Frank Craven

Frank Craven (August 24, 1875 – September 1, 1945) was an American actor, playwright, composer, and screenwriter whose Broadway career spanned from 1907 to 1944. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he came from a theatrical family; his parents, John T. Craven and Ella Mayer Craven, were both actors. Craven made his first stage appearance at the age of three, in a child's part in The Silver King, the same production in which his father was performing. He did not return to the stage for another thirteen years, when he appeared in a second production of the same play, an experience that solidified his commitment to acting as a profession.

Early in his career, Craven took on a wide range of backstage responsibilities in addition to performing, working in carpentry, painting, and other technical capacities, which he later described as invaluable to his development. His initial New York success came with the role of James Gilley in Bought and Paid For in 1911, a part he also performed in a London production. He went on to write several stage hits, including Too Many Cooks in 1914 and The First Year in 1920, the latter of which was among his Broadway credits as both writer and performer. His Broadway work also included the musical The Girl from Home, the play New Brooms, and the drama Seven Chances, among other productions.

Craven is best known for originating the role of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's Our Town, which he performed on Broadway in 1938. His son John Craven appeared alongside him in the stage production, playing George Gibbs. Craven reprised his Stage Manager role in the 1940 film adaptation, for which he also co-wrote the screenplay; William Holden took over the role of George Gibbs in that version. As a screen actor, Craven was frequently cast as wry, small-town characters. His film debut came in We Americans in 1928, and his subsequent screen credits included State Fair (1933), Penrod and Sam (1937), Jack London (1943), and Son of Dracula (1943). He also wrote the screenplay for the Laurel and Hardy film Sons of the Desert in 1933.

Outside of his artistic work, Craven was a Republican who campaigned for Thomas Dewey in the 1944 United States presidential election. He died on September 1, 1945, shortly after completing work on the film Colonel Effingham's Raid.