Arthur Edmund Carewe (December 30, 1884 – April 22, 1937), born Hovsep Hovsepian ( hy, Հովսեփ Հովսեփյան), was an Armenian-American stage and film actor of the silent and early sound film era.

Early life

Born on December 30, 1884 in

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...

(Trebizond),

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, Carewe was from a prosperous

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

family in his native country. His father, Garo, was engaged in the banking business and carried some influence from his positions in the national legislature and board of education. His father died in 1892, and the

Hamidian massacres The Hamidian massacres also called the Armenian massacres, were massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s. Estimated casualties ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, Akçam, Taner (2006) '' A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide an ...

forced the Hovsepian family to emigrate. Carewe emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on August 7, 1896, arriving in New York Harbor on the ''Augusta Victoria'', having departed from

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

. He was accompanied by his elder brother, Ardasches. Another elder brother, Garo Armen, had preceded them, and their mother arrived the following year. He attended

Cushing Academy Cushing Academy is a private, coeducational college-preparatory school for boarding and day students in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, United States. It serves approximately 400 students in grades 9–12 and a postgraduate year. History Cushing ...

Ashburnham, Massachusetts Ashburnham () is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 6,315. It is home to Cushing Academy, a private preparatory boarding school. Ashburnham contains the census-designated place ...

, after which he studied

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. At the turn of the century, he and his elder brother Garo ran a rug and furnishings business in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He decided upon a stage career and attended the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

in New York City, graduating in March 1904 with the

David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of m ...

Gold Medal for Dramatic Ability.

Career

By 1910, he had assumed the stage name of "Arthur Carew" and earned attention in national newspapers for a suspected fake suicide attempt over the actress/dancer Nance Gwynne. He relocated to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

sometime before 1915 and operated another furnishing goods business until he moved to Hollywood in 1919. His debut role was in the

Constance Talmadge Constance Alice Talmadge (April 19, 1898 – November 23, 1973) was an American silent film star. She was the sister of actresses Norma and Natalie Talmadge. Early life Talmadge was born on April 19, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York, to poor p ...

comedy ''

Romance and Arabella ''Romance and Arabella'' is a 1919 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Walter Edwards and starring Constance Talmadge, Harrison Ford, and Monte Blue Gerard Montgomery Blue (January 11, 1887 – February 18, 1963) was an Ame ...

''. He became a naturalized citizen June 28, 1918. During his time in the motion picture industry, Carewe became a well-respected

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

and would perform in several classic literary screen adaptations, including ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

'' (1925), '' The Cat and the Canary'' and ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...

'' (1927), specializing as shady, neurotic, wild-eyed characters, which he seemed to revel in playing. He also continued to perform sporadically in regional theaters, essaying in 1921 the role of Prinzivalle in ''Monna Vanna'' by

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

. In 1926, he wrote two screenplays for First National that were never produced. In 1928, he traveled to Europe, but a proposal to perform a self-penned screenplay for

Universum Film AG UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (normally abbreviated as ...

was never realized. He was for a time considered for, and later turned down, the role of

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by som ...

in the 1931 film, which would eventually go to

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

. Carewe appeared in fifty films over the course of his career, mostly during the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

era.

Personal life

Carewe married the soprano

Irene Pavloska Irene Levi Mesirow (February 17, 1889 – February 12, 1962), known professionally as Irene Pavloska, was a Canadian mezzo-soprano and composer. Biography Irene Pavloska was born to affluent Jews, Jewish parents Pauline () and David Levi in Sain ...

(née Irene Levi) on February 17, 1915, in Chicago. They divorced in 1921.

Later years and death

Shortly after the release of his final film, ''

Charlie Chan's Secret ''Charlie Chan's Secret'' is a 1936 American mystery film directed by Gordon Wiles and starring Warner Oland, Henrietta Crosman and Rosina Lawrence. It is the tenth film in 20th Century Fox, Fox's Charlie Chan series featuring Oland as the detec ...

'', in 1936, Carewe suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. On April 22, 1937, he was found dead in his car in the parking lot of a

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

beach motel, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head."Suicide Victim Former Actor," ''Los Angeles Times'', April 23, 1937. p. A2

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carewe, Arthur Edmund 1884 births 1937 deaths 20th-century American male actors American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni American male film actors American male silent film actors American male stage actors Armenian male actors Armenian-American male actors People from Trabzon American people of Armenian descent Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States Survivors of the Hamidian massacres Suicides by firearm in California 1937 suicides