Hume Cronyn

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Cronyn in Lifeboat, 1944
Cronyn in Lifeboat, 1944

Hume Blake Cronyn, OC(July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian/American stage, film, and broadcast actor who forged a long and distinguished career — especially with or contiguous to his second wife, Jessica Tandy — after overcoming an early image as a film heavy.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Cronyn was born in London, Ontario, Canada, one of five children of Hume Blake Cronyn, a businessman and a Member of Parliament for London (and for whom the Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory and asteroid (12050) Humecronyn are named), and his wife Frances Amelia Labatt, an heiress of the brewing company of the same name.

His grandfather was Verschoyle Cronyn. His great-grandfather was Bishop Benjamin Cronyn, who was the first Anglican bishop of Huron diocese, and founder of Huron College at the University of Western Ontario. His great-uncle Benjamin Jr. was both a prominent citizen and early mayor of London, Ontario. Benjamin Jr. was later indicted for fraud and fled to Vermont. During his tenure in London he built a mansion called Oakwood, which currently serves as the head office of the Info-Tech Research Group.

Cronyn was also a cousin of Canadian-born theater producer, Robert Whitehead.

Early in life, Cronyn was an amateur featherweight boxer, having the skills to even be nominated for the 1932 Canadian Olympic Boxing Team.

[edit] Career

His family had hoped he would pursue a law career, but after graduating from Ridley College Cronyn switched from pre-law to drama at McGill University, and continued his acting studies under Max Reinhardt and at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1934, he made his Broadway debut as a janitor in Hipper's Holiday and became known for his versatility, playing a number of different roles on stage.

His first Hollywood film was Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943). He later appeared in Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944) and was a writer for the screenplays of Rope (1948) and Under Capricorn (1949). He was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his performance in The Seventh Cross (1944) and won a Tony Award for his performance as Polonius opposite Richard Burton's Hamlet (1964). Cronyn bought the screenplay What Nancy Wanted from Norma Barzman &mdash later blacklisted with her husband Ben Barzman &mdash with the idea of producing the film and starring Tandy. However, he sold the screenplay to RKO which later filmed it as The Locket (1946). (Source: Cronyn-Tandy Collection at the Library of Congress)

[edit] Personal life

Poster for the original Broadway production of The Gin Game.
Poster for the original Broadway production of The Gin Game.

Cronyn was married to actress Jessica Tandy from 1942 until her death in 1994, and appeared with her in many of their more memorable dramatic stage, film and TV outings, including The Gin Game, Foxfire, Cocoon and Cocoon: The Return.

The couple even starred in a short-lived (1953-1954) radio series, The Marriage (based on their earlier Broadway play, The Fourposter), playing New York attorney Ben Marriott and his wife, former fashion buyer Liz, struggling with her switch to domestic life and their raising an awkward teenage daughter (future soap opera star Denise Alexander). The show was scheduled to move from radio to television, with Cronyn producing as well as acting in the show. However, Tandy - according to the Internet Accuracy Project - suffered a miscarriage and the project had to be shelved.

The IAP also notes Cronyn turned up on the infamous Hollywood blacklist for a spell - not because of his own political activity (Cronyn was long believed to shy away from political activism) - but because he had hired, often without caring about their politics, staff members who had already been blacklisted.

Cronyn re-married in July 1996, to author Susan Cooper.

He became an American citizen in 1966. His 1991 autobiography was called A Terrible Liar (ISBN 0-688-12844-0).

In 1988, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Cronyn was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1999. He died at age 91 of prostate cancer at his home in Fairfield, Connecticut after having lived for many years in nearby Pound Ridge, New York.

[edit] Broadway appearances

  • Hipper's Holiday - 1934
  • High Tor - 1937
  • There's Always a Breeze - 1938
  • Escape This Night - 1938
  • Off to Buffalo - 1939
  • Three Sisters - 1939
  • The Weak Link - 1940
  • Retreat to Pleasure - 1940
  • Mr. Big - 1941
  • Portrait of a Madonna - 1946 (Director)
  • The Survivors - 1948
  • Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep - 1950
  • Hilda Crane - 1950
  • The Little Blue Light - 1951
  • The Fourposter - 1951
  • The Honeys - 1955
  • A Day By The Sea - 1955
  • The Egghead - 1957
  • The Man in the Dog Suit - 1958
  • Triple Play - 1959
  • Big Fish, Little Fish - 1961
  • Hamlet - 1964 (Tony Award for role of Polonius)
  • The Physicists - 1964
  • Slow Dance on the Killing Ground - 1964
  • A Delicate Balance - 1966
  • Promenade, All! - 1972
  • Noël Coward in Two Keys - 1974
  • The Gin Game - 1977 (performed, produced)
  • Foxfire - 1982 (performed, wrote play and lyrics)
  • The Petition - 1986

[edit] Filmography

[edit] External links

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