John Craven (actor)

John Craven
Craven in Flight to Nowhere (1946)
Born(1916-06-22)June 22, 1916
New York City, U.S.
DiedNovember 24, 1995(1995-11-24) (aged 79)
Salt Point, New York
OccupationActor
Years active1937–1970
FatherFrank Craven

John Craven (June 22, 1916 – November 24, 1995) was an American actor in theater, film, and television.

Biography

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Frank Craven, Martha Scott and John Craven in the original Broadway production of Our Town (1938)

Craven was born on June 22, 1916, in New York City. He was a third-generation actor, following in the profession of his father, Frank Craven, and his grandfather, John T. Craven.[1][2] His mother, Mary Blythe, was an actress prior to marriage.[3][4] He had an older sister, Blyth Daly (1901-1965), born when the family lived in England. His baby picture was printed in the March, 1922 edition of Success magazine in an article about his father's career.[5] He attended Beverly Hills High School in 1935.[6]

Craven began on Broadway as assistant stage manager for Babes in Arms in 1937.[7] Then he returned to Beverly Hills, starring in "The Thirteenth Chair" and Noël Coward's "Hay Fever" at Harold Lloyd's Beverly Hills Little Theatre for Professionals. He was originally slated to play a townsperson in the original stage version of Our Town at the Morosco Theatre, in which his father played the stage manager.[1][8] After director Jed Harris heard him read, however, he gave him the juvenile leading role of George.[9] Craven was overlooked in the movie version, however, with the part going to the then-unknown William Holden.[10] He married actress Evelyn R. Barrows in New York on September 16, 1938, when they were both 22.[11] He later married Dorothy Langan in the 1950s, and they had a son, Frank Craven, in 1955, thus continuing a pattern of alternating generations of men named Frank and John.[12] Craven registered for the draft in WWII on October 16, 1940.[1] He was stationed in Naples, Italy during World War II as a private, and put on shows for the USO.[1] On his WWII draft card he listed his employer as the Henry Miller Theater, which today is the Stephen Sondheim Theater.[13]

On November 24, 1995, Craven died at his home in Salt Point, New York.[14][15][16]

Broadway (selected)

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Year Title Role
1937 Babes in Arms Assistant stage manager (non-acting)
1938 Our Town George Gibbs
1939 Aries is Rising Roland Harris
1939 Happiest Days Jeff
1940 Delicate Story Oliver Odry
1940 Two on an Island John Thompson
1941 Spring Again Tom Cornish
1941 Village Green Jeremiah Bentham
1949 They Knew What They Wanted The R. F. D.

Filmography (selected)

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Year Title Role Notes
1937 Over the Goal King
1943 The Human Comedy Tobey George
1943 Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case Roy Todwell
1943 Someone to Remember Dan Freeman
1943 For God and Country Danny Brewer Short
1944 The Purple Heart Sergeant Martin Stoner
1944 Meet the People John Swanson
1944 In the Meantime, Darling Sleeping Soldier Uncredited
1946 Flight to Nowhere Claude Forrest
1946 Swell Guy Mike O'Connor
1953 Count the Hours! George Braden
1954 Security Risk Dr. Lanson
1955 The Green Mountain Boys Remember Baker TV movie
1956 Battle Stations Commander James Matthews
1956 Navy Wife Dr. Carter
1956 Hold Back the Night Major Bob MacKay
1956 Friendly Persuasion Band Leader Uncredited
1958 Revolt in the Big House Guard Uncredited
1960 Ocean's 11 Cashier Uncredited
1960 Let's Make Love Comstock Uncredited
1964 The Brass Bottle 2nd Psychiatrist Uncredited
1970 The Wild Scene Morton

Television (selected)

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Year Title Role Notes
1952 The Egg and I Jim 3 episodes
1954 Public Defender Selway Season 1 Episode 11: "Pauper's Gold"
1956 The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp Harry Drew / Dolan Season 1 Episode 28: "One of Jesse's Gang"
1959 One Step Beyond Harry Teller Season 1 Episode 2: "Night of April 14"
1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Older Clete Vine Season 5 Episode 20: "The Day of the Bullet"
1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Herbert Gold Season 6 Episode 4: "The Contest for Aaron Gold"
1960 Wanted Dead or Alive Zack Dawson Season 3 Episode 9 "Criss-Cross"
1961 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Tommy Season 6 Episode 17: "The Last Escape"
1963 The Twilight Zone Townsman Season 5 Episode 7: "The Old Man in the Cave"

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "John Craven, 79, Who Played George in Original 'Our Town'". The New York Times. November 28, 1995. p. B 12. ProQuest 109508153. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  2. ^ Theatre Magazine. Vol. 19. Theatre Magazine Company. 1914. p. 39.
  3. ^ Drutman, Irving (February 25, 1940). "Yes, He's Frank Craven's Son But He's Making His Own Way". Miami Daily News. New York Herald Tribune. p. 48. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Who's who in the Theatre. Pitman. 1926. p. 215.
  5. ^ Golden, John L. (March 1922). "Frank Craven: A young actor of the old school as he appears when off the stage to his "sentimental manager"". Success: 40 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "The Watchtower," Beverly Hills High School, 1935.
  7. ^ The Playbill, New York Theatre Program Corporation, 1938, 22.
  8. ^ Hischak, Thomas S. (2022). The Thornton Wilder Encyclopedia. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-1-5381-5240-9.
  9. ^ The Playbill: Our Town. New York: New York Theatre Program Corp. March 6, 1938. p. 24.
  10. ^ Nissen, Axel (May 7, 2021). Beulah Bondi: A Life on Stage and Screen. McFarland. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-4766-8188-7.
  11. ^ New York, New York, Index to Marriage Licenses, 1938-1940.
  12. ^ Who's Who in America, "Frank Craven". Marquis-Who's Who. 2005. p. 990. ISBN 978-0-8379-6991-6.
  13. ^ World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, National Archives.
  14. ^ Willis, John; Monush, Barry (January 1997). Screen World 1996. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-55783-252-8. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  15. ^ (27 November 1995). Actor John Craven Dies at 79, Buffalo News
  16. ^ Willis, John (1998). Theatre World 1995-1996. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 248. ISBN 978-1-55783-323-5.
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