Frank Hall Crane

actor, director, writer

Born:: 1873-01-01, San Francisco, California, USA
Died:: 1948-09-01, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA
Professions:: actor, director, writer

Biography

San Francisco greeted the New Year of 1873 with foghorns and fireworks—its first cry echoed a few hours later when Frank Hall Crane drew breath. By 1915 he had swapped the city’s clangor for the flicker of nickelodeon lights, directing and acting in a trio of one-reel sensations: The Stolen Voice, a tale of pilfered song; The Family Cupboard, where skeletons tumbled out mid-supper; and Old Dutch, a comedy that proved laughter needed no subtitles. Off-screen, he shared his life with Irene M. Titus, his leading lady in the story no camera ever rolled. Fifty-five years after that foggy birthday, the Los Angeles sun set on Crane for the last time; on 1 September 1948, Woodland Hills became the final page of his private script.