Richard Archer Prince

Richard Archer Prince (1865–1936), also known as William Archer Flint, was an actor, often down on his luck. He became famous for murdering actor William Terriss outside the Adelphi Theatre, in London, in December 1897.

Prince was born Richard Millar Archer near Dundee, Scotland and aspired to become an actor. By 1887 he was appearing in bit-parts in the London theatres.

William Terriss was one of the leading actors of the time. By the 1890s, Terriss and Prince had become acquainted. Terriss helped the struggling younger actor to find work in various productions that he had a hand in. However, Prince had, over the years, increasingly abused alcohol and become mentally unstable, becoming known as Mad Archer. During the run of The Harbour Lights, in which Prince had a minor role, Terriss took offence to something that Prince had said about him and had Prince dismissed. Terriss, however, sent small sums of money to Prince, via the Actors' Benevolent Fund, and continued to try to find him acting work.

By the end of 1897, Prince was destitute and desperate for work, but he had become unemployable. On 13 December he was forcibly ejected from the foyer of the Vaudeville Theatre, and he and Terriss were seen to argue the next night in Terriss's dressing room in the Adelphi Theatre. On 16 December, Prince asked for money at the Fund's office but was told that his request could not be considered that day. Apparently, he crossed the street and waited for Terriss concealed near the stage door of the Adelphi in Maiden Lane. As Terriss was arriving to prepare for the evening's performance, Prince stabbed him in the back, side and chest. When captured, Prince told police, "I did it for revenge. He had kept me out of employment for ten years, and I had either to die in the street or kill him." Terriss died shortly after the stabbing.

The murder became a sensation in the London press. Prince appeared at the Old Bailey on 13 January 1898. He initially pleaded "guilty with provocation" but changed this on the advice of his counsel to not guilty. Prince, aware of his notoriety, made the most of the attention. The defence attempted to prove insanity, with doctors and even his mother giving evidence that he was of unsound mind. The jury pronounced Prince "guilty, but according to the medical evidence, not responsible for his actions." He was sent to Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum and became involved in entertainment for the inmates and conducted the prison orchestra until his death. His relatively mild sentence was met with anger by the theatrical community, and Sir Henry Irving would later be quoted as saying "Terriss was an actor, so his murderer will not be executed."