Levitt, John.

Charles James Mathews (1803-1878) was born in Liverpool and initially worked as an architect. His acting career began in 1835 and continued until the year of his death, encompassing performances in the United Kingdom, United States of America and France. Between the late 1930s and 1955 he and his wife Lucia Elizabeth Vestris (1797 -1856), known as Madame Vestris, managed venues including the Olympic Theatre, the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden and the Lyceum Theatre.

Charles Dance (1794-1863) combined his work as a dramatist with various legal jobs mainly in the Insolvent Debtors' Court. Dance had a professional friendship with Mathews and Madame Vestris, helping them to negotiate the lease for the Lyceum Theatre and also contributing Olympic Revels as the opening piece of their first season. Many of Dance’s works have been printed in Lacy's ‘Acting Edition of Plays,’ Duncombe's ‘British Theatre,’ Webster's ‘Acting National Drama,’ and Miller's ‘Modern Acting Drama.

Sir Charles Blake Cochran (1872-1951) attended Oxford University, began his career as an actor and later worked as a press representative, agent and author. From 1916 until his death he produced plays, musicals and musical revues including work by Noël Coward and Vivian Ellis. He was knighted in 1948 and elected to the Légion d'honneur in 1950.

Cochran’s friend Maurice Willson Disher (1893-1969) was a theatre historian, author and playwright.

George Leslie Brook (1910-1987) was professor of English Language and Medieval English Literature at Manchester University from 1945 to 1977. George Brook was a collected literature covering subjects including theatrical history and theology. His collections are now distributed at academic institutions including Baylor University, Texas and Manchester University. Brook may have known Charles B. Cochran.

John Henry Levitt (1923-2005) attended Manchester University and was taught by George Leslie Brook. Levitt began his teaching career in 1948 at the Workers' Educational Association and later worked at Keele University, retiring as its Director of Adult Education. He was an English literature scholar and a contributor to the ‘Oxford Companion to English Literature’ and the ‘Dictionary of National Biography.’

From the guide to the John Levitt Collection of Correspondence and Theatrical Memorabilia, 1816-1939, (V&A Department of Theatre and Performance)