Edwin Carewe

Edwin Carewe

Edwin Carewe (March 5, 1883 – January 22, 1940) was an American motion picture director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. His real name was Jay Fox and he was of Chickasaw descent born in Gainesville, Texas. He was likely the most prolific of Native American directors of feature films in Hollywood history.

Career

After brief studies at the Universities of Texas and Missouri and a period of work with regional theatrical groups, Carewe moved to New York in 1910, where he became a member of the Dearborn Stock Company. He was on stage as an actor before he worked for Lubin studios.

Later, Carewe directed films for MGM, First National, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and United Artists. During his career, he provided early screen exposure to many actors such as Dolores del Río, Warner Baxter, Francis X. Bushman and Gary Cooper. He directed 58 films including the acclaimed 1928 version of Ramona starring Dolores del Río and Warner Baxter, which was rediscovered and restored by the Library of Congress and had its world premiere at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2014.

Although Jay Fox was his real name, Carewe chose Edwin from stage actor Edwin Booth and Carewe from a character he was playing.[1] Carewe and his two brothers, Wallace Fox (a director/producer) and Finis Fox (a scenario writer), were all 1/16 Chickasaw according to the 1907 Chickasaw Rolls.[2]

Another of Carewe's notable films was Evangeline in 1929 also with Dolores del Río and written by Finis Fox. Evangeline was based upon the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem and earned praise for its exceptional lighting and camera work.[3]

Although Carewe directed and produced a number of critically and financially successful pictures during the silent era, he was not fully able to make the transition to sound. After resorting to sound remakes of his earlier successes, and later to low-budget and religious films, he made his last feature Are We Civilized? in 1934. He was married three times, twice to actress Mary Akin.

Death

Carewe died from a heart ailment in his Hollywood apartment, and is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Filmography

Director

Actor

Producer

Writer

References

  1. ↑ The New York Times, January 23, 1940, p. 21; Variety January 24, 1940.
  2. ↑ Aleiss, Angela (March 27, 2014). "Recovered and Restored: Ramona, Silent Movie by Chickasaw Filmmaker". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  3. ↑ The New York Times, August 20, 1929.

External links