Laura Hope Crews
Encyclopedia
Laura Hope Crews was a leading actress of the American stage in the first decades of the 20th century who is best remembered today for her later work as a character actress in motion pictures of the 1930s. Her best-known film role was Aunt Pittypat in Gone with the Wind
.
Crews's final stage appearance came in 1942, in the original Broadway run of Arsenic and Old Lace
in which she replaced one of the original cast members. She stayed with the production for more than a year and a half on Broadway
and in a touring company before she was forced to leave because of illness.
Crews also starred as Judith Bliss in the original Broadway production of Noel Coward
's Hay Fever
, in 1925, which she co-directed with Coward.
She also appeared in The Silver Cord, written by Sidney Howard
, which was produced by the New York Theater Guild in 1926 and ran for 212 performances. When The Silver Cord was not being presented, there were matinee performances of Right You Are If You Think You Are by Luigi Pirandello
.
The Silver Cord was later made into a 1933 RKO movie with Crews reprising her onstage role of the mother. The film co-starred Joel McCrea
, Frances Dee
and Irene Dunne
. Crews was later hired by Gloria Swanson
to help with her transition to talking pictures.
in 1942, following an illness of four months. She had been admitted on October 15, suffering from a kidney ailment and was in serious condition for most of her time there. Laura Hope Crews was laid to rest at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
in Colma, California. Plot: Rose Mound, Lot 65.
Crews has a star at 6251 Hollywood Blvd on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
.
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
.
Early life
She was the daughter of stage actress Angelena Lockwood and backstage carpenter John Thomas Crews. She had three older siblings. Crews started acting at age four. Her first stage appearance was at Woodward's Garden. She stopped acting to finish school and then returned to acting in 1898.Career
She appeared in plays written by A.A. Milne, who was particularly impressed by her work in his Mr. Pim Passes By. The play was a big success and ran for 232 performances. Afterwards, she began to work in productions staged by the New York Theater Guild, which had just opened.Crews's final stage appearance came in 1942, in the original Broadway run of Arsenic and Old Lace
Arsenic and Old Lace (play)
Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play was directed by Bretaigne Windust, and opened on January 10, 1941. On September 25, 1943, the...
in which she replaced one of the original cast members. She stayed with the production for more than a year and a half on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and in a touring company before she was forced to leave because of illness.
Crews also starred as Judith Bliss in the original Broadway production of Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's Hay Fever
Hay Fever
Hay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
, in 1925, which she co-directed with Coward.
She also appeared in The Silver Cord, written by Sidney Howard
Sidney Howard
Sidney Coe Howard was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
, which was produced by the New York Theater Guild in 1926 and ran for 212 performances. When The Silver Cord was not being presented, there were matinee performances of Right You Are If You Think You Are by Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written...
.
The Silver Cord was later made into a 1933 RKO movie with Crews reprising her onstage role of the mother. The film co-starred Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
, Frances Dee
Frances Dee
Frances Marion Dee was an American actress. She starred opposite Maurice Chevalier in the early talkie musical, The Playboy of Paris...
and Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne was an American film actress and singer of the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. Dunne was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her performances in Cimarron , Theodora Goes Wild , The Awful Truth , Love Affair and I Remember Mama...
. Crews was later hired by Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
to help with her transition to talking pictures.
Death
Crews died in the Le Roy Sanitorium in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1942, following an illness of four months. She had been admitted on October 15, suffering from a kidney ailment and was in serious condition for most of her time there. Laura Hope Crews was laid to rest at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent". It is the final resting site for several members of the celebrated Hearst family plus other prominent citizens from the greater San...
in Colma, California. Plot: Rose Mound, Lot 65.
Crews has a star at 6251 Hollywood Blvd on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
.
Filmography
- The Fighting Hope (1915 Famous Players-Lasky/Paramount)
- Blackbirds (1915 Famous Players-Lasky/Paramount) (Extant; Library of Congress)
- Charming Sinners (1929)
- New Morals for Old (1932)
- Out All Night (1933)
- The Silver Cord (1933)
- I Loved You Wednesday (1933)
- Blind Adventure (1933)
- Rafter RomanceRafter RomanceRafter Romance is a 1933 RKO romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter. The film, which was based on the novel of the same name by John Wells, stars Ginger Rogers and Norman Foster and features George Sidney, Laura Hope Crews, Guinn Williams and Robert Benchley.-Plot:Mary Carroll is a...
(1933) - Ever in My HeartEver in My HeartEver in My Heart is a 1933 drama film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Otto Kruger. An American girl marries a foreigner, but anti-German sentiment during World War I drives them apart.-Cast:*Barbara Stanwyck as Mary Archer Wilbrandt...
(1933) - If I Were Free (1933)
- The Age of InnocenceThe Age of Innocence (1934 film)The Age of Innocence is a American drama film directed by Philip Moeller and starring Irene Dunne, John Boles and Lionel Atwill. The film is an adaptation of the novel The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton which is set amongst aristocrat New Yorkers in the 1870s.-Cast:* Irene Dunne - Countess...
