Tony Hart (theater)

Tony Hart (born Anthony J. Cannon; July 25, 1855 – November 4, 1891) was an American actor, comedian and singer. He is best known for working with Edward Harrigan in the late 19th century comedy team of Harrigan & Hart.

He met Harrigan in 1870. The two became a fixture at the Theatre Comique in New York City by the mid-1870s performing in Harrigan's farcical sketches. The slight and short Hart usually portrayed the female roles in their comic sketches and plays.

Their breakthrough hit was the 1873 song and sketch "The Mulligan Guard", a lampoon of an Irish neighborhood "militia" with music by David Braham. It became their signature piece, and they featured it in many of their slapstick skits and plays. The team's last Broadway performance was in May 1885. Hart's health and financial condition both deteriorated, and he died at the age of 36.