Rumpole of the Bailey interest in nineteenth-century anarchists, especially the Russian Peter Kropotkin from whom the title of the play was drawn. The character's name was later changed to Horace Rumpole when it was discovered that there was a real barrister called Horace Rumbold. The title of the play was briefly changed to "Jolly Old Jean Jacques Rousseau" before settling on the less esoteric "Rumpole of the Bailey". Mortimer was keen on Michael Hordern for the role of Rumpole. When Hordern proved unavailable, the part went to Australian-born actor Leo McKern. Mortimer was initially unenthusiastic about McKern's casting but changed his opinion upon seeing
John Hodgkinson (actor, born 1766) John Hodgkinson (actor, born 1766) John Hodgkinson (born John Meadowcroft) (1766 - 12 September 1805) was a well-known actor in the United States in the late 18th and early 19th century. He was born in England and came to the United States in 1792. William Dunlap and Hodgkinson managed the John Street Theatre together for a few years in the 1790s. John Hodgkinson was born in England in 1766. He came to the United States to leave his wife, first making inquires to New York theater managers Lewis Hallam Jr. and John Henry of the Old American Company for positions