Jack Langrishe

Who was Jack Langrishe?

John S. "Jack" Langrishe, popularly known as the "Comedian of the Frontier", was an actor and impresario who travelled extensively throughout the American West.

Jack S. Langrishe, sometimes noted as John, arrived with his wife Jeannette and their Company, to Deadwood, South Dakota July 15, 1876. Mr. Langrishe along with treasurer and troupe manager Jonas Hellawell, leased the McDaniels Theatre July 22, 1876 from Cheyenne, Wyoming theatre manager James McDaniels, who constructed the first theatre in Deadwood.

The Langrishe Theatre’s first production was "Trodden Down" July 29, 1876. The Langrishe Theatre provided facilities for the Jack McCall murder trial, the man accused in the death of Wild Bill Hickok, the first marriage to be performed in Deadwood August 26, 1876, George Morgan to L. McKelvey by Judge Kuykendall, and as a meeting place for the secret society, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. General George Crook and his officers would attend a performance at the Langrishe Theatre September 23, 1876 while visiting Deadwood.

Jack Langrishe was an integral player in shaping Deadwood’s early day history as he participated in civic endeavors such as Fourth of July event planning and fund raising for health charities. The Langrishe Company’s benefit performance October 14, 1876 donated receipts totaling over $73 to Deadwood’s hospital kitty.