Julian Wylie

Julian Wylie (1 August 1878 – 6 December 1934), originally Julian Ulrich Samuelson Metzenberg, was a British theatrical agent and producer. He began as an accountant and took an interest in entertainment through his brothers, Lauri Wylie and G. B. Samuelson. About 1910, he became the business manager and agent of David Devant, an illusionist, then took on other clients, and formed a partnership with James W. Tate. By the end of his life he was known as the 'King of Pantomime'. Early life and background Born in Southport, Lancashire, Wylie was the son of Henschel and Bertha Samuelson, tobacconists originally from Prussia. Although Wylie's parents used the name Samuelson, between 1876 and 1889 the births of their five children were registered under the name Metzenberg, with Samuelson as a middle name. In fact, the name of Samuelson was a patronymic drawn from Henschel's father, Samuel Metzenberg, of Lissa in the Prussian Grand Duchy of Posen. Henschel, born in 1829, left home in 1841 and lived with an uncle in Dublin before settling in Southport in about 1873. The surname of Wylie, later adopted by some of his children, was an anglicisation of Mrs Samuelson's name before her marriage. A daughter of Solomon Weile, she was Bertha Weile when marrying Henschel Metzenberg in Kensington in 1875. The Samuelsons are believed to have been the first Jews in Southport. Wylie's father died in 1889, and his death was recorded in the name of Henschel Samuelson Metzenberg. In the 1891 and 1901 censuses, his widow Bertha Samuelson was still carrying on the tobacconist business in Southport. Career