Fred Cairns (1857 Scotland[1] – 1 April 1896, Johannesburg, South Africa[2][3]) was a well-known British comedian and music hall artist of the Victorian age. He was attached to the Lupino troupe for several years, operating out of the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, and toured the music halls of the country.

Fred Cairns
Born1857
Died1 April 1896(1896-04-01) (aged 39)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Comedian, Music hall artist

He died on 1 April 1896 in Johannesburg during a tour of South Africa by the company of Messrs Hyman and Alexander, playing both the Empire Palace of Varieties and Theatre Royal of Varieties. (The Era roundly criticised this situation for not having two companies.)[citation needed]

Songs

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  • "Blot Upon The Family Name"
  • "A Funny Cuts"

Some sample billings

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1881-04-03 Liverpool[1]
1885-09-05 Fred Cairns, Comedian at The Royal (Theatre) (advert in The Era)
1886-04-24 Fred Cairns the Albert Palace, Battersea Park (advert in the News of the World)
1886-05-01 F Cairns, vocal comic and Step dancer at South London Palace (advert in the News of the World)
1886-12-25 Fred Cairns at the Alhambra Theatre of Varieties (advert in the News of the World)
1887-01-01
1887-01-08
1887-01-22
Fred Cairns at The Oxford Theatre (along with Amy Height) (advert in The Era)
1887-01-29
1887-02-19
Fred Cairns at The Canterbury Theatre, Edgware Road (along with Amy Height) (advert in The Era)
1887-02-16 Fred Cairns at The Collins Theatre, Islington Green (along with Amy Height) (advert in The Era)
1890-09-06 Fred Cairns, variety artiste at The Middlesex (Theatre) (advert in The Era)

References

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  1. ^ a b 1881/04/03 Comedian / Actor, unmarried aged 24 born Scotland of 4 Devon Street, Liverpool at RG11/3629, f.32, p. 11.
  2. ^ "Sing Us One of the Old Songs by Michael Kilgarriff". Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
  3. ^ 1896-05-02: The Era 'Deaths Columns' (page 12 column 3): On 1 April at Johannesburg, South Africa, Fred Cairns, music hall comedian; 1897 The Era Almanac 1897 Obituary Index: Cairns, Fred., Music-hall comedian, 1 April 1896
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