William Henry Crane (1845-1928), American actor, was born on 30 April 1845, in Leicester, Massachusetts, and made his first appearance at Utica, New York, in Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment in 1863. Later he had a great success as Le Blanc the Notary, in the burlesque Evangelie (1873). He made his first hit in the legitimate drama with Stuart Robson (1836-1903), in The Comedy of Errors and other Shakespearian plays, and in The Henrietta (1881) by Bronson Howard (1842-1908). This partnership lasted for twelve years, and subsequently Crane appeared in various eccentric character parts in such plays as The Senator and David Harum. In 1904 he turned to more serious work and played Isidore Izard in Business is business, an adaptation from Octave Mirbeau's Les Affaires sont les Affaires.
In his 70s, Crane appeared in a number of films, notably in a reprise of his role in David Harum (1915). He also appeared in MGM's Three Wise Fools, a film recently revived on Turner Classic Movies and is available on home video/dvd. He died 7 March 1928 at the Hotel Hollywood.