Joseph Jefferson III, often known as Joe Jefferson, was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedians. Beginning as a young child, he continued as a performer for most of his 76 years. Jefferson was particularly well known for his adaptation and portrayal of Rip Van Winkle on the stage, reprising the role in several silent film adaptations. After 1865, he created no other major role and toured with this play for decades.
Joseph Jefferson
Jefferson as the young Rip Van Winkle
Jefferson as the old Rip Van Winkle, 1896
Joseph Jefferson as Dr. Peter Pangloss by John Singer Sargent
"Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their strong liquor and falls deeply asleep in the Catskill Mountains. He awakes 20 years later to a very changed world, having missed the American Revolution.
Depiction of Rip Van Winkle by John Quidor (1829). Housed at Art Institute of Chicago.
Depiction of Rip Van Winkle by Thomas Nast (c. 1875). Housed at Yale University Library.
First installment of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (1819) included "Rip Van Winkle"
Joseph Jefferson as Rip Van Winkle (1896)