Jump to content

List of skulls used to depict Yorick

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yorick is an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. He is the dead court jester whose skull is exhumed by the First Gravedigger in Act 5, Scene 1, of the play. The sight of Yorick's skull evokes a reminiscence by Prince Hamlet of the man. The scene has become a popular trope in media, with the image of Hamlet holding Yorick's skull often being used as a representation of acting itself. Because of the fame of the scene, multiple individuals have bequeathed their skulls to theater productions for use as Yorick's skull.[1]

People whose skulls have depicted Yorick

[edit]
Portrayers of Yorick
Person Death Details Refs.
Fontaine c. early 1800s A horse thief named Fontaine befriended the actor Junius Brutus Booth when they shared a jail cell. When Fontaine was executed, he bequeathed his skull to Booth to be used in Hamlet. Junius Brutus Booth then bequeathed the skull to his son, Edwin Booth. After Edwin's brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln, Edwin never spoke of him again, but kept a photograph of his brother on a shelf near Fontaine's skull. [2]
John "Pop" Reed c. 1800s John "Pop" Reed was a stagehand at the Walnut Street Theatre in Pennsylvania, United States. He requested upon his death that his skull be used to represent Yorick in productions of Hamlet. His skull has been signed by various actors that have performed at the Walnut Street Theatre, and the Theatre established the Pop Reed Society to honor contributors. [3][4]
George Frederick Cooke
 1812 Cooke's skull was used without his consent. After he died, his skull was collected by the doctor John W. Francis, a noted collector of human skulls. Francis loaned the skull to Mercer Community College for their production of Hamlet, and Cooke was billed on the theater program. The skull is now on display in the Scott Memorial Library at Thomas Jefferson University in Pennsylvania. [5][6][7]
Juan Potomachi 1955 An Argentinian man named Juan Potomachi vowed to leave 200,000 pesos to the Teatro Dramatico in Buenos Aires on the condition that his skull be preserved and used for the role of Yorick. His request was granted. [8][9]
André Tchaikowsky
 1982 Polish composer and pianist André Tchaikowsky donated his body for medical research with the provisional condition that his skull be donated to the Royal Shakespeare Company to be used to depict Yorick. Mark Rylance rehearsed with Tchaikowsky's skull but was disturbed by it, and it would not be used in a performance until a 2008 production starring David Tennant as Hamlet. Tennant's use of Tchaikowsky's skull in the performance received widespread media attention. [10][11][12]

People that have expressed interest in portraying Yorick

[edit]
Potential portrayers of Yorick
Person Death Details Refs.
Del Close 1999 American actor Del Close requested that after his death, his skull be donated to the Goodman Theatre to be used as Yorick. Charna Halpern, the executor of Close's will, donated a skull to the Theatre, but later admitted that the skull was actually purchased from a medical supply company because she could find nobody willing to decapitate Close's body and process his real skull. Close's real skull was cremated with the rest of his body. [13]
Jonathan Hartman — In 1995, actor Jonathan Hartman told The Independent that he had written in his will that he desires to have his skull donated to the Royal Shakespeare Company to depict Yorick. He requested that his skull be kept in "a box made of ebony and lined with non-synthetic black velvet". The Company's spokesperson, Zoe Mylchreest, stated that it was unlikely that they would accept his skull. [14]
David Tennant
 — After portraying Prince Hamlet in 2008 and using the skull of André Tchaikowsky to represent Yorick, Tennant described the role as "glorious" and stated that he desired to also donate his own skull to be used as Yorick after his death. [15]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Alas, Poor Yorick: The Skulls of Stratford". Bone Broke. 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  2. ^ "Letters: 'Hamlet' Skull". NPR. 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  3. ^ "Walnut Fun Facts". www.walnutstreettheatre.org. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  4. ^ "Pop Reed Society". www.walnutstreettheatre.org. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  5. ^ Elman, Leslie Gilbert (2013-05-14). "And in the Role of Yorick..." Criminal Element. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  6. ^ Bowers, Rick (2011). "Shakespearean Celebrity in America: The Strange Performative Afterlife of George Frederick Cooke". Theatre History Studies. 31 (1): 27–50. doi:10.1353/ths.2011.0021. ISSN 2166-9953.
  7. ^ Hart, Eric (2011-12-09). "George Frederick Cooke's Body as a Prop". Prop Agenda. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  8. ^ "Everything you (n)ever needed to know about Shakespeare". British Council. Archived from the original on 2007-12-01.
  9. ^ Meier, Allison (2016-04-13). "Actors Have Been Dying to Play the Skeletal Role of Yorick in 'Hamlet'". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  10. ^ Dickson, Andrew (2017-02-16). "Alas, poor Yorick! The shocking life of theatre's greatest skull". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  11. ^ Adams, Stephen (2008-11-25). "Pianist's dying wish fulfilled as David Tennant uses his skull in Hamlet performance". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  12. ^ "The Actors Who Are Dying to Play Yorick in Hamlet". Mental Floss. 2017-01-27. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  13. ^ Friend, Tad (2006-10-01). "Skulduggery". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  14. ^ Lister, David (1995-03-01). "Alas, poor Yorick, I'll play his skull". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2024-07-02. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  15. ^ McLoughlin, Lisa (2025-03-06). "David Tennant offers to donate his own skull for iconic Hamlet scene". The Standard. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_skulls_used_to_depict_Yorick&oldid=1304135301"