1876. He died in January 1877, leaving a pregnant widow and seven young children.