Thomas L. Moxley (c. 1828, Baltimore — 7 July 1890, Baltimore)[1] was an American actor, blackface minstrel show entertainer, and theatre manager. As a stage actor, he performed under the name Master Floyd and was an acclaimed female impersonator in minstrel shows.[2]
Moxley formed a close partnership with the minstrel-show impresario, actor, and theater manager George Kunkel. They performed together for years.[3] Moxley was a leading member of Kunkel's Nightingales, one of the most popular minstrel shows of the 1850s and 1860s, and toured widely with the troupe during this period.[4]
In 1855, Moxley formed a theatre-management firm with Kunkel and John T. Ford, co-managing multiple theaters in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia. These included the National Theatre in Washington,[4] and the Richmond Theatre (then known as the Marshall Theatre) in Virginia.[1] John Wilkes Booth and his brother Edwin Booth both performed at the Richmond Theatre in Shakespearean performances while Moxley was there.[5]
When Kunkel adapted Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin for the stage in 1861,[6] Moxley portrayed the role of Topsy, a female slave. In his obituary, he was credited as the first actor to perform the role of Topsy in the theatre.[7]
Moxley died of heart failure in Baltimore, Maryland, on 7 July 1890 at the age of 62.[1]
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