Edmund Law Rogers Jr.

Edmund Law Rogers, also known by the stage name Leslie Edmunds, was born on July 1, 1850, in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents were Charlotte Matilda Leeds Plater and Edmund Law Rogers, a notable millionaire. Rogers was a descendant of the Calvert family of Maryland and had familial connections to Martha Washington, being a great-great-great-grandson through the Calvert line, and to Elizabeth Parke Custis Law, his great-grandmother. The family estate, Druid Hill, is recognized as one of the largest city parks in North America.

Rogers attended the James Kinner Academy in Baltimore, where Frank Courtney Nicodemus was among his classmates. In 1869, he enrolled at the University of Virginia, studying architecture and becoming interested in acting. During his tenure at the university, Rogers, Nicodemus, and four other students founded the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and Rogers designed the fraternity's badge.

Beginning his acting career around 1875, Rogers adopted the stage name Leslie Edmunds and performed in various theatrical productions. His early performances included the role of Governor of Harfleur in Henry V at Ford's Grand Opera House in Baltimore in September 1875, and the part of a timorous lover in Dollie Bidwell's touring production of Josephine: The Wife of Two in April 1876. In August 1877, he joined the stock company of the Pittsburgh Opera House for the 1877–78 season.

Throughout the late 1870s and early 1880s, Rogers participated in multiple theatrical engagements across the United States. In December 1878, he played St. Clair in a production of Uncle Tom's Cabin in Memphis, Tennessee. The following year, he portrayed George Peyton in The Octaroon at the Broad Street Theatre in Philadelphia. In November 1880, he was part of Willie Edouin's Sparks Company, performing in Dreams or Fun in a Photograph Gallary at several theaters, including Hooley's Theatre in Chicago and Music Hall in Lynn, Massachusetts.

In August 1881, Rogers performed in The Connie Soogah at the Madison Square Theatre in New York City after preliminary performances at the Academy Theatre in Buffalo. The Boston Globe reviewed his performance positively. During late 1881 and 1882, he was involved in the American tour of The Colonel, serving as an understudy for Eric Bailey and performing the lead role on occasion, earning recognition for his performances.

In 1883, Rogers joined the national tour of Brentwood, starring Pearl Eytinge, although he left the cast after a few weeks. He then participated in touring productions of My Partner and Youth. In November 1883, Rogers served as the business manager for the play The New Flying Dutchman at the Grand Opera House in Brooklyn, New York. When the play toured in February 1884, Rogers was prominently credited as one of its producers.

Rogers continued acting in various productions, including Kit, the Arkansas Traveller at the Boston Theatre and Spot Cash, from which he was dismissed following a personal altercation involving his wife, who was also in the cast. He performed on Broadway in Dr. Bazilos in 1885 and appeared in works starring the Austrian actress Madame Antonie Janisch. His later stage roles included Waiting For the Verdict, Ten Nights in a Bar-Room, and A Grass Widow in 1887.

In the fall of 1888, Rogers and his wife became members of Arthur Rehan's comedy troupe in Montreal, performing in plays such as Nancy & Co, 7–20–8, and Love and Harness. Critical reviews of his performances in these productions noted his ability to generate favorable audience responses, despite some criticisms regarding his portrayal's intensity.

During the 1889–1890 season, Rogers and his wife toured Canada and the United States with Rehan's company, later joining the touring cast of Harry L. Hamlin and Paul M. Potter's The Fakir for that season. In 1891, he appeared in the supporting cast of Jessie Daw, starring Hattie Harvey at Brooklyn's Amphion Theatre, and subsequently supported actress Katie Emmett on a tour of The Waifs.

Rogers married Charlotte Matilda Leeds, an actress known as Leslie Edmunds, who was from Massachusetts. He died on December 19, 1893, in New York City, from "nervous prostration." Rogers was interred at the Rogers-Buchanan Family Cemetery located in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore.