I'm currently reading Hanging Mary by Susan Higginbotham which is a re-imagining of the true history of Mary Surratt, the one woman conspirator who was hanged for Lincoln's assassination.
The author mentions, several times, the many attributes of John Wilkes Booth. Who would be the modern day equivalent (in terms of fame) to JWB?
Thanks for any information!
edited: Updated spelling, punctuation
I'm not sure there is an equivalent in fame. Modern celebrities are known to millions. TV, Movies, and the Internet make people much more accessible than they were in the 1860s. If I say the name Keanu Reeves, it's likely that everyone who reads this will have heard of the name, seen multiple movies he's been in, and be able to picture his face. Booth had no such mass media in which to star. He had to appear in front of his audiences one at a time
That said, he was probably as well known an actor as existed in North America in the 1860s. He had performed regularly in Richmond and likely would have been known by sight by anyone who attended theater there. He was moderately well known in Washington DC, and Baltimore.
He had become well known and did several national tours where he would be the guest star with local troupes. He played in Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Boston, Atlanta, New Orleans, and dozens of smaller cities. When he appeared he was given top billing. This Boston playbill would be typical, J. WILKES BOOTH in Romeo and Juliet!
That Boston showing would have been a fairly typical engagement. Over he course of two weeks he stared in Richard III (three times), Romeo and Juliet, The Robbers (twice), Hamlet, The Apostate, The Stranger, and The Lady of Lyons. Then he moved on to a new city. Generally these were in largish venues that could seat 1,000 or more. He was particularly noted for his handsome good looks. He was clearly a box office draw... but still at 1,000-2,000 people a night, there was a limit on how many people might be aware of him.
Comparing him to modern actors and performers, he'd likely be on the level of a band who gets an occasional major nighttime talkshow, maybe with a cable tv show, and generally plays in large (non-arena) venues. He wouldn't be a Keanu Reeves. He might have been a Louis CK. But again it's so hard to really compare modern mass media stars. Maybe Placido Domingo might be a closer analogue? Someone who mos tpeople have heard of, but haven't been able to actually catch their show.
