McKee Rankin

Arthur McKee Rankin (1841–1914) was a Canadian-born American stage actor, manager, and book writer whose Broadway career extended from 1870 to 1904. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, he was the son of a member of the Canadian Parliament. Following a dispute with his father, Rankin left home to pursue a career on the stage.

He made his professional debut in Rochester, New York in 1861, performing under the name George Henley. By 1863 he had appeared at Wood's Theatre in Cincinnati, playing The Count in The Stranger, and during this period was engaged by Mrs. John Drew at her Arch Street Theatre in Philadelphia. Rankin also served for three months as a Lieutenant in his father's regiment, the 1st Michigan Lancers, during the American Civil War. In 1866 he performed at the Olympic Theatre in London, which was then under the management of Mrs. John Wood. His growing reputation in melodrama led to an appearance in The Hunchback in 1867.

Rankin's Broadway career began in 1870 when he appeared alongside Lydia Thompson in Mosquito. He went on to serve as a leading man at the Union Square Theatre from 1873 to 1875. Among his other Broadway productions were True to Life, The Fires of St. John, and Magda. He also collaborated with playwright Frederick G. Maeder on several works, including The Runaway Wife and The Canuck. In addition to performing, Rankin worked as a book writer for the stage.

In 1869 Rankin married actress Elizabeth Blanchard, known professionally as Kitty Blanchard, and the two performed together throughout the 1870s, including in the successful production of The Two Orphans in 1874. The couple had two daughters, Gladys and Phyllis. Rankin also fathered a third daughter, Doris, born in 1887 through an extramarital relationship with Mabel Bert. The marriages of his children connected him to several prominent theatrical families: Gladys married actor Sidney Drew around 1891, Phyllis became the wife of Harry Davenport — whose father was E. L. Davenport and whose sister was Fanny Davenport — and Doris married Lionel Barrymore in 1904. Both Sidney Drew and Lionel Barrymore were descendants of the noted Philadelphia theatrical figure Louisa Lane Drew.

Kitty Blanchard died in a hotel in 1911, though whether the couple had divorced or separated before her death is not definitively established. Rankin outlived his eldest daughter Gladys by three months, dying in San Francisco on April 17, 1914. His great-grandson, Arthur Rankin Jr., later achieved wide recognition through his partnership with Jules Bass, which produced numerous Christmas holiday television specials under the Rankin-Bass company name.