John Edward (or Edmund) Owens (2 April 1823 in Liverpool โ 7 December 1886 in Maryland) was an English-American comedian, born in the Aigburth district of Liverpool, England but taken to the United States when three years old. He began his stage career in 1841 in Philadelphia. Owens was the first East Coast actor to tour to San Francisco's California Theatre in 1869 after completion. He then made an arduous journey to perform in Virginia City in his most popular productions. According to Owens' wife, he found the mining camp theater inadequate to stage his productions.