Frank Craven (August 24, 1875September 1, 1945) was an American stage and film actor, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for originating the role of the Stage Manager in

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...

's ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thro ...

''.

Early years

Craven's parents, John T. Craven and Ella Mayer Craven, were actors, and he first appeared on stage when he was three years old, in a child's part in ''The Silver King'', in which his father was acting. His next appearance on stage occurred 13 years later in another production of the same play. That experience stirred an interest in acting as a career.

Career

Before he acted in films, Craven worked in stage productions, not limiting his activity to acting. "I would do ''anything'' around the place," he said. He found later that work with carpentry, painting, and other backstage activities proved "invaluable" to him. His initial success in New York came in the role of James Gilley in ''Bought and Paid For'' (1911). He also played the same role in a production in London. He also was a playwright, penning hits such as ''Too Many Cooks'' (1914) and ''

The First Year ''The First Year'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film based on a 1920 play of the same name that originally ran on Broadway at the Little Theatre. The play was written by Frank Craven and produced by John Golden. It closed in 1922 after 760 perfo ...

'' (1920).(2 September 1945)
Frank Craven, 65, Noted Actor, Dies; Playwright and Director Won Equal Success in His Many Stage and Film Chores
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Craven was a character actor who often portrayed wry, small-town figures. His first film role was in ''We Americans'' (1928), and he appeared in ''

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...

'' (1933), '' Penrod and Sam'' (1937), ''

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

'' (1943), and '' Son of Dracula'' (1943), among many others. He wrote numerous screenplays, most notably for the

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

film '' Sons of the Desert'' (1933). His IMDB biography credits him with sixteen writing credits and two directing credits. In 1938, Craven played the Stage Manager in ''

'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, and reprised the role in the 1940 film version of the play. His son

John Craven John Raymond Craven, (born 16 August 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter, best known for presenting the BBC programmes '' Newsround'', ''Countryfile'' and '' Beat the Brain''. Early life Craven was born in Leeds, West Rid ...

starred as George Gibbs in the stage version, a role played by

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

in the 1940 film. Craven died in 1945, shortly after finishing his work in ''

Colonel Effingham's Raid ''Colonel Effingham's Raid'' (UK title: ''Man of the Hour'') is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Irving Pichel. It is also known as ''Berry Fleming's Colonel Effingham's Raid'', ''Everything's Peaches Down in Georgia'' and ''Rebel Yell''. ...

''. Craven was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

who campaigned for

Thomas Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

in the 1944 United States presidential election.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, Frank 1875 births 1945 deaths American male film actors American male stage actors American male screenwriters 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Boston Burials at Kensico Cemetery California Republicans Massachusetts Republicans New York (state) Republicans Screenwriters from Massachusetts Broadway theatre directors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters