Sweeney Todd
Fictional serial killer barber
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls (1846–47). The original story became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Street, Todd murders his customers with a straight razor and gives their corpses to Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime, who bakes their flesh into meat pies. The tale has been retold many times since in plays, novels, film and other media.[1]
| Sweeney Todd | |
|---|---|
 Sweeney Todd murdering a victim, from the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls. | |
| First appearance | Penny dreadful serial titled The String of Pearls (1846–47) |
| Created by | James Malcolm Rymer Thomas Peckett Prest |
| Portrayed by | Robert Vivian (1924 Broadway) Moore Marriott (1928 movie) Tod Slaughter (1936 film) Maver Moore (1947 CBC Radio drama) Freddie Jones (1970 television) Len Cariou (1979 Broadway, 2000 London concert) George Hearn (1980 Broadway, 2000 New York concert, 2001 San Francisco concert) Denis Quilley (1980 London cast, 1993 London revival, 1994 BBC Radio) Ben Kingsley (1998 drama) Kelsey Grammer (1999 Los Angeles concert) Brian Stokes Mitchell (2002 Kennedy Center) Michael Cerveris (2005 Broadway revival) Ray Winstone (2006 drama) Johnny Depp (2007 movie) Robert Mammana (2010 episode of The Office) Mikhail Gorshenev (album 2011, album 2012, zong-opera 2012-2013) Michael Ball (2012 London revival) Bryn Terfel (2014 New York concert, 2015 London concert) Jeremy Secomb (2015 London revival, 2017 Off-Broadway revival) Norm Lewis (2017 Off-Broadway revival) Hugh Panaro (2017 Off-Broadway revival) Anthony Warlow (2019 Australia) Jett Pangan (2019 Manila, 2019 Singapore) Martin Jarvis (2021 BBC Radio drama) |
| Information | |
| Full name | Benjamin Barker (Bond play and musical version) |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Barber Serial killer |
| Title | The Demon Barber of Fleet Street |
| Spouse(s) | None in original version Lucy Barker (Bond play and musical version) |
| Children | None in original version Johanna Barker (Bond play and musical version) |
| Nationality | British |
Scholars do not think Sweeney Todd was a real person.[2][3][4][5][6]
References change
- ↑ "Sweeney Todd synopsis".
- ↑ Haining, Peter (1979). The Mystery and Horrible Murders of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. London, England: The Book Service Ltd. ISBN 0-584-10425-1.
- ↑ Haining, Peter (1993). Sweeney Todd: The real story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. London, England: Boxtree. ISBN 1-85283-442-0.
- ↑ "Man or myth? The making of Sweeney Todd" (Press release). BBC Press Office. August 12, 2005. Retrieved November 15, 2006.
- ↑ Duff, Oliver (January 3, 2006). "Sweeney Todd: fact". The Independent. London, England: Independent Print Ltd. Archived from the original on July 1, 2006. Retrieved November 15, 2006. (Full text)
- ↑ "True or False?". Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert. KQED. 2001. Retrieved November 15, 2006.
