Crahan Denton (pronunciation: "kran"; born Arthur Crahan Denton; March 20, 1914 – December 4, 1966) was an American stage, film and television actor. One of his most famous film roles was in ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'' (1962), in which he portrays "Walter Cunningham," a client of the main character, lawyer

Atticus Finch Atticus Finch is a fictional character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel of 1960, ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. A preliminary version of the character also appears in the novel '' Go Set a Watchman'', written in the mid-1950s but not pub ...

. He acts as the leader of a mob that attempts to lynch another of Finch's clients. He had a number of roles in Broadway plays and won an

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

for Best Performances in Supporting Roles for 1954-1955 for his work in ''

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...

'' (1955).

Early years

Named Arthur Crahan Denton, he was the son of Arthur P. Denton (born in New York) and his wife May (née Graham) (born in Montana). The son Denton was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, United States. He and his parents later moved to

Piedmont, California Piedmont is a small city located in Alameda County, California, United States, completely surrounded by the city of Oakland. Its residential population was 11,270 at the 2020 census. The name comes from the region of Piedmont in Italy, and it me ...

, surrounded by the city of Oakland. After graduating from local schools, Denton studied drama at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. He moved to New York City, where he studied at the

Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is a full-time professional conservatory for actors in New York City. First operational from 1915 to 1927, the school re-opened in 1928 and has been active ever since. It is the birthplace of th ...

. In his acting career, Denton used his middle name "Crahan", an Irish surname in his family, as his first name.

Career

Denton was active in Little Theater productions during his time as a student at the University of California, Berkeley. In New York, he gradually gained stage roles, with Broadway credits including ''Key Largo'' (1940), ''Liberty Jones'' (1941), ''Fragile Fox'' (1954), ''

'' (1955), ''Orpheus Descending'' (1957), and ''Winesburg, Ohio'' (1958). From 1945 until his death in 1966, Denton also starred in many films, including ''

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'' (1959) with

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in his first leading film role, '' The Parent Trap'' (1961) with

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and

Brian Keith Brian Keith (born Robert Alba Keith, November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997) was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the Disney family film '' The Parent T ...

, ''

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'' (1962) with

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, ''

'' (1962) with

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, and ''

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'' with

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and

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. During May 1952 he starred as

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in an episode of ''

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'' that was a preview of a pilot for a proposed series. He also performed as a guest star in many television series, including ''

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'' (1961 episode "The Secret"), ''

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,'' ''

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'' (as “Clint”, a homicidal cold blooded outlaw in the S7E11 episode “Apprentice Doc” & as “”Walker”, a murderer whose guilt eats away at him in the S8E24 episode “Blind Man’s Bluff”), '' Have Gun Will Travel'' with

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, '' The Fugitive'' with

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, and ''

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'' (1962 episode "Once Upon a Timepiece"). In 1960, he co-starred in an unsold pilot titled, ''Mountain Man'', about a

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station in the 1840s. Denton made two guest appearances on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

courtroom drama series ''

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'' with

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

. He played murder victim Frank Jarrett in the 1960 episode, "The Case of the Nimble Nephew", and the role of Templeton Cortland in the 1961 episode, "The Case of the Missing Melody". In 1963 Denton appeared as John Lewis on '' The Virginian'' in the episode "Run Away Home."

Personal life

Denton married Eleanor Brown in 1955 in New York City.

Death

In 1966, Denton died after suffering a heart attack in

. He was 52 years old.

Recognition and honors

Denton won an

for Best Performances in Supporting Roles for 1954-1955 for his work in ''

'' (1955).

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Denton, Crahan 1914 births 1966 deaths Male actors from Washington (state) American male film actors 20th-century American male actors