Charles B. Hanford

Charles Barnum Hanford (May 5, 1859 – October 16, 1926) was an American stage actor whose Broadway appearances spanned from 1899 to 1916. Born in Sutter Creek, California, to Levi and Lucy (Barnum) Hanford, he grew up in Loudoun County, Virginia, after his family relocated there during his youth. He later moved to Washington, D.C., where he graduated from D.C. Boys High School and pursued legal studies at Columbia College and Columbia Law School before leaving to enter the theater. Between 1880 and 1882 he worked as a clerk for the United States Geological Survey and the United States Pension Office, and also served as private secretary to California Congressman H. F. Page.

Hanford's stage career began in September 1882 when he joined William Stafford's company, which was touring in Shakespearean productions, at New London, Connecticut. He subsequently performed with Thomas W. Keene from 1883 to 1885, with Robson and Crane from 1885 to 1886, and with Edwin Booth from 1886 to 1887. From 1887 to 1889 he took on significant roles alongside both Booth and Lawrence Barrett, then joined the supporting company of Booth and Helena Modjeska in 1889–90. He performed with Julia Marlowe from 1890 through 1892. Following Barrett's death and Booth's retirement, Hanford purchased their scenic equipment for Julius Caesar and starred as Mark Antony during the 1892–93 season. He managed and co-starred with Keene from 1896 to 1898, then starred alongside Odette Tyler and R. D. MacLean from 1898 to 1899, and with Louis James and Kathryn Kidder from 1899 to 1900.

On June 30, 1885, Hanford married schoolteacher Mariella Twaddell Bear, who later became a regular presence in his productions under the stage name Marie Drofnah — Hanford spelled backwards. From around 1900 onward, Hanford led his own company, concentrating primarily on Shakespearean repertoire. In the spring of 1899 he produced Lee Arthur's play Private John Allen at Washington's Columbia Theatre, playing the title role with the assistance of the Frawley Stock Company, and later staged the same production with his own company. His Broadway credits during this period included Macbeth, An Aztec Romance, Mary Magdalene, The Winter's Tale, and The School for Scandal, among other productions. In 1910 he starred in George Broadhurst's The American Lord.

In 1912 Hanford was appointed director of the Feature Film Manufacturing Company in Washington, D.C., an organization formed to produce film adaptations of classic plays. His final active stage season was 1913–14, after which he largely withdrew from performing. During World War I he contributed to the war effort by assisting inventor Thomas Edison in designing camouflage for troops and vessels. Hanford bore a notable physical resemblance to politician William Jennings Bryan and once impersonated Bryan at a Gridiron Club dinner, occupying Bryan's seat for two hours before the real Bryan arrived and exposed the hoax. Hanford died at his Washington, D.C. home on October 16, 1926, following a year of declining health.