Skip to main content
Personal data
Name
George Garrick
Date of birth (prefix)
ca.
Born 1723
Died 1779
Biography

Son of Peter Garrick (1681-1736/7) and Arabella Clough (1694-1740). Married firstly to Elizabeth or Catherine Carrington, daughter of Nathaniel Carrington, King's Messenger. Married secondly (1774) to Elizabeth Tetley. Younger brother of the famous actor David Garrick.

When David Garrick became manager of Drury Lane in 1747, George was employed to take care of business matters while David managed the actual stage, plays and actors. George stayed with David at Drury Lane until the management changed in 1776, and he died just 2 days after the funeral of his older brother in 1779.

Carola Oman, in her excellent biography of David Garrick, wrote that

"George had always been regarded by the company as a slightly comic character. His panting inquiry, "Is David needing me?" was too well known. When it was learned that he had followed his famous brother, two days after the Westminster Abbey ceremony, Cumberland suggested, not unsympathetically, " David needed him". "1
  • 1Oman, C. (1958). David Garrick.
Life with Boswell

Boswell met George Garrick at Love's in London on November 29, 1762.

Literature

The primary published source for information about George is probably Carola Oman's 1958 biography David Garrick, which focuses on George's older brother. However, as they worked together for almost all their lives, George features rather prominently.