Horace Wigan 
in 'Nine Points of the Law'

‘Horace Wigan, always a careful actor, but whose claim on fame is that he was the original Hackshaw in The Ticket-of-Leave Man, died at Sidcup, on Friday, aged sixty-seven. Horace, like his brother Alfred, was addicted to dramatic authorship. He cleverly adapted several pieces for the London stage, with which he had been connected for more than thirty years’ (The Referee, 9 August 1885). 

‘It is with great regret that we announce the death, on Friday, at the age of sixty-seven years, of Mr Horace Wigan, the well-known actor and dramatic author. For a long time past Mr Wigan has been absent from the state, but he will be fresh in the memory of playgoers as a member of a family endowed with histrionic talents of a high order’ (Liverpool Daily Post, 10 August 1885). 

‘It is announced that Mr Horace Wigan, the comedian, died suddenly on Friday, at the age of 67. Mr Wigan made his first appearance in London at the Olympic in 1854, and first attracted notice in 1858. He was identified for several years with important parts in plays by Mr Tom Taylor; and in September, 1864, he became sole lessee and manager of the Olympic Theatre, in which capacity he produced several new pieces by the late editor of Punch. From 1870 to 1875 Mr Wigan appeared at various London theatres, and early in the latter year he undertook the management of the Holborn Theatre, which was renamed the Mirror while it was in his hands. The deceased comedian was the author of several farces’ (London Evening Standard, 10 August 1885).