As a youth Brougham planned to study surgery, but he went to London where a chance acquaintance led to his acting debut (July 1830) playing six parts in Tom and Jerry at the Tottenham Street Theatre. A year later he wrote his first play, a burlesque. Then came a number of other works, including the popular London Assurance, by the Irish-American playwright Dion Boucicault (Boucicault, Dion), on which Brougham collaborated. In 1840 he became manager of the Lyceum Theatre, writing Life in the Clouds, Love's Livery, Enthusiasm, Tom Thumb the Second, and The Demon Gift (with Mark Lemon). In 1842 Brougham went to the United States, managing theatres in New York City and writing a number of comedies and dramas until 1860, when a trip to London led to a five-year stay. In 1865 he returned to the United States, where he continued to write, act, and manage theatres until his death. His last stage appearance was on Oct. 25, 1879, in Boucicault's Rescued.