Edward Harrigan (October 26, 1844 - 1911) was an American actor, playwright, and composer.

Harrigan was born in New York, New York. He made his first acting appearance in San Francisco in 1867, and soon afterwards formed a stage partnership with Tony Hart, whose real name was Anthony Cannon. As "Harrigan and Hart," they had a great success in the presentation of types of low life in New York. Beginning as simple sketches, these were gradually worked up into plays, with occasional songs, set to popular music by David Braham. The titles of these plays indicate their character, The Mulligan Guards, Squatter Sovereignty, A Leather Patch, The O'Regans.

His family continued in his footsteps as Broadway performers; son William Harrigan, daughter Nedda Harrigan, as well as granddaughter Ann Connolly. Harrigan and Hart, a Broadway show featuring songs written by Harrigan and Braham, played at the Longacre Theatre in 1985. It featured Tony award-winning Harry Groener as Harrigan and Mark Hamill (of Star Wars fame) as Tony Hart. It was nominated for 1985 Tony Award, Best Book of a Musical, Michael Stewart.

Works

• 1879: The Mulligan Guards' Ball
• 1883: The Mulligans' Silver Wedding
• 1883: Cordelia's Aspirations
• 1890: Reilly and the Four Hundred

References

• Edward Harrigan at the Internet Broadway Database
• Collected songs of Edward Harrigan and David Braham
• Edward Harrigan profile

Further reading

• Kahn, E.J. (1955). The Merry Partners, Random House. Biography of Harrigan and Hart.

1844 births | 1911 deaths | American actors | American musical theatre actors | American stage actors | Songwriters