Blanche Crozier (1881– May 31, 1957) was a Canadian actress, working in Canadian and American stock companies in the early twentieth century. She later married the Scotch-American film director James Colin Campbell.

Early life

Born as Blanche Sibbitt in

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

to Robert and Jane Sibbitt, she was later raised in

Brantford Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. She attended the

Toronto Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

from 1897 to 1898. She won the Gold Medal in

elocution Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone as well as the idea and practice of effective speech and its forms. It stems from the idea that while communication is symbolic, sounds are final and compelli ...

during the visit of the Governor General in 1898. Harry Nelson Shaw was her instructor. Later that year, he would leave the school to form his own theatrical troupe as the "Harold Nelson Stock Company." She joined the cast, assuming her paternal grandmother's name, Blanche Crozier. The troupe traveled westward from Ontario, through Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, until falling ill in Manitoba.

Career

Crozier acted in the Nelson Stock Company in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, and in other companies in western Canada, early in her career. She played

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist R ...

while still in her teens. In 1901 she was described as a new member of

Edwin Thanhouser Edwin Thanhouser (November 11, 1865 – March 21, 1956) was an American actor, businessman, and film producer. He was most notable as a founder of the Thanhouser Company, which was one of the first motion picture studios. His wife Gertrude Th ...

's stock company. She was seen in ingenue roles in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, as a member of the Boyle Stock Company, in 1903 and 1904. In 1906 she appeared with the Brown-Baker Stock Company in New Orleans, in ''

Graustark Graustark is a fictional country in Eastern Europe used as a setting for several novels by George Barr McCutcheon. Graustark's neighbors, which also figure in the stories, are Axphain to the north and Dawsbergen to the south. Description Gra ...

''. In 1907, she starred in a North Carolina production of '' Lena Rivers,'' based on the novel by

Mary Jane Holmes Mary Jane Holmes (April 5, 1825 – October 6, 1907) was an American author who published 39 novels, as well as short stories. Her first novel sold 250,000 copies; and she had total sales of 2 million books in her lifetime, second only to Harriet ...

. She was still playing young and breeches roles in 1909, including Balthazar in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

''. "Blanche Crozier is so good in all the parts for which she may be cast that her merit cannot be concealed in any of them," commented one reviewer. She starred in ''Texas'' in Chicago in 1910. She was described by one historian as having a "brief career" on Broadway.

Marriage and widowhood

Her tours with various stock companies put her in contact a rising actor and director,

Colin Campbell Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

. After Campbell took charge of Selig's studios in Los Angeles, they were married on March 2, 1912.California, County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1830-1980. California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com After her husband's sudden death in 1928, no records are available until 1940, when she is recorded as living in St. James,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. She died on May 31, 1957, and is interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crozier, Blanche 1881 births 1957 deaths Canadian stage actresses Actresses from Ontario People from Lanark County 19th-century Canadian actresses 20th-century Canadian actresses