David Garrick

David Garrick was an English actor, producer, dramatist, and comanager of the Drury Lane Theatre who revolutionized acting and the English stage in the eighteenth century. He made his legendary debut as Richard III at Goodman's Fields Theatre on October 19, 1741, and quickly became recognized as the leading figure in theater. For 29 years (1747-1776), he managed Drury Lane Theatre, instituting new rehearsal techniques and becoming the ultimate Shakespearean, further popularizing Shakespeare's plays and elevating the status of performers in England.