(1934) - Lightning Strikes Twice (1934)
- Behold My WifeBehold My WifeBehold My Wife is a 1934 drama film directed by Mitchell Leisen. It stars Sylvia Sidney and Gene Raymond.-Cast:*Sylvia Sidney as Tonita Storm Cloud*Gene Raymond as Michael Carter*Laura Hope Crews as Mrs. Hubert Carter*H.B. Warner as Hubert Carter...
(1934) - EscapadeEscapade (1935 film)Escapade is a 1935 romantic comedy film starring William Powell and Luise Rainer. A philandering painter falls in love, but a prior affair with a married woman causes complications.-Cast:*William Powell as Fritz*Luise Rainer as Leopoldine Dur...
(1935) - The Melody Lingers On (1935)
- Her Master's Voice (1936)
- CamilleCamille (1936 film)Camille is an American romantic drama film directed by George Cukor and produced by Irving Thalberg and Bernard H. Hyman, from a screenplay by James Hilton, Zoe Akins and Frances Marion. The picture is based on the 1852 novel and play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils...
(1936) - The Road Back (1937)
- ConfessionConfession (film)Confession is a 1937 drama film starring Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, Basil Rathbone and Jane Bryan. It was directed by Joe May and is a remake of the German film Mazurka starring Pola Negri....
(1937) - AngelAngel (1937 film)Angel is a 1937 American comedy-drama film made by Paramount Pictures. It was produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch from a screenplay by Samson Raphaelson and Frederick Lonsdale, adapted by Guy Bolton and Russell Medcraft from the play Angyal by Melchior Lengyel. The music score was by Frederick...
(1937) - Dr. Rhythm (1938)
- The SistersThe Sisters (1938 film)The Sisters is a 1938 American drama film produced and directed by Anatole Litvak. The screenplay by Milton Krims is based on the 1937 novel of the same title by Myron Brinig.-Plot:...
(1938) - Thanks for the Memory (1938)
- Idiot's Delight (1939)
- The Star Maker (1939)
- The Rains CameThe Rains CameThe Rains Came is the title of a novel by Louis Bromfield, published in 1937, as well as the 1939 20th Century Fox film version which followed it...
(1939) - Reno (1939)
- Remember? (1939)
- Gone with the WindGone with the Wind (film)Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
(1939) - The Blue BirdThe Blue Bird (1940 film)The Blue Bird is a 1940 American fantasy film directed by Walter Lang. The screenplay by Walter Bullock was adapted from the 1908 play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck...
(1940) - Girl from Avenue A (1940)
- I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now (1940)
- Lady with Red HairLady with Red HairLady with Red Hair is a 1940 film released by Warner Bros. and starring Miriam Hopkins as Mrs. Leslie Carter.-Plot:A messy divorce leaves Mrs. Leslie Carter shunned by Chicago society for being an adulteress and forbidden from having custody of her son. She's determined to return to her hometown in...
(1940) - The Flame of New OrleansThe Flame of New OrleansThe Flame of New Orleans is a 1941 comedy film directed by René Clair and starring Bruce Cabot in his first comedy role and Marlene Dietrich. It was nominated an Academy Award for Best Art Direction by Martin Obzina, Jack Otterson and Russell A...
(1941) - One Foot in HeavenOne Foot in HeavenOne Foot in Heaven is a 1941 American biographical film starring Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi, Gene Lockhart and Elisabeth Fraser.The movie was adapted by Casey Robinson from the autobiography by Hartzell Spence...
(1941) - New York TownNew York TownNew York Town is a 1941 romantic comedy film directed by Charles Vidor and starring Fred MacMurray, Mary Martin, Akim Tamiroff and Robert Preston...
(1941) - The Man Who Came to DinnerThe Man Who Came to Dinner (film)The Man Who Came to Dinner is a 1942 American comedy film directed by William Keighley. The screenplay by Julius and Philip G. Epstein is based on the 1939 play of the same title by Moss Hart and George S...
(1942)
External links
- Laura Hope Crews photo gallery at NYP Library
- Laura Hope Crews as a young Shakespearean stage actress
- Laura Hope Crews page with rare stage photographs
- Laura Hope Crews stills Univ. of Washington Sayre collection(enter her name)
- http://cather.unl.edu/images/cat.nf005/cat.nf005.fig5.jpgLaura Hope Crews and Leo DitrichsteinLeo DitrichsteinLeo Ditrichstein was an American actor and playwright of Austrian-Hungarian birth, born in Temesvár, Austria-Hungary. He was educated in Vienna and was naturalized as an American citizen in 1897. He made his New York début in Die Ehre, . This was followed by: Mr. Wilkinson's Widows, Trilby,...
in "The Phantom Rival"(1915)] - young Laura Hope Crews in a play called The Havoc(1911)(Univ. of Washington Sayre Collection)
