Thomas L. Moxley (c. 1828, Baltimore — 7 July 1890, Baltimore) was an American actor, blackface minstrel show entertainer, and theatre manager. As a stage actor he performed under the name Master Floyd and was an acclaimed female impersonator in minstrel shows.[1] He formed a close partnership with the minstrel show impresario, actor, and theatre manager George Kunkel. He was a leading member of Kunkel's Nightingales, one of the most popular minstrel shows of the 1850s and 1860s, and toured widely with the troupe during this period. In 1855 he formed a theatre management firm with Kunkel and John T. Ford; co-managing multiple theaters in Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Richmond, Virginia. These included the National Theatre in Washington D.C.,[2] and the Richmond Theatre (then known as the Marshall Theatre) in Virginia.[3] When Kunkel adapted Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin for the stage in 1861,[4] Moxley portrayed the role of Topsy. In his obituary he was credited as the first actor to perform the role of Topsy in the theatre.[5]
Moxley died of heart failure in Baltimore, Maryland on 7 July 1890 at the age of 62.[3]