| William H. Crane | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Crane in 1923 | |
| Born | (1845-04-30)April 30, 1845 Leicester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | March 7, 1928(1928-03-07) (aged 82) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1863–1928 |
| Signature | |
.png){kind=small} | |
William Henry Crane (April 30, 1845 – March 7, 1928) was an American actor.
Early years
Crane was born in Leicester, Massachusetts on April 30, 1845. He grew up in Boston and graduated from Brimmer School.
Career
He made his first professional appearance at Utica, New York, in Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment on July 13, 1865. He made his first hit in the legitimate drama with Stuart Robson in The Comedy of Errors and other Shakespearian plays. This partnership lasted for 12 years. He had successes as Le Blanc the Notary in the Victorian burlesque Evangeline (1873) and The Henrietta (1881, with Robson) by Bronson Howard. Subsequently Crane appeared in various eccentric character parts in such plays as The Senator and David Harum.
In 1904 Crane turned to more serious works and played Isidore Izard in Business is Business, an adaptation of Octave Mirbeau's Les Affaires sont les Affaires. In his 70s, Crane appeared in a number of films, notably in a reprise of his role in David Harum (1915). He also appeared in MGM's Three Wise Fools, which was revived on Turner Classic Movies and is available on home video/DVD.
Personal Life
Crane married Ella Chloe Myers in 1870, and remained married until his death. Crane was an avid yachtsman and was a founding officer of the Cohasset Yacht Club in 1894. At Crane's summer home in Cohasset (which he called the "Fishing Box") his long-time friend, Chicago saloonkeeper Lewis Williams debuted Cohasset Punch, a blend of rum, wine, and fruit that became very popular in Chicago for decades afterward.
Death
Crane died on March 7, 1928, at the age of 82 in the Hollywood Hotel.
Partial filmography
- The Lamb (1915)
- David Harum (1915)
- The Saphead (1920)
- Souls for Sale (1923)
- Three Wise Fools (1923)
- Souls for Sale (1923)
- True as Steel (1924)
- So This Is Marriage (1924)
References
- ^ Strang, Lewis Clinton (1906). Famous Actors of the Day. L.C. Page. pp. 149–165. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ Chisholm 1911.
- Crane, William H. (1927). Footprints and Echoes. New York: E.P. Dutton & Company. p. 48.
- "Cohasset Yacht Club". Boston Globe. July 22, 1894. p. 23.
- Hamm, Margherita Arlina (1909). Eminent Actors in Their Homes. New York: James Pott & Company. p. 293.
- Wondrich, David (2022). "Cohasset Punch". In Wondrich, David; Rothbaum, Noah (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 186–187. ISBN 978-0-19-931113-2.
- "Peaceful Death Takes Beloved Aged Comedian". The Salt Lake Tribune. Hollywood, California. AP. March 8, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved March 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- "William H. Crane, Noted Player, Dead". The New York Times. March 8, 1928. p. 25. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Crane, William Henry". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 367.- "W. H. Crane" by Joseph Howard, Jr. in Famous American Actors of To-day, edited by Frederic Edward McKay and Charles E. L. Wingate, New York, Thomas Y. Crowell & Company, 1896. Online here.
- "Crane-Robson" in Some Players: Personal Sketches by Amy Leslie, Herbert S. Stone & Company, Chicago & New York, 1901. Online here.
- "William H. Crane, A Study", By Edwin F. Edgett in Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, January 1903 (Volume LV No. 3). Online here. (Illustration here).