George MacFarlane (November 17, 1878 – February 22, 1932) was a Canadian-born American actor of both the

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

and screen. He began his stage career in Montreal, before moving to New York City. His short film career spanned both the silent and

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

eras. In addition to his acting, he was also a well-known recording artist, who was very popular during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, including at least one song which reached number one on the charts in 1915. His career was cut short when he died in a car crash in 1932.

Early life and career

MacFarlane was born in Kingston, Ontario on November 17, 1878. He had six older siblings, and was the son of Alice Gentle (not to be confused with

Alice Gentle Alice Gentle (June 30, 1885 – February 28, 1958) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano. Biography She was reportedly born on June 30, 1885, in Chatsworth, Illinois, but Alice appears as a 2 year-old child in the 1880 US Census for her f ...

, opera singer), who was also a musical theatrical performer. The turn of the century would see him appearing in musicals in Montreal, eventually leading to him being cast in 1902 in the role of Captain Corcoran in the

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

light opera ''HMS Pinafore''. By 1903 he was in New York City, where he had a starring role in the musical comedy ''The Fisher Maiden'' at the Victoria Theater.

Stage, music, and film career

Between 1903 and 1928 he would appear in over two dozen Broadway productions, including musical comedies, straight plays, and operettas, including several stints as Corcoran in ''HMS Pinafore''. In 1907 he would appear in the play ''The Girl and the Bandit'', where he met his second wife,

Viola Gillette Viola Gillette (1871 - 1956), born Viola Pratt, was an American contralto from Salt Lake City. Biography Gillette began her career as a church singer in Salt Lake City. She made her stage debut in Washington, D.C. in 1898. She subsequently mo ...

; the two would marry on April 10, 1920. The two would appear in several plays together, including MacFarlane's first big success, 1909's ''

The Beauty Spot ''The Beauty Spot'' was a 1909 musical comedy in two acts that played for 137 performances at the Herald Square Theatre in New York with music by Reginald De Koven, a book by Joseph W. Herbert and additional lyrics by Terry Sullivan. The musical ...

''. 1913 would see the beginning of his recording relationship with

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

, which would last until 1917. In 1918, he would switch to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, where he would record four records, all in that year. He would return to Victor in the early 1920s, where he would make several more records. He would earn the nickname of "America's Favorite Baritone". Other notable Broadway performances were in the title role in ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' in 1912 and again in 1913. 1913 would also see MacFarlane appear in the operetta ''Miss Caprice'' (an Americanized version of the German piece, ''Lieber Augustin''), in which he would record the

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

song, "Look in Her Eyes", which would be his first recording hit. His next Broadway performance, the

Lee Shubert Lee Shubert (born Levi Schubart; March 25, 1871– December 25, 1953) was a Lithuanian-born American theatre owner/operator and producer and the eldest of seven siblings of the theatrical Shubert family. Biography Born to a Jewish family, the so ...

and Jacob Shubert musical ''The Midnight Girl'' (from the German book ''Das Mitternacht Madel''), garnered him another hit, this time in a duet with Margaret Romaine on "Oh Gustave". He would have two other hits that year, "Can't You Hear Me Calling, Caroline" and "Your Eyes", with the former being one of the biggest hits of the year. 1915 would see him have another hit, "A Little Bit of Heaven", which reached number one on the charts that year. The following year he would appear in the

Klaw & Erlanger Klaw and Erlanger was an entertainment management and production partnership of Marc Klaw and Abraham Lincoln Erlanger based in New York City from 1888 through 1919. While running their own considerable and multi-faceted theatrical businesses on ...

production of ''Miss Springtime'', which ran from 1916 to 1917. Although he did not perform the song in the play, MacFarlane would record the Kern song "My Castles in the Air" for Victor Records, which would become another hit for him in 1917. 1917 would see his first foray into the film industry, although he would not appear in front of the camera. ''Webb Singing Pictures'' was a silent film where the on-screen performers mimed performing to recorded songs. Along with Enrique Caruso and other singers, MacFarlane was one of the recording artists. The rest of the 1910s, and most of the 1920s would see MacFarlane focusing on the stage, both as an actor and a producer. 1929 would see MacFarlane's return to the big screen, appearing in five films that year in supporting roles. Over the next three years he would be in an additional twelve films, also in supporting roles. On February 22, 1932, MacFarlane was rushing to a preview of one of the five films to be released that year in which he appeared. After mailing a letter, he was struck and killed by the driver of an automobile as he crossed the street on the way to the theater. Two of the films he appeared in, ''The Famous Ferguson Case'' and '' The Heart of New York'', would be released after his death.

Broadway credits

(Per Broadway Internet Database)

Filmography

(Per

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

database)

References

External links

MacFarlane singing "A Little Bit of Heaven" (1915)

MacFarlane singing "That's An Irish Lullaby"

MacFarlane singing "Look In Her Eyes" (1914)

MacFarlane duet with Margaret Romaine, "Oh Gustave" from the 1914 Broadway musical, ''The Midnight Girl

MacFarlane singing "Can't You Hear Me Calling, Caroline"
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacFarlane, George American male silent film actors American male film actors American male stage actors 1878 births 1932 deaths Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Male actors from Kingston, Ontario Canadian male stage actors Road incident deaths in California Pedestrian road incident deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 20th-century Canadian male actors 20th-century Canadian male singers Musicians from Kingston, Ontario 20th-century American male singers