John Lazar
This article is about the mayor of Adelaide, Australia. For John LaZar the American actor please see John LaZar.
John Lazar (1 December 1801−8 June 1879) was an Australian actor and the Mayor of Adelaide from 1855 to 1858. Born in Edinburgh, Lazar came to Sydney in 1837 where he worked as an actor and theatre manager.
Early life
The son of Abraham Lazar, stockbroker, and his wife Rachel, Lazar arrived in Sydney under the name of John Lazarus on 26 February 1837, claiming to be a tailor and also to have appeared on well-known London theatre stages. He began his Australian career as Shylock at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. He was manager of the Theatre Royal until it closed in March 1838. He then was engaged at the new Victoria Theatre as actor and stage-manager until the end of 1840, when he was engaged to appear in Adelaide at the Queen's Theatre. The theatre opened on 11 January 1841 with Lazar playing Othello.
Career
Lazar leased the Queen's Theatre but had to abandon his lease on 27 November 1842. In May 1843, when the monopoly of Sydney's Victoria Theatre was threatened by the opening of the City Theatre, Lazar was brought back as manager until August 1844, and again in 1846